VOGONS

"POWER SW" front panel wire confusion

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First post, by srry

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New member here, putting together my first retro-style computer, and I've come across something a bit odd (for me). I've never worked with hardware this old before, so much of it is new to me. Turns out my late-90's case actually has TWO separate wire leads both labeled "POWER SW", and both leading directly from the power switch assembly. I'm working with an ATX motherboard, an Abit BX-6 r.2 to be precise. Needless to say, the motherboard only has two power switch pins for a single connector. Is this duplicate connector some sort of holdover from earlier years to ensure AT motherboard compatibility?

I'm guessing I could use either one, since the're marked identically and they both have pairs of red and white wires. I'm not yet at a stage where I can power the system on, so I've not actually tested either.

Reply 1 of 3, by Tetrium

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I think your assumption is correct 😉

If both "plugs" are connected to the (same) power switch in the front of the case, you can use either one. They prolly did it this way for compatibility reasons.

Edit:And welcome to Vogons 😉

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Reply 2 of 3, by DonutKing

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Haven't seen that before... but I like your custom title 😀 SS1 and 2 were both excellent games 😀

If you have a multimeter you can check the resistance on a pair of wires at a time, when you press in the button it should have very low/no resistance and there should be no connection when the button is released. It sounds like they should be the same.

If you are squeamish, don't prod the beach rubble.

Reply 3 of 3, by srry

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Yeah, I actually was able to hook a bunch of stuff up to get it running temporarily, and discovered that indeed either connector would work fine. It's a curious design, though.

But yeah DonutKing, I realized after making my custom title that it was actually only a close approximation of that System Shock error message, the real one being "Our system has been shocked!! But remember to Salt The Fries". It's odd that you can't change your title after the initial sign-up screen, except through a moderator. I'll live with it for now.

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