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Where do I put a power button

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8 replies

by dustman1995

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I have a dell XPS400 and recently changed the motherboard. Because of dells proprietary deal, there is no power button to turn the thing on. What do I do now?

8 replies

by thechas

The power button for any ACPI style motherboard is a normally open momentary switch.

Radio Shack carries several different style push button momentary switches that you could mount to a drive bay cover or just about anywhere on the case. The bigger issue is the connector for the header on the motherboard.

I would go to a used PC outlet or your own bone-yard and pull the connectors and wires from an old case.

You might also be able to splice new wires onto the Dell front panel cable and use the existing switches.

Chas

by dustman1995

Ok I'm a total newb. So what about the connector for the header? What is a header. And can I just splice a button onto a souple wires in the psu like the green or purple to grnd?

by rob miners

to see where the front panel connectors are, as it should give you a detailed view.
Another option is to purchase a new case and PSU.

by oh smeg

But here The Chas means the Header Strip which should be composed of 2 rows of Pins where you connect the Front Panel Controls like HDD LED, Power On LED and Power Switch. There should also be a Reset Switch and possibly a speaker connection.

To locate this Header you need to look at the Manual that came with the new M'Board and plug on the 2 Pin Power lead.

This may be a single 2 or 3 pin plug or it could be 2 single plugs that need to be plugged onto the apporate Header Pins. As this is not a Polarized Connection like the LED Connections the wires can go onto either of the 2 pins. But the LED's for the HDD Activity and Power Light are Polarized and need to be connected Positive to Positive and Negative to negative. If you do not connect these wires correctly the LED will not light up when the system is turned on.

Col

Col

by thechas

DO NOT connect the power switch or anything else directly to the power supply!!!!

There should be a small connector with 6 to 12 small wires or a ribbon of wire that ran from the front panel to the Dell motherboard.

If you key in the model number of the Dell on Dell's web site, you can usually find a service manual that will show you the front panel connections.

Most motherboards have a double row strip of contacts that look like an IDE drive connector or the pins you put the jumper on on the back of a hard drive. This is the header strip.

Most retail computer cases have a set of 4 or 5 small black connectors that plug onto the header. As Dell uses a single connector, the wires may not be in the right order, or the connector might not be the correct style.

If you take the front panel off of the case, you should be able to find the switch panel and trace down which wire is which.

Personally, as any wire splicing is a lot of work, and the power supply in the Dell case is likely too small for any extra hardware, I would spend the extra $20 or so for a new case. All of the connections for the motherboard will be clearly labeled and you will have a new power supply with a higher wattage rating.

Chas

by dustman1995

Wow. You guys answered all my questions so thoroughly and pointed me in the right direction.I can tell I'm going to like this forum. Thanks guys.

by patb071

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