Sage

Howday!

I have a custom built computer in a case which has a neat little feature on the front- the ability to put four USB hookups at the bottom of the tower, underneath the power button. However, right now the casings for the CD drive, hard drives, etc are in the way of actual access to these hookups.

If I wanted to put USB hookups to these holes that are avaliable for them, what would I have to do? This is a very strange feature to me, as the harness for the drives (that came with the case) is kinda in the way of the holes that you'd put USB access to!

I can take pictures and let you see what I'm talking about if that would help.

Is the only way to get more USB ports for your computer (aside from buying one of those external things, which I already have) to get a motherboard with more slots avaliable? If so, then the setup of my tower *really* doesn't make sense, as the holes for the USB ports are horizontally along the bottom of the tower, and the slits in the back for all your sound/video cards are also hoizontal (meaning that those cards must be plugged into a motherboard that's mounted vertically).

The reason I'm asking all of this is because my motherboard isn't putting out USB2.0, and my Flash Drive MP3 player isn't supported when I plug it into the USB extender that I have (one of those crappy little dealios where you plug one end into a USB port and you get four useable ports on the other end). This isn't a *huge* deal to me, I'm just curious.

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ratbastid

(Wow. Hot women talking hardward makes me all fluttery.)

The last case I bought that had front-facing USB holes came with a motherboard that, in turn, came with a USB unit intended for front-facing holes. I bought them as a barebones kit (which I generally recommend, even for experienced builders). It had a cable that ran straight to a particular pinout on the motherboard.

So the question is whether your motherboard vendor has a front-usb device available as an accessory. If so, you'd need to figure how to wrap it around the drive harness.

cyrnel

Your PCI USB card addition idea might be the right direction in order to get USB 2 ports. USB PCI cards with 2-3 external ports plus one internal go for $10-30. If you can route the panel cable as ratbastid said, you could connect it to the new card's internal connector with something like this:



Those go for $10 from performance-pcs.com, or a few minutes to DIY by butchering an old usb cable & mating it to your panel harness. There isn't much to them and the pinouts are readily available (even on the above page).

Edit: I think I misunderstood. The computer has holes up front for USB connections but without the sockets or cables? If so, rat's right. Start with the case manufacturer or reseller. You can buy ports in that configuration (really just a passive hub) but it can be tough to get the spacing to match your case. The correct panel would probably use a 90* connection to avoid the drives interference you spoke of.

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There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

MikeSty

Odds are, you need a cable with a FEMALE header and a FEMALE end ... pictures would be nice though..

There MUST be headers on your motherboard for USB. If not, USB 2.0 PCI card is in fact the way to go. One with male header pins on it

Sage

Hee hee hee.... man, start talking Geek and guys go wild....

And Mike...

Anywho... what I'm sayin boils down to this:

Need USB 2.0- hear you guys sayin just go out buy a new PCI card that will let me have USB, then if I can't get one that fits just the way it should (if I knew what brand my tower was It'd be easier) I should just put extender cables inside (like the external extender cables, but with pins to insert on the PCI card) running to the slots in the front.

OK! Thanks a bunch for your help- I'm *so* out of practice with configuring my hardware... I got my computer from an ex-bf who was so into custom PCing he probably fapped off while fantasizing about his build. *eyeroll*

you guys are the best

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MikeSty

????

Either way, if you still want help later on, pics would be much appreciated.

Sage

oh, you weren't making a joke? I thought you were saying something about the fact I was a girl.... I was drunk when I read your post....

I think that Martel and I have pretty much decided that the best way to do things is buy a USB 2.0 card and put it in my motherboard- have two slots in the back, then hook up my external USB port hub to a slot in the back- it would give me five USB2.0 slots that way (mroe than I would EVER need). We figured out that the case that I have is like, not the highest end configuration that the manufacturer made, so the slots on the front for USB are redundant and can't be used without majorly ripping the guts outta my PC and probably slicing up my drive harness.

On another note... my computer has enough wires in it to make my own generator... is this normal on custom builds or is the guy who made my compy just a complete loser fucktard (I vote for option B)? I think they're all power wires too.....

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ratbastid

It's usually cable spaghetti inside any computer. There are some really nice cable routing kits that clip the cables together, but sloppy builders (like myself) know that tidy cases don't make the computer run any faster.