Installing a front USB 3.0 panel


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Hi. Just wondering if you meant to post a different link in your 3rd link? As it's the same as the 2nd.

 

EDIT: Unless of course, that mini card could fit in to one of the bigger slots?

 

Sorry yes i meant the front panel:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-Drive-Front-Bracket-Adapter/dp/B000HLZXH2/ref=pd_bxgy_computers_img_z

 

You can fit it it any pci-e slot

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I currently have a card reader in one slot which has 1 USB 2.0 port.

 

I saw this while browsing Amazon...

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Speed-reader-Multi-function-panel/dp/B00MO864W4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1419887381&sr=8-4&keywords=front+panel+usb+3.0

 

It could replace the card reader while adding additional USB port & making them both 3.0.

 

I assume the USB plug plugs in to the USB pins on the MOBO (that the existing reader plugs in to)

 

And the blue ended lead will plug in to the card at the rear you linked to.

 

I guess this would be a variation with even MORE USB slots:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Akasa-Interconnect-Front-Panel-Reader/dp/B005VPRDRW/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1419887381&sr=8-11&keywords=front+panel+usb+3.0

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Both the ones you linked to would do the job fine but just the 2 USB3 sockets would be running at USB3 spec. All the other card readers and possible USB2 sockets will only run at USB2 speed.

And just as you said, of the 2 female sockets one would replace the card reader allready in place on the motherboard and the other would plug into the new Anker USpeed card.

Should be done in a jiffy :)

 

Good luck...

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Yeah i'm fine with that.

 

I figured i currently have a panel on the front offering card reading with 1 USB 2.0 port. The panel that's been linked has been a 2 port USB 3.0 panel, so why not switch out the current one for one that offers the same plus an extra 3 USB 2.0 ports and an extra 2 USB 3.0 ports :) Win-Win :)

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Just wondering what is the difference between these 2 PCI cards:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inateck-Superspeed-Ports-PCI-E-Expansion/dp/B00B6ZCNGM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420154084&sr=8-1&keywords=pci+to+usb+card

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inateck-Express-Connector-Controller-Internal/dp/B00E59W1G8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420154084&sr=8-3&keywords=pci+to+usb+card

 

Forget that on the rear one is 4 USB ports & the other is 2, i mean on the actual card itself. The 4 port has only 1 connector whereas the 2 port has 2 connections on the card.

 

Why is that?

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The card with the four USB ports on the backplate does not have an internal header for USB 3.0....whereas