USB pin issue

[GoldenI]

My front panel USB port has a cable with a four pin connector ending. On the blue USB ports for adding additional USBs, I put the USB module on it and there are four pins on one side and five pins on the other. The four pin can fit on one side but I am not sure if there is suppose to be a nine pin connector or if I can just attach the four pin connector to the nine pin module.

Here is what the pin looks like (on the module)

::::.

The first line of dots is the four pins.

 

[Twoboxer]

The 9-pin mobo socket (actually 10-pin socket, nine "active") supports 2 USB ports. Only the matching 4 pins on each side are used electrically, one set for each USB port. The 9th pin and the blank spot are there for "keying", ie, to ensure you insert a 10-pin module in the correct direction.

If your front panel only has a four pin connector, you need to insert it on one side or the other of your 10-pin mobo socket. If you choose the four pin side, you'll have the correct four pins, but you will need to be sure that you insert the connector in the right direction. If you choose the 5-pin side, do not use the pin that is next to the blank spot.

Your mobo manual will tell you what the "pin-out" is for that socket . . . your case manual should describe the "pin-out" of the connector. You then match them up.

If you can't figure that out, post your mobo make/model and the color of each wire coming from the case to the 4-pin connector.

 

[Wamphryi]

Dont attach the four pin connector to the module. Power is going through it and there could be some kind of rather negative consequence for doing so. That does not sound like any USB connector I have ever heard of. It may actually be for a front panel sound port or something similar.

Two Boxer may well be right (it came up while I was writing this) but I would be very very careful.

 

[Twoboxer]

Wamphryi is absolutely correct . . . it is highly unusual for a case to have a single 4-pin connector . . . for anything lol. If the case has only a single USB connector on the front panel, that too would be odd, but it would then only need a 4-pin connector.

So maybe you should tell us what case & mobo you are using (or make/model of the PC - if its a Dell, eg, that could be a proprietary connector for something else).

 

[GoldenI]

I am using an Antec Thermaltake A60 case with only the power supply and motherboard connected currently. I don't have the processor yet or the GPU yet (getting the processor on payday and the GPU next week), so the only thing I have done so far is connect the power cord to the wall to see if the fans would spin... only to find out that apparently you need a CPU to get the computer to actually turn on and get the fans to spin (because the CPU = the brain.. without it, nothing turns on, no fans or LEDs or nothin'!).

 

[Wamphryi]

I guess we shall have to wait then to find out what the story is.

 

[Twoboxer]

Yeah, please don't power up anything anymore without the whole kit assembled. OK? We really don't want to see you back here with other issues

Still need to know your motherboard make/model !!!!

Assuming your case is a Thermaltake A60 (its not an Antec), you have an audio connector (2 connectors on same lead, you will presumably use "HD Audio") and some LED and switch connectors which are easy to identify.

Then you should have three other connectors . . . USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and an eSATA connector. These also should be well labelled.

The USB 2.0 and 3.0 connectors should be 4-pin connectors. You can plug both of those, side by side, into the same USB 2.0 port on the mobo . . . using the method I told you about in my original post. But they will both then be USB 2.0.

So you need to tell us the color of the wires and any markings like +, -, Gnd etc. on those connectors BEFORE plugging them in and BEFORE powering the board again. OK? Your case manual does NOT give the pinout, so I'm still in the dark.

Summary:
- Don't power up the board again.
- Make and model of your motherboard?
- Markings to identify the pins on the USB 2.0 and 3.0 connectors?
- Color of each wire, in order, on the USB 2.0 and 3.0 connectors?

 

[GoldenI]

Everything is plugged into its correct spot. Believe me. I might be new to building computers but I'm no idiot when it comes to putting something together. I follow instructions and I follow them well. I have an Asus P7P55D motherboard which supports USB 3.0 (apparently). The only USB cable I am seeing is a four-pin connector which connects to the USB module. It is labeled (USB) and has no positive or negative signs etched onto the connector.

 

[Twoboxer]

The manual for your case, page 20, says you should have two. Unless your USB 2.0 is the 4-pin, and your USB 3.0 is a cable that runs around to the mobo rear panel .

Still need the wire colors, in order.

 

[GoldenI]

The 3.0 is a blue USB cable that runs to the rear.