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Does a case need to have any wires?

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by fin4lprayer

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Ok, i guess that was a bad way to ask the question....but, here...
So me and my friend are building my new computer tomorrow, (mainly he is)and the motherboard i ordered is too big for my case i have. So i got a case from a friend, but it doesnt have any wires what so ever. Now i was just playing around with my old computer and stuff. and i realized, it wasn't turning back on because i had unplugged the Power SW, Power LED, and H.D.D. LED. So i was wondering...does the case have to have those wires or anything else to make it work? Because the case i have is just a case...nothing else.

7 replies

by oh smeg

While you can do without the Front Panel Connectors there is a slight issue of how to turn it on to begin with.

But these are Standard Wires/Connectors/Switches and LED's so you can pick them up from another case and plug them into this one without any problems.

Col

by fin4lprayer

Oh, thanks! i suppose i can just take them from my old case and put em on the other one and that should work...would the motherboard come with those wires or nah?

by oh smeg

These are part of the case and as such are not considered as part of the M'Board. Things like Front USB & Sound Jacks are Case Dependant as these are made of r the case that they are in or more correctly the case is designed to accept those parts from one maker who may make things differently to others.

You can however generally modify the case to accept Front USB Ports or USB & Sound Ports as these come on the 1 Circuit Board. You can get two distinct type of Circuit Boards for Front Panel Connections one with just USB Ports and one with USB & Sound Ports. Occasionally a case maker will make a case to use separate USN & Sound Circuit Boards and fit these items far away from each other but generally they are side by side.

Also if there is a socket available for another USB Back Panel Plate with 2 USB Ports this is an Optional Extra as well as things like COM Ports and LPT1 Ports. The M'Board Makers charge extra for these and you need to buy them separately.

Col

by older mycroft

Touching anything else that even remotely looks like a wire.

If you delve in there and pull things apart, you may end up with an old computer that cannot be revived - you already stopped it from powering up.

You really shouldn't be messing around with electrical wiring of ANY description if you don't know what it is for.

Each new computer build usually comes with a wiring loom in a tied up bundle but [b]DO NOT MESS WITH IT[/b] otherwise your new computer won't work either. ;)

by fin4lprayer

Haha, yeah i know. Im probably going to just throw the old parts away and everything, because it was a crappy computer bought from a store or something the parts aren't even worth keeping, everything that was i've salvaged already. But thanks, ill try to stop myself next time =P

by thechas

As stated, at a minimum, you need the power switch.

I have never seen the case cables packed with a motherboard.

As to using the ones from another case, I have seen very few cases that use the same cable and switch board. In order to use the power switch from another case, you may need to use some ingenuity to make it work.

For the power switch, all you need is a normally open momentary switch.

There are other things that you might be missing at the front of the case:
USB ports, reset button, hard drive light.

You might want to inspect the case you have. The switches and LEDs may be there, and just the wires are missing. If someone cut the old wires, you may need to solder in the wires from another case. Use care to find the correct places for each wire.

Chas

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