problem connecting the front panel headers to me motherboard

[paulwarden]

hi guys i am having trouble connecting the front usb panel connectors from my case to my motherboard , somehow they have been bent in a few places and i am not sure what to do next the system works ok without the front usb ports but i want to get them to function as they should and am wondering what to do

 

[Bill_Bright]

If me, I would remove the motherboard from the case to make accessing the pins easier (for fingers and eyes). Then very carefully, with small needle nose pliers, straighten the pins. But be warned, the metal in these pins have poor "tensile strength". They are not intended to be bent so they are not designed to be flexible. The pins have already been bent once (out of proper orientation). Bending them again to straighten them out may, if you are unlucky, be one-time too many and the pin(s) may break. Then you are out of luck.

If you are able to straighten them without breaking, then while still out of the case, I would try to insert the connector. Note these connections are "keyed". They can only go in one way. Someone trying to insert it wrong is probably how the pins got bent in the first place.

Inserting the connector out of the case does a couple things. First, it lets you more clearly see which way the connector goes. Referring to your motherboard and case manual can help here. You need to make sure Pin #1 of the motherboard connector mates up with Pin#1's socket on the plug. Once you determine properly orientation, you might mark the plug and connector. A dot on one end from a white or silver marker, or dab of red fingernail polish works.

The second thing inserting the plug outside the case does is verify the connection can be made and might help "fine tune" the alignment of the re-straightened pins.

If not successful, you may need to get an external USB hub connected to one of the rear USB ports.

Good luck.

 

[eidairaman1]

hi guys i am having trouble connecting the front usb panel connectors from my case to my motherboard , somehow they have been bent in a few places and i am not sure what to do next the system works ok without the front usb ports but i want to get them to function as they should and am wondering what to do

WITH POWER SUPPLY UNPLUGGED FROM WALL.

Straighten the pins using a large bore mechanical pencil, or tweezers.

Follow your motherboard manual, if you have to trace wires from the plug to the case do so. Also the plug ends are polarized (+-) make sure + goes to + and - goes to -

If you think you might bend pins, go to a shop or have a friend with steady hands do it.

If your montherboard came with a FP block accessory use it.

 

[paulwarden]

hi guiys many thanks will be taking the motherboard out of my case tomorrow and having a go at sorting out the pins will let you know how i got on and any way if i can not get it sorted i can still use the motherboard i just can not plug any usbs into the front panel headers

 

[eidairaman1]

hi guiys many thanks will be taking the motherboard out of my case tomorrow and having a go at sorting out the pins will let you know how i got on and any way if i can not get it sorted i can still use the motherboard i just can not plug any usbs into the front panel headers

There are separate headers for usb 2, usb 3 etc. The fp header block is for pwr sw, rst sw, spkr, hdd led, pwr led. I do recall that usb 2 plugs were separate like fp connectors at times, others were just 1 plug.