SUPER HOT DEAL! NEWEGG.COM....

[puppyfriend]

Wow, looks like what I got at Fry's last fall for free. That one was made by Soyo though and came with 2 USB 2 ports.

David

 

[jcoltrane]

Originally posted by: rs

So I cut up an extra usb cable (cutting off the plug + few inches of wire,) popped the clips on the apacer header, and soldered the bare wires on to the pins in a way that I could reinsert the pins into the header.

Looks like this might be a solution, then. But which wire on the apacer plug goes to which wire on the cut-up USB cable?

Just match up the colors (red to red, green to green, etc.). Easy as pie. Since I'm not much for soldering, I just ripped off the header plug, connected the wires together by color, taped each of them up with some electrical tape. Plugged the sucker in and it was good to go. Not an elegant solution, and since I don't have any internal ports it means that I have a usb cord sticking out the back of my system plugged into one of my external ports, but what the hell. It Works!

 

[rs]

The apacer unit has two sets of inputs (apparantly one for its single usb port and one for the card reader functions). Did you combine both sets into the one makeshift USB plug, or did you make two different USB plugs?

Second question: Better yet, can anyone advise me on this? On my Dimension 8250 I can't find any USB pin outs on the motherboard. But the motherboard connects via one of those big ribbon cables to a small board on the front of the PC, which is the board that contains the front external USB 2.0 ports. On THAT board are two groups of pin-outs. One has 5 pins, one has 4. They are not directly above eachother but are relatively near eachother. However, neither is identified as to purpose, nor as to which is Pin 1. Any idea whether I can plug into either of them? Physically they'd connect, of course, but I don't want to damage the card reader. (Big warning on the reader that if you connect its pin 1 to the wrong pin you'll blow it up and they're not responsible.) Sorry for the tech question on the hot deals page, please don't flame. (But please do help!

By the way, the apacer unit looks very nice, and does come with both beige and black faceplates. Assuming I can make it work, I'm glad I bought it.

 

[jcoltrane]

I was in the exact same boat as you, except I have a Dimension 4550, but the concerns are identical. I asked around to both Dell techs and on the community and no one could tell me what those pins on the front i/o panel were for.

I didn't risk it and just spliced the usb cable like I posted above. I didn't splice the connection for the usb port on the apacer unit, as I already have two extra usb ports on that front i/o panel and I don't need a third. Just spliced the connection for the flash reader.

The way I see it, you have 3 choices:

1) Harass the Dell techs until you finally find someone who's worth their salt and can tell you what those pins on the back of the front i/o panel are for.

2) Be braver than I was and just try plugging it into those pins and see if it works (You can experiment by trying just the usb port connection and if it fries you probably won't lose the flash reader).

3) Splice the usb cable. Relatively easy and sure to work, but not the most visually appealing solution.

If you've got any questions about option #3, just ask. Happy to help if I can.

 

[rs]

<FONT size=3>
> 1) Harass the Dell techs until you finally find someone can
> tell you what those pins on the back of the front i/o panel are for.

I spent a few hours harassing Dell yesterday. They were completely clueless. Finally I was summarily told (supposedly by level 3 tech support) that information on what those pins do is "proprietary" and that they will not divulge it. (Read: he does not know the answer and is too lazy to research it.)

> 2) Be braver than I was and just try plugging it into
> those pins and see if it works (You can experiment
> by trying just the usb port connection and if it fries
> you probably won't lose the flash reader).

I thought about that. But how did you identify which plug was which? They are not labeled as to which is for the USB port and which is for the card reader. They look identical except that one has a green band around the cable. The apacer manual does not identify what the green band means. (Yes, I know I can try one and then the other and find out by process of elimination, but since you've done it can you save me the step?)</FONT>

 

[jcoltrane]

It says on a slip of paper in the packaging that the plug with the green sticker on it is the one for the flash reader. The other one is the one for the usb port.

FYI, be careful when handling the cord, as it is just plugged into two tiny little connectors on the reader. If it is tugged on too much, it can come out of those connectors and then you have to use tweezers or something similar to get it plugged back in, as they are somewhat inaccessable. A bit of a pain, and to be avoided if possible.

Although, if you are experimenting with plugging it into the pins on the i/o panel and you want to be sure not to fry the flash reader, you can unplug the cord from the flash reader side to be absolutely sure not to fry it.

 

[rs]

> <FONT size=3>It says on a slip of paper in the packaging that the plug with the
> green sticker on it is the one for the flash reader.

Thanks. My unit was missing that piece of paper. I knew that green sticker had to mean something!</FONT>

 

[Mthrboard]

For those of you who have the Dell computers with the front header, you can find out what those pins in the front are with a multimeter and a little research. First you'll want to unplug the ribbon cable so it's not in your way. If you can remove the circuit board from the front of the case easily, I'd recommend doing that, it'll be a lot easier to work with that way. Switch the multimeter into ohmmeter mode. If you look inside the USB port, you'll see the center plug has four metal contacts in it. Use one of the multimeter probes to touch one of the contacts, then use the other probe to test each pin on that header. When you find the pin(s) that zero out, write it down. Repeat the process until you've mapped each contact in the USB port to the proper pin(s). Here's the standard layout for a USB port, as well as the standard colors:

+----------+
| --------- |
| 1 2 3 4 |
+----------+

1 = +5v = Red
2 = -Data = White
3 = +Data = Green
4 = Gnd = Black

Using this information, as well as the pinouts you gathered, you should be able to determine how to plug the reader into that header, assuming it is a USB header.

 

[crapito]

this title sucks.

 

[SharkyTM]

Originally posted by: crapito
this title sucks.

umm... thats been mentioned before... i see where you got your nick...

 

[kennyG]

I to see what you mean SharkyTM..He got his name and it fits

Mom allway's said if you nothing good to say..shut Up!
Anyway I just order one of these for my new system..thanks for the HEADS UP!!