Build your own computer

Step 9: Wiring the Front Panel Buttons, USB and Audio

This is another step where you will need to rely almost exclusively on the motherboard and case manuals.

Cases usually have 2 buttons (Power and Reset) and 2 LEDs (Power and HDD). Looking in the motherboards manual you should be able to tell where the wires leading from the buttons and LEDs go. The colored wire is usually the positive and the white or black wire is usually the negative.

Most cases usually have a headphone and a microphone jack in the front also. This is called the AC'97 panel. You should be able to find instructions on where the wires go in the manual. There is a wiring map below for the standard AC'97 panel. Newer motherboards will sometimes list this as Front Audio and HD Audio too.

Cases generally have USB on the front too. This one is easy. The motherboard will have 2 places for it to fit. There is only one way for it to fit, and it doesn't matter which one. Check the manual if you can't find it.

The system speaker should be somewhere near the buttons and LEDs. This is not required for any real opperation, except telling you that something is messed up in your computer.

Comments

[DXM]

BE CAREFUL!!!!! Read and understand the manual for both the case and the motherboard, if you put the connectors on wrong it can result in a fire and ruin your board. In his pictures the USB connector is 1 piece, but occasionally a case will have this separated into 2 connections for some retarded reason. So watch the polarity!

[bmlbytes]

I have had a few fires (mainly messing with laptops that I shouldn't have). God I hate that smell

[brunoxyz]

that happened to me once _{the stupid dell case I was using was totally not user friendly (power connector had a little bridge cable connecting two things in it) and when I plugged the usb front panel the motherboard started burning (smoke and all!)} Incredibly I managed to unplug it on time and it is still working fine.

I just had to cut the bridge between the two connectors_{, I dont know who in dell came up with such a stupid idea.}

[hellstudios]

ahh, yes, wiring mismatch.....my desktop's processor fan broke.... (i pluged it into the wrong wire, it ran really fast for awhile but overheated, and crapped out) the processor works fine but smells like crap now