Alternative power on/off switch NEED HELP

[fleego17]

Hey hope someone can help me here!

My friend gave me his old Dell Dimension 1100 (Desktop A)as the mobo was fried. I diagnosed this after disconnecting all IDE/Power cables etc etc..now I'm a noob and ive never built a computer in my life but im sure you all know the famous dell diagnosis (ABCD LEDs) ...as per the manual after disconnecting all components and powered at the mains, none of the LEDs lit up and the fan powered on = mobo fried)

Idea #1 - Purchase a new mobo

A replacement mobo for this just as expensive as buying a fully working pc in used but good condition.. so.....pointless, but I found a solution (almost)

Idea #2 - Rebuild a fully working desktop - using Desktop Aand another
old spare Dell Dimension 8200 (Desktop B) which had no PSU and had been lying up gathering dust. I removed all the components from within and rebuilt a fully functioning desktop/reinstalled winxp/drivers and its running perfect.

Desktop A + Desktop B = Desktop C
​

-----Main Issue----

To power on Desktop C It has to be powered off at the mains then standard bios reset/remove CMOS battery for 30 secs while touching the inner metal casing to ground myself (not fry any working components inside). After that I power on at the mains again and it and loads my new installed windows within 30 secs and is running superb!

Reason for the issue

The power button cable from Desktop A connects directly to its own (now useles mobo) ...but does not connect directly to the new Desktop B mobo as this model has a front control panel/FCP which then connects to the mobo.
The FCP has 2 x USB ports and an audio connector along with a 16 pin lead that connects the USBs, audio and the frickin power on/off button.

Solution #1 - I have enabled the bios AC recovery so for now the pc is fully functional as long as you use the mains to power it on/off each time (powering off at mains can cause data loss = NOT GOOD) . If the user shuts down windows normally then the AC recovery OBVIOUSLY does not work so there I have to reset the bios again. Im doing this for my friends mother (same friend who gave me Desktop A to see if I could fix it.
I know the overall specs of this machine fully working wont be much (RDRAM LOL) compared to a modern computer but she only needs it to last 6 months of studies - MS Word will be the only software used/installed.


Solution #2 - Find an alternative way to power it on/off. Anyway to short circuit the mobo where the power pins are (I cant seem to find them) but ive read other forums of people saying it is possible...but risky..or I was thinking of trying this.. Alternative ways to Power On a PC [Solved] - Cases - Systems

anyway solution #2 has not happened yet so ive come here to you guys for help!

Thanks in advance

 

[carnageX]

When you say FCP, do you mean like a quick-connector, where all the case wire connectors go into it? Are you able to trace which pins are for the power switch in the quick connector? Do you know the pin layout for the motherboard's pin headers that you cannibalized from Desktop A? You could always hook up the power switch directly to the pins (if exposed).

 

[Joe C]

The Dell 8200 (B) has a front panel connector that kinda looks like an IDE cable...This is proprietary and unless you can determine where each wire goes on that cable, it won't work with the 1100 (A) case front panel connectors, Even if you did figure out the wiring you'd need to convert the cable ends

Dell 1100(A)
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...ktops/dimension-1100_Service Manual_en-us.pdf
Dell 8200(B)
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...esktops/dimension-8200_user's guide_en-us.pdf

A+B = No See

 

[fleego17]

The Dell 8200 (B) has a front panel connector that kinda looks like an IDE cable...This is proprietary and unless you can determine where each wire goes on that cable, it won't work with the 1100 (A) case front panel connectors, Even if you did figure out the wiring you'd need to convert the cable ends

Dell 1100(A)
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...ktops/dimension-1100_Service Manual_en-us.pdf
Dell 8200(B)
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...esktops/dimension-8200_user's guide_en-us.pdf

A+B = No See

Thanks for your replies guys it means alot really... Ill look into what you both have said and take some pics if i have to.. like i said im a noob pc building/components but im learning fast as Im very technically minded in general

will update

 

[fleego17]

ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION FOUND

I discovered the "Remote wake up" option in the bios Power section along side AC Recovery, I never knew this was possible but now Desktop C powers on when a signal is sent from amy network/LAN.

I plugged an Ethernet cable from my laptop (while powered on OBV) to Desktop C and
it started up. Problem solved in regards to finding a new way to power it on, as my friends mum uses the computer right next to the wireless router she has always used a LAN connection.

You can use this feature to power on ur pc from a different location i googled it:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=r...hannel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=_ccSVNafF4OA7QbzrIDQBQ

Still determined to fix the power button (I have another dell optiplex GX270 which has the exact same Front control panel and the same cable, i used that cable to see if it would work but it didn't so this have to do as i know for sure its the actual power buton/led circuit itself thats broke and its too much hassle to open the front of them without breaking so for all its worth Im a happy dude

Thanks anyways dudes!! Peace!

 

[carnageX]

ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION FOUND

I discovered the "Remote wake up" option in the bios Power section along side AC Recovery, I never knew this was possible but now Desktop C powers on when a signal is sent from amy network/LAN.

I plugged an Ethernet cable from my laptop (while powered on OBV) to Desktop C and
it started up. Problem solved in regards to finding a new way to power it on, as my friends mum uses the computer right next to the wireless router she has always used a LAN connection.

You can use this feature to power on ur pc from a different location i googled it:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=r...hannel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=_ccSVNafF4OA7QbzrIDQBQ

Still determined to fix the power button (I have another dell optiplex GX270 which has the exact same Front control panel and the same cable, i used that cable to see if it would work but it didn't so this have to do as i know for sure its the actual power buton/led circuit itself thats broke and its too much hassle to open the front of them without breaking so for all its worth Im a happy dude

Thanks anyways dudes!! Peace!

That feature is called "Wake on LAN" in case you're looking into it more.

You can set it up so you can send what's called a "magic packet" remotely (over the internet), and when that magic packet hits your router, you have a port forward rule setup to direct it to your PC (you'd have to set a static internal network IP for your system, e.g. 192.168.1.x, where x is some #), and then the BIOS would send the turn on signal if WOL is enabled in BIOS. Rough overview, anyway.

 

[Joe C]

You can get a Dimension 1100 replacement board on Ebay for around £ 25.00, But a very old board would hardly be worth the time and £££ just to play around with
Dell 1100 motherboard | eBay

 

[fleego17]

Computer up n running fine, Its installing all the basic updates as we speak, but like i said guys thanks for your time, now to go snap all the plastics back onto the front panel!

Cheers and i send my final greets from Ireland

take care guys, il be back here if i need more help for sure!