Power switch question

I

icurays1

New Member
Just got a quick question that maybe someone could be willing to answer..i've spent about and hour searching various forums and sites to get an answer and i havn't had any luck yet, so thanks in advance for any help.

i just upgraded my (fairly new) compaq presario - got a new motherboard, video card, and sound card. When i got the new mb in the case (matx in case it matters) and got everything all hooked up, i noticed that the cord that comes from the power switch on the front of the computer doesn't have the same connector as the pins on the new motherboard. can i get a new power switch..? or am i looking in the wrong place on my new mb?

thanks again for anyone willing to put up with my noob-ness, i'm just tryin to get my computer to turn on...haha

nick
 
this is just another way that compainies such as compaq are trying to stop you upgradng their machines, the easiest thing to do is buy a new case, unless your really into electronics then you could just extend the (-) and (+) wires of the old switch and solder them to the pins on the mobo.
 
thanks!! thats kind of what i figured...

any idea how i could get the pinout of both the mb and the old switch? that would be well within my elec. abilities, i suppose.

nick
 
well as it is a swith, it doesnt matter which way the + or - get connected, simply strip back the wires from the power switch and connect them to the 2 pins on the mobo.; You should be able to find those mobo pins easily, if you cant then check the manual
 
thanks! i kind of expected it'd be that easy - you're right, there's a little label next to 2 pins that says pwrsw..

thanks again for your help, i'll come back to this forum again for sure!
nick
 
so i basically just broke the old clip thing apart into 3 different parts - power and the 2 leds - and it fit into the new pins fine.

but now...it goes through its whole cmos boot thing, checks drives and whatnot...but then, after it gets to the part where it says 'verifying vmi pool data...update sucess' it stops. thats usually when it goes to the OS, right? am i getting screwed for updating all these parts and not buying a new version of xp?

acctually, i should start a new thread in a different section, shouldn't i...
well, let me know if you've got any ideas. thanks.
 
i take it you havent changed your hard drive then, your still using the original one, if this is the case then im afraid you will have to reinstall win XP. when the PC is booting, insert the XP disc and performa repair installation, that should fix it.
 
ah, great - 2 wonderful little problems on top of that, though - either my computer didnt come with original xp instal discs, or i cant find them..

oh, i just had an idea. can i instal XP on another hard drive (acctually the one in the computer im using now) and still keep all my files (and xp) on the other one, so i dont have to hastle with all my files?

thanks again for all the help.
 
yes of course you can, just make sure you install windows onto the hard drive when it is installed in the compaq presario. make sure you set the old drive as a slave and tell it to boot from the working one. When in windows you can browse to the old drive and get all your files off of it.
 
Great! thanks. One last annoying question then ill (try to) be on my way.

the computer came with xp pre-installed; i dont remember it ever having acctual install discs. i remember reading somewhere that it's possible, if you upgrade a bunch of components, to use the same OS, you just have to notify msoft and they give some code, or something. Is there any way that you know of to do this? I was browsing around the ms website and there was some page about downloading XP boot disks - like floppy style - do you just put in your sn and you get to download everything you need?

appologies for the amount of q's. i'm trying to stay optimistic about this whole PC thing, i've been trying to give it a good chance. (ive been a mac user my whole life)
thanks again
 
icurays1 said:
Great! thanks. One last annoying question then ill (try to) be on my way.

the computer came with xp pre-installed; i dont remember it ever having acctual install discs. i remember reading somewhere that it's possible, if you upgrade a bunch of components, to use the same OS, you just have to notify msoft and they give some code, or something. Is there any way that you know of to do this? I was browsing around the ms website and there was some page about downloading XP boot disks - like floppy style - do you just put in your sn and you get to download everything you need?

appologies for the amount of q's. i'm trying to stay optimistic about this whole PC thing, i've been trying to give it a good chance. (ive been a mac user my whole life)
thanks again
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Yes, you would need the install disks from what i know. You would call ms to activate it and they would give you the key... you need the disks to reinstall... :(
 
hmm...how about this - compaq has a "recovery cd creator" app as part of their system recoery package. Can i use a system recovery cd to boot from and reinstall? i mean...what the hell is someone supposed to do when their mb fries and they have to get a new one, and the computer came pre-installed?

*gives his old mac a hug*

thanks, guys..
nick
 
no, usaly the windows cd and any "recovery" cd are set up so they only work with the compaq motherboard, same with the emachines, dell, so on.

look around on the case and the orignal compaq documentation for a windows xp serial. it will be a small greenish sticker about and inch high and 2 inches long. to my understanding, when you buy a computer with windows xp you also buy the os, so it should be legal to borrow a windows xp disk from a friend and use YOUR windows key with it. id wait for someone else in the forum to see if they agree with me..
 
computer doesn't have the same connector as the pins on the new motherboard. can i get a new power switch..? or am i looking in the wrong place on my new mb?
Click to expand...
If i understand you correctly, uou could break the connector into the indvidiual wires and connect them pin by pin :)

the computer came with xp pre-installed; i dont remember it ever having acctual install discs. i remember reading somewhere that it's possible, if you upgrade a bunch of components, to use the same OS, you just have to notify msoft and they give some code, or something. Is there any way that you know of to do this? I was browsing around the ms website and there was some page about downloading XP boot disks - like floppy style - do you just put in your sn and you get to download everything you need?
Click to expand...
What yer talking about is reactivation which is ok BUT you'll need to do a complete reinstall (including activation) if you change core components of the system (say the motherboard)
 
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