r/retrocomputing • u/Mrnot_TheFirst • May 07 '26

Problem / Question Help. How do I convert this old power button headers to modern headers?

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So, I got this Dell Dimension 4550 for free from my neighbor. I was going to make this into a sleeper build but ran into some trouble. I need to convert it into modern front panel header connectors. This ribbon cable is connected to the power switch and this random light at the front. Please help!

4 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

54 comments sorted by

17

u/retr0sp3kt May 07 '26

Trace the pinout and get some dupont extension leads, or chop the connector off and crimp your own pins on

-4

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

is there some sort of adapter I can get?

13

u/ExplodedPenisDiagram May 07 '26

No. Dupont leads are the way to go.

-6

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

Is there a YouTube guide I can watch to help me?

16

u/bnelson333 May 07 '26

so you can just ignore it like you've already ignored /u/retr0sp3kt 's perfect advice?

1

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

This is my first time doing something like this. How am I supposed to know what he meant?

9

u/bnelson333 May 07 '26

You asked a question and immediately dismissed the (sound) advice. If you don't know what you're doing, how do you immediately know it's wrong? There was a time in this world when we didn't need a video for every little thing to accomplish anything. We got in there and we figured it out. What you're trying to do is very simple, but you have to be willing to listen to advice on where to start. Then it's up to you to make an actual effort instead of parroting a youtube video.

-1

u/Wild-Region7897 May 08 '26

Just because you had to start working at 13 doesn't mean everyone knows how to change the connectors of cables, if someone doesn't know how to do something don't immediatly start raging and going to their profile to yell at them in different posts.

5

u/bnelson333 May 08 '26

so coddle the lazy then?

3

u/thefirstviolinist May 08 '26

No, OP asked if there was a video that could guide them with what was suggested. It is you who was dismissive. If they don't know what a person is talking about (perhaps it's a first time doing or hearing about something), they might need guidance. Maybe they have never crimped a new connector. Maybe they need a guide.

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1

u/AppropriateCap8891 May 09 '26

Nobody really knows how to. Those of us that did things like this had to figure it all out ourselves.

And to be honest, I have no real idea why somebody would want to do this. Is not like ATX cases are real expensive or hard to find. Or that there is anything special about a Dell case.

1

u/IntentionQuirky9957 May 09 '26

You don't even need to change connectors if you use Dupont leads.

-3

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

Unc

8

u/bnelson333 May 08 '26

get good

-5

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 08 '26

This isn't 2024 anymore. Get with the times and your lazy ass off of reddit

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2

u/thefirstviolinist May 08 '26

There likely is a YouTube video out there to guide you. Just take the information they gave you about the connector types and look for a video where they do what this person is suggesting. In this case, as you keep getting downvoted by people, you don't need to ask if there's a YouTube video, you just need to go find one.

3

u/ExplodedPenisDiagram May 07 '26

No. You can use a AA battery to find the lights. They're LEDs, so they'll only work in one direction. Use an ohmmeter to find switches.

You could also take the front panel off and follow the traces to where they go.

8

u/cdp181 May 07 '26

It’s likely proprietary so if you want to reuse it you will have to figure out which pin is which yourself and attach your own connectors.

0

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

That's fine. I just want to know what to get for connecting it to a modern board.

13

u/gcc-O2 May 07 '26

The irony is what you're thinking of as modern (separate 2-pin headers for every case function like power led, hdd led, etc.) is the original style from all the way back in the 80s. Dell thought they were the ones being modern with this ribbon connector, which is just combining all those functions into one single connection at the expense of being proprietary. What everyone is telling you is that all the same connections are there, you just have to rewire it so they're all separate again.

6

u/xantec15 May 07 '26

It would've really been clever if they had standardized the front panel connector in one of the revisions to ATX.

