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REFURBISHING OOOOLD BOXES

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by tigereaz

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Am rebuilding old boxes and have run into wiring connection problems when uprading to newer MB's ... need a source for all types of "kd" internal wiring connectors - These boxes will be great Work Station boxes or render farm units, and "computers for kids" your suggestions appreciated....

9 replies

by seanferd

That's most of the box anyway. But if you are installing new m'boards, it would be wise to replace the power supplies as well. Wiring problem solved, and less chance of trouble later.

by brian

try www.startech.com or you could google Cables 2 go (i think it is www.cables2go.com)

might i suggest though, new power supplies...if you are running into wireing problems, this may be the easier route to go.

by willcomp

Are you referring to power connectors or front panel connectors?

by thechas

So long as you are referring to front panel connectors and similar items, you can find some of these at places like All Electronics and B. G. Micro.

If there is a Goodwill center near you, you might find out where they send parts for resale. You might even be able to make a donation and sort through some of the parts.

If you are talking about proprietary data and power cables, don't bother.

If you are replacing a motherboard and the power connector from the supply does not fit, go ahead and replace the supply.

Same for hard drives and other devices with non-standard cables. Just replace the device and reduce your problems.

Chas

by tigereaz

Thank you all for your response(s). I am in fact replacing MBs/HDDs/PSs/CDDs. The target is a dependable stable unit. It is an altruistic endeavor not bound by time or expense (kind of a "pay it forward"). Since some, well most, are proprietory boxes (Hp,Dell,NEC etc.) their front panel wiring does not always match the board panel - but do provide some good connectivity. So we are about one or two connections from a solution ...10/20 cents.
Thank you all again for your posts.
Tigereaz

by oh smeg

Is that they are Propriety. They are not meant to be a [i]Standard[/i] case and have issues like this.

The big ones are Propriety Power Supplies which are underpowered and not possible to replace with Standard PS's, screwy Front Panel Connectors and many have dedicated Rear Panel Ports for just 1 model M'Board.

You can remove the Plugs from the Front Panel Connectors and fit the standard ones but you may not have enough Front Panel Connectors to plug onto the M'Board as many of these cases do not have all of the required Switches & LED's that a Standard Case has.

You can get the Single and double Standard Connectors at most Electronic Stores and it's just a matter of removing the existing Connector and fitting the Standard types. Though you are quite likely to find that the actual leads are not long enough anyway. ;)

Col

by tigereaz

OH, Thank you - and from my own experience you are spot on !! Oddly, finding the appropriate connectors ie: 2 wire and 3 wire flat connectors (say 6 in a bag or so) has been ellusive. Radio Shack once an old standby for micro connectors was a bust ...
so we forge ahead and are improvising - although the suggested sites were very helpful... looking now for "updated" front panels ... and are threading through the 1 billion sites found on Google ;o)) ...
Thanks again for your reply
Tigereaz

by thechas

I did not realize the scale of this endeavor from the original post.

You can find just about any connector you might need at Digi-Key. www.digikey.com

You also could go as far as to solder splice wires together as long as you cover the splices with heatshrink rather than tape.

Chas

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