Front Casing To Tower
 

Recently the Cd Rom spring and it's attachment to the door of my case broke-

I requested a new case from ZT Systems; the manufacturer.
I'm almost certain that they sent me the wrong casing-

This is what I have:
http://s1052.photobucket.com/user/Ul...tml?sort=3&o=0

And this is what they sent me:
http://s1052.photobucket.com/user/Ul...tml?sort=3&o=1

In an e-mail a ZT Rep wrote back to me and told me that they no longer have the casing that I curently have but the one they sent me would do the same-

Surely, there is a difference and before I disconnect the cables and go thru all that mess I wanted to get someones take on this. ;)

Looking at my current case; the usb ports are in a vertical position.
The new casing show's the usb ports in a horizontal position.
How can this work?

The headphone jack and mic jack on the front of the current case is also not in the same place as the new case.
Will I have to move internal parts to a different location?

There are 3 black and red cables attatched to the inside of this new case do they plug into the mobo?

I looked on the company's website and there is not a pdf or any help for installation of the new case.
http://www.ztsystems.com/Default.aspx?tabid=804

Any help is greatly appreciated as this seems like a confusing mess!

Have you looked inside your existing case yet? Front ports are connected to the motherboard via cables so location and position is not important.

The new case might have an included information sheet that shows the cables and they even might be labelled.

Without being able to actually see the cabling between the two cases at the moment there is nothing to indicate that the new case will not work.

Haven't looked inside the case yet but plan to this evening.

Unfourtunately the new case did not come with any documentation and when I spoke to the Rep on the phone he said
when I receive the part call him and he'll walk me thru it.

Guess I will have to repeatedly put the phone down.

Didn't know location and position is not important--
THANKS

The motherboard manual might have a picture or a table showing the connector layout. A number or label might also be printed near the connector on the board which will aid you in connecting the case wires.

You might have to trace the case cables back to the port to identify them.

The cables on the old panel may be the same as those on the new one -- if so then taking a photo of all the connections the old panel has to the motherboard could help you greatly.
In my experience, the sound and USB connections (the card reader may well attach to a USB header) are easy as they're generally labelled on the motherboard and have plugs that are somewhat shaped to fit the sockets. The power button, reset button (if there) and indicator lights for power and disk activity, on the other hand, may be colour coded wires and a little trickier to work out -- if you're lucky though they'll be on a connector too and that will just plug in.

I'm thinking I'll do that. This way it will solve a lot of confusion and possible hassel--

Hope connecting the new case and it's 3 cables is fairly easy to connect to the motherboard.
I found the motherboard book online. I'll look through the PDF again and look more closely at the pictures of the board-

I'll open the tower after I purchase the new ATI PCI Radeon card I planned on purchasing.
This way while the case is apart I can install the card and connect the new casing all at one time.

Opening my tower is really not my (theorectically speaking) cup of tea!:(

Thank You! 273!:hattip:

Ah, if it has 3 cables you're fine. Just take a note of where the old ones are attached and be mindful of which way up the connectors go (they should only fit one way unless you really force them).

Member Response
 

Hi,

The port cables will have a keyed plug so you cannot put the cable connector in wrong. USB has a different connector & layout/configuration than the sound connector.

Your big concern would be the re-location of the front panel connectors from the bottom to the top therefore needing longer cables..

I do suggest that you get the motherboard manufactures name, model number and go to their site to look up a downloadable PDF for the motherboard models manual. Most motherboard manuals do have pictured layouts to identify port connections.

BTW, most case inter-connectors do have stamped labeling on the motherboard end of the connector to identify. As I stated earlier the plugs do have plugged hole for a key to prevent errant placement. If not you could always apply your own label via masking tape & ball point pen to identify for future insertion. :)

Hope this helps.

Very helpful!

Won't force the plugs as I'll have a even bigger issue--
And since they only fit one way it should be obvious; (should be)

I'll have to look at the MSI motherboard book that came with my system to be sure about the placement of the plugs.
Should I not find it there it has to be (you would think) in the PDF.
I will look again.

Sure is frustrating to one who is just getting to know the motherboard, processor and other architecture.

Member Response
 

Hi,

Most system manuals that I have seen are downloadable 'PDF'.

Just finished up looking at the PDF for my MSI board-
I read through all the Maninboard Specification; chipset, Ram, Lan, and etc.-
I now know what I can upgrade if I want- Anyway:

In regard to the Onboard Connections the PDF mentions these which BTW are new to me and I would have to physically identify to have this certainty knowing what is what- (that's what Google is for) :
Now 6 mounting holes are mentioned but I'm a tad foggy on that and what it is an indication of-
(learning as I go)

Here's the link to the mobo:-
http://www.ger-pol.nazwa.pl/pliki/so...75011X1%29.pdf

OK, so, in the order that the instructions list them these are the places you'll be attaching cables:
From page 2-14 JAUD1 is for your headphone and microphone sockets on the front of the PC.
From page 2-15 JUSB1, JUSB2 and JUSB3 are for the USB ports. You may be using two of these -- a quick look inside the case will tell you which one[s].
From page 2-16 JFP1 takes care of the power and reset switches and the lights for power on and hard disk activity.
All these are labelled on page 2-2 and are in pretty standard places so the cables provided on the new front panel ought to be the right sort of length to reach to them.
Looking at some photos of your motherboard on google it looks like you may have to take note of which way up the connectors are before you remove them as the headers on the motherboard don't look to be "keyed" to make it obvious -- that may just be poor quality photos though.

LOL. Those are the holes for the screws that attach the MB to the case. I doubt you will be removing those.