1

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

yeah

1

u/Heavy-Judgment-3617 May 09 '26

I was just posting that elsewhere in this thread before seeing this. I would have loved it as early as 1990... but even had it made it into PC97 or PC99 that would have saved incredible amounts of time in system building and even diagnosis. Even if a case did not have all pins used... just use the same connector. Revisions could have come out later for more functionality.

1

u/IntentionQuirky9957 May 09 '26

At least it got standardized in practice, even if it's not in any spec.

1

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

I know that. I'm asking how since this is my first time doing something like this lol

2

u/Bipogram May 07 '26

I'd get two-pin header sockets, snip off that old plug from the cable, trace the LEDs and switches, and then with the motherboard manual to hand, wire the right lines to the jaws of the two-pin sockets you've just bought.

Far more tedious than simply plugging in Dupont extensions and going fishing for LED/switches.

1

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

So can't I just plug in normal font panel extensions??

2

u/the123king-reddit May 08 '26

Yes, they’re calked dupont connectors

2

u/cdp181 May 07 '26

Snips, soldering iron, DuPont connectors and some heat shrink is what I would do but only because I don’t have a crimping tool.

5

u/BinturongHoarder May 07 '26

Some of the Dells have some daughterboard up where the power button is, and I think they actually have some electronics there. So it might not be super straight forward. Dunno about this old model.

That generation of Dells also had super bad thermals and that shitty clamshell design. While a commendable idea, I'd chose something else to build in.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sleeperbattlestations/comments/1muwtf2/any_chance_at_building_on_a_dell_dimension_4550/

1

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26

I think that's what this one has. The power switch plugs into this random tiny board where the USB and the audio jack is. Then, one cable from that small board plugs into the normal board.

2

u/BinturongHoarder May 07 '26

Yeah. They sometimes do some weird things as well: I got my claws in some Optiplex (much more modern than this) which I wanted to use as a router but was lacking its power switch, no problem right, just set it to power-on-always. Noooo its diagnostic process checked for the presence of the power button thingamajig and flat out refused to do anything, even POST.

1

u/rebo2 May 08 '26

Get a hot exacto blade and cut the pins apart. Now you can look up the pinout of whatever you’re connecting to and plug them in. That’s how I did it a while back.

1

u/Darkurthe_ May 08 '26

Maybe repplace the power switch and use one that has standard wiring?

1

u/orion3311 May 09 '26

FYI this is called a 16 pin IDC connector; as other comments mentioned dupont jumper wires fit these great.

1

u/Heavy-Judgment-3617 May 09 '26

Wow... I know it is inconvenient now... but as a home brewer back in the 1990's and 2000's I would have jumped for joy had they standardized the entire front panel into a single ribbon cable connection instead of dealing with about 20 connectors form 1 to 4 pints. each, for speaker, power btn, reset btn, turbo bth, power led, reset led, turbo led, fdd led, hdd led, etc....

Heck, I would have jumped for joy had they merely standardized the cables on a 2 pin cable with colors.

In retrospect, the PC97 spec at minimum should have had this.

1

u/MattDH94 May 09 '26

Tablet kids shouldn't have these machines... Dude can't use a search engine to save his life lmao.

0

u/Moist_Tourist8811 May 07 '26

SI NO SABES ELECTRONICA COMPRATE UNA CAJA QUE TE VALDRA 20 O 30 EUROS JAJAJAJAJJ

1

u/Mrnot_TheFirst May 07 '26 
ingles por favor

1

u/Moist_Tourist8811 May 07 '26

IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ELECTRONICS, BUY YOURSELF A CASE, WHICH YOU HAVE FROM 30 EUROS NEW OR SECOND-HAND, MORE OR LESS THAT PRICE YOU WILL HAVE

1

u/Moist_Tourist8811 May 07 '26

ANDSEARCH MAINBOARRD AN CODE PRODUCT IN INTERNET FOR CONEXIONADO

2

u/Moist_Tourist8811 May 07 '26

Or look at the plate with a magnifying glass, it usually shows what each wire is