# Solved: Asus motherboard panel connectors



## treehstn (May 8, 2004)

Hi everyone,

I am replacing a MB in a system that would not recognize the hard drive any longer. I tested both the drive and the drive cable in a different machine and they worked fine.

The board I am installing is an Asus P4S800D-X. I thought that I had everything connected correctly but was not totally sure about the front panel connections. When I turn it on the cpu fan runs and it sounds like the HDD is spinning, but no video at all. The power light on the monitor is a steady green blink on and off. Whether the power on the computer is turned on or off is not affecting what the green light is doing on the monitor.

I'm not positive that I have all these front panel connections correct. It's a generic midtower case. Here is the pdf manual that shows the panel connections on page 1-20 for the new board.

http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock478/p4s800d-x/e1753_p4s800d-x.pdf

The following is what the writing says on each of the actual connectors in the case that I'm trying to match up with correct connection on the board.

1. Orange and cream wires with a single connector with 2 holes says "HDD LED + - " 
(should this one be connected to the one in the manual that says "Hard disk activity LED"?

2. Green and black wires with a single connector with 2 holes says "M/B SW"
(should this one be connected to the one in the manual that says "ATX Power Switch"?)

3. Cream & black wires with single connector with 2 holes says "Reset SW"
(should this one be connected to the one in the manual that says "Reset Switch Lead"?)

4. Green and white wires two single connectors each with only 1 hole. One says "Power LED" and the other is a - inside a circle.
(should this one be connected to the one in the manual that says "System Power LED Lead"?)

5. REd and black wires two single connectors each with only 1 hole. They don't have anything written on them but they are coming directly out of the speaker.
(should this one be connected to the one in the manual that says "System Warning Speaker Lead"?)

6. The last one is a matched pair of connectors, two of each. There are two connectors that have 3 wires each, one red, white and blue. The connector has three holes and says +5V -D +D. The other two are single connectors with 1 hole each and it says "Ground".
(should this one be connected to the one in the manual on page 1-17 that says "USB header"?)

So.... I'm pretty sure that this is the way they should be matched up... Please let me know if I'm way off base!!


----------



## norton850 (Mar 9, 2004)

Without commenting on how you have the front panel connectors hooked up, I doubt that's your problem. The only one you need to get things running is the power switch and if the system turns on when you hit it then that one's OK. So just in general make sure you have all the power connectors to the MB hooked up. Strip the setup down to only video adapter and monitor, CPU/HS/fan and one stick of RAM. If still no video then take the MB out of the case and set it on the box that it came in and use the same limited setup. You didn't give any specs so hopefully everything is compatible.


----------



## dustyjay (Jan 24, 2003)

Do you have the 4 pin 12V ATX connector connected to the Motherboard?


----------



## schusterjo (Nov 11, 2006)

1) Remove EVERYTHING from the case
2) Set the motherboard on a non conductive surface. The motherboard box is perfect for this. .DO NOT PLACE THE MOTHERBOARD ON THE STATIC BAG! The outside of some of these can actually conduct electricity! We are going to try and assemble a running system outside of the case.
3) Install the CPU and heat sink.
4) Install the RAM (only install 1 stick for SDRAM, 2 for RDRAM)
5) Install the video card. Do make sure the card is FULLY seated.
6) Connect the monitor to the video card.
7) Connect the power supply to the motherboard. Do make sure you plug in the extra power connector [if used]
8) Connect power to the power supply
9) Do NOT connect ANYTHING else. Make sure you have the power connector on the CPU fan connected.
10) Use a small screwdriver to momentarily short the power switch connector on the motherboard.

If all is well, it should power up and you should get a display. You now have found you have a mounting problem. The board is shorting to the case. If not, then you most likely have a faulty component. You will need to swap parts with known good units ie power supply, cpu, ram, video card.


----------



## treehstn (May 8, 2004)

Ok... I did the process about taking everything out of the case. No change. Then I tried a different 'known good' power supply. No change. I'm thinking maybe it is the video card. I had it in a different computer and it was working fine. I wonder if it isn't compatible with this board. 

dang it... there's a bent pin on the cpu


----------



## treehstn (May 8, 2004)

I tried a different cpu... same result.


----------



## treehstn (May 8, 2004)

The video card is an nVidia GeForce FX5200 AGP8X 128MB TV-OUT


----------



## schusterjo (Nov 11, 2006)

Sounds like you have 3 things left Video card, Ram (did you try an extra stick from somebody you know?) then last but least a dead mobo.


----------



## treehstn (May 8, 2004)

I figured it out!! It was the CPU itself. After swapping parts around between two similar computers I was able to figure out that the CPU in the old machine was not working in either machine. Took a close look at it and there are a couple of bent pins. Thanks everyone! I learned how to test the parts outside of the case and that was a new procedure for me! Worked great....


----------



## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

Yep "lighten the load" and you can see what is not working!!! Glad you got it.


----------

