Presario 7PL290 (Presario 7000) connectors
 

The Presario 7PL290 (Presario 7000) has two 9-pin cables with connectors from
the front of the case. The computer has a firewire card with a keyed 9-pin
connector and a similar 9-pin connector on the motherboard. I replaced the
motherboard after determining that it was failing, but I did not take note of
which 9-pin cable connects where. One cable consists of 9 separate wire
strands, the other is a ribbon cable. The one with 9 separate wires would
appear to be the right length to attach to the firewire card, and the other one
seems not to have enough length. Before I try connecting the wires and risk
burning out the motherboard, any idea which cable goes where?

Thanks a bunch... Ben Myers

Hi Ben

I assume by now you have figure out the correct connections, but, just in
case, the cable with separate wires is for the firewire card, the Ribbon
cable goes to the mother board (I assume it is for USB).

I also have a 7PL290 and my system hangs quite frequently. I have tried
many different thinks and none have worked so far. What symptom did you
have? What motherboard did you change to?

Thanks
- Alex

The computer belonged to a client, and had a lot of issues, shutting down
unexpectedly, etc. I installed an Intel-branded Pentium 4 board, partially
reinstalled XP, and the system is fine. I also had to reactivate Windows XP,
and needed to call Microsoft to do so because the motherboard did not have a
Compaq BIOS. The Microsoft person did not give me grief, gave me an activation
code. Client is happy with the result which is much faster and more reliable.

.... Ben Myers

On Sun, 07 Aug 2005 15:32:05 -0400, "AlexA6404" wrote:

Hi Ben

I assume by now you have figure out the correct connections, but, just in
case, the cable with separate wires is for the firewire card, the Ribbon
cable goes to the mother board (I assume it is for USB).

I also have a 7PL290 and my system hangs quite frequently. I have tried
many different thinks and none have worked so far. What symptom did you
have? What motherboard did you change to?

Thanks
- Alex

Thanks for your reply Ben. What motherboard did you replace the original
with? Can I get the manufacturer and the model # from you? Also, did you
have to replace any other components (such as graphics card, power supply,
etc.) with the new motherboard?

My client had previously installed an nVidia chipset graphics card to replace
the Compaq original. The Compaq power supply had an auxiliary 12v power
connector required by a Pentium 4, so it was left in place after a lot of
testing. Obviously, a memory replacement would be required with most Pentium 4
boards. All but the earliest Pentium 4 boards use 184-pin DDR memory rather
than 168-pin SDRAM. Compaq uses a non-standard connector for its front-panel
USB, so I did not tinker with front-panel wiring so that the replacement board
would also have front-panel USB. To compensate, most Pentium 4 boards have at
least 4 or possibly 6 USB ports in the back.

In this instance, the motherboard I used as a replacement was an Intel D865PERL,
a full-sized ATX board. Any Intel-branded microATX or full ATX board with 845,
865 or 875 chipset will fit. Other people may recommend other brands, but Intel
branded boards have a predictability that I like... Ben Myers

On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 10:56:18 -0400, "AlexA6404" wrote:

Thanks for your reply Ben. What motherboard did you replace the original
with? Can I get the manufacturer and the model # from you? Also, did you
have to replace any other components (such as graphics card, power supply,
etc.) with the new motherboard?