XPS 420 Motherboard questions (parallel ATA)

[nuclearwar]

So I have been having problems repairing this salvaged XPS 420 computer for my little brother. The issue from the beginning is power.

I have tested the power cable and the power supply and am on to the power button. This computer is different than I am used to. Instead of having the prongs to test if the power button is not working, this computer uses a parallel ATA (40 pin) connector to transfer power from a separate I/O chip that was located with the power button.

How am I supposed to "jump start" this computer to see if the power button is really the issue? Any related material would be great.

 

[nuclearwar]

I was at least looking for some related material to parallel ATA at this point, is this really advanced to have no responses yet?

 

[aldan]

jump it at the power button would be my move here.

 

[voyagerfan99]

jump it at the power button would be my move here.

You seem to miss the part where he says it's connected with a ribbon cable.

This is how it is on this machine:

<--Small pic but I can't find anything bigger.

 

[nuclearwar]

Okay, so developments. Jumping it at the power button didn't cross my mind for some reason.

When I shorted the 2 prongs inside the 40 pin ATA cable, the power supply did NOT turn on, but the motherboard light went off then back on when I removed the short...Another problem I have no current knowledge on.

 

[voyagerfan99]

Look at pages 160-163, and 167.

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod..._xps_desktop/xps-420_owner's manual_en-us.pdf

 

[nuclearwar]

I have read over this portion of the manual.

The main problem with the manual, is it only details the use of the pins on the power supply. It does not tell me the pinout on the I/O front panel. It only details what each port is for, which is obvious information.

 

[StrangleHold]

Pretty sure one of the smaller cables coming off that circuit board your holding, that plugs in the motherboard controls the Power button/HDLED and so on. You would just have to ground two pins at a time till you hit the right two.