XPost: alt.os.linux.mint

On 17/06/2025 in message
<20250617141512.88123d55c3812cdc60098b99@gmail.com> pinnerite wrote:

The system panel header on my motherboard has 20 pin positions of which
5 are unpopulated. in fact two are blank (no pins).

I want to test the motherboard out of the case.

I would have thought that by now someone would have produced a plug
holding the LEDs and the speaker that could be plugged in for testing.
I cannot find one. I have tried several search strings without success.

I am tempted to ask ChatGPT to look but it has been lying to me
recently.

Any ideas?

I have just used one of these in a re-build:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D6W55RBW

Could it be the basis of building what you want?

--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
If it's not broken, mess around with it until it is

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XPost: alt.os.linux.mint

pinnerite <pinnerite@gmail.com> wrote:

The system panel header on my motherboard has 20 pin positions of which
5 are unpopulated. in fact two are blank (no pins).

I want to test the motherboard out of the case.

I would have thought that by now someone would have produced a plug
holding the LEDs and the speaker that could be plugged in for testing.
I cannot find one. I have tried several search strings without success.

TBH I just short the power-on pins with a screwdriver, which is enough to
power up the mobo. You can tell it's on if the fans spin.

You can buy the lights and buttons on a wire if that's what you really want: https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005003908130705.html

which leads me to a UK version of same:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/146630680316
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285836377485 https://www.amazon.co.uk/AYMBH-ATX-Power-Switch-Cable/dp/B0DL3S7TNN https://www.amazon.co.uk/Desktop-Computer-Motherboard-Indicator-27-inch/dp/B09J8MY3CM
(and a million sellers of the same things)

I am tempted to ask ChatGPT to look but it has been lying to me
recently.

I'm shocked.

Theo

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XPost: alt.os.linux.mint

On Tue, 6/17/2025 9:15 AM, pinnerite wrote:

The system panel header on my motherboard has 20 pin positions of which
5 are unpopulated. in fact two are blank (no pins).

I want to test the motherboard out of the case.

I would have thought that by now someone would have produced a plug
holding the LEDs and the speaker that could be plugged in for testing.
I cannot find one. I have tried several search strings without success.

I am tempted to ask ChatGPT to look but it has been lying to me
recently.

Any ideas?

I keep a 1x2 female to push-button-switch for this, on my desk.

Slide the push button onto the PWR and GND pins.

If you haven't got the shakes too bad, you can even
take a large slothead screwdriver and slide it between
the PWR pin and the adjacent GND pin. It just takes
a momentary contact to start a motherboard. The
switch type is SPST momentary normally-open.

If you have a computer case that is being sent to the
trash, remove the wiring harnesses from it and keep them
for later usage. You can extract the power switch, twisted pair,
and 1x2 connector from the case wiring.

Some spacings on computer wiring, are "variable". Not every
motherboard uses the same spacing. The shrouds on the twisted
pairs, you can back out the female pins and change the spacing,
on demand. I have re-positioned pins on more than one occasion,
as the need arose. You will need an Xacto blade knife, to slide
under the retainer plastic and lift it a bit, so the pin can
be backed out.

Paul

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XPost: alt.os.linux.mint

On 17/06/2025 14:15, pinnerite wrote:

The system panel header on my motherboard has 20 pin positions of which
5 are unpopulated. in fact two are blank (no pins).

I want to test the motherboard out of the case.

I would have thought that by now someone would have produced a plug
holding the LEDs and the speaker that could be plugged in for testing.
I cannot find one. I have tried several search strings without success.

Not all the LEDs, but there are things like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/External-Desktop-Computer-Motherboard-Ports-160CM/dp/B08WZ361VH

Which I use, as the power switch on my PC case has failed and this was
the easiest fix.

There may be versions with more connectors and functions.

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XPost: alt.os.linux.mint

On 17/06/2025 17:37, pinnerite wrote:

On 17 Jun 2025 17:04:48 +0100 (BST)
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

pinnerite <pinnerite@gmail.com> wrote:

The system panel header on my motherboard has 20 pin positions of which
5 are unpopulated. in fact two are blank (no pins).

I want to test the motherboard out of the case.

I would have thought that by now someone would have produced a plug
holding the LEDs and the speaker that could be plugged in for testing.
I cannot find one. I have tried several search strings without success.

TBH I just short the power-on pins with a screwdriver, which is enough to
power up the mobo. You can tell it's on if the fans spin.

You can buy the lights and buttons on a wire if that's what you really want: >> https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005003908130705.html

which leads me to a UK version of same:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/146630680316
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285836377485
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AYMBH-ATX-Power-Switch-Cable/dp/B0DL3S7TNN
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Desktop-Computer-Motherboard-Indicator-27-inch/dp/B09J8MY3CM
(and a million sellers of the same things)

I am tempted to ask ChatGPT to look but it has been lying to me
recently.

I'm shocked.

Theo

Thanks but I was ioping for a single plug with all the bits on it.
The cable version just replicates what's in the case.
I didn't want to fiddle around with the individual plugs.

There are definitely extension leads with a single connector at the
motherboard end and a single block of pins at the other - I threw one
away because I didn't need it. Plug a switch, LEDs and speaker into the
pin end, tape up and then use the other end to test motherboards?

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XPost: alt.os.linux.mint

pinnerite <pinnerite@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks but I was ioping for a single plug with all the bits on it.
The cable version just replicates what's in the case.
I didn't want to fiddle around with the individual plugs.

There is no standard. Individual manufacturers have their own conventions,
but the reason there isn't one connector is you have to double check the pinouts with the motherboard manual. Some use the same header but wire it
in different ways.

Theo

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On 2025-06-17, pinnerite <pinnerite@gmail.com> wrote:

The system panel header on my motherboard has 20 pin positions of which
5 are unpopulated. in fact two are blank (no pins).

Different manufacturers use different pinouts. You can put a couple of
switches and LEDs on a breadboard and hook it up with jumper cables or put a PCB in a little box and attach flying leads. My favourite containers for
this sort of thing are SMINT or Tic-Tac boxes.


--
Bernard Peek
bap@shrdlu.com
Wigan

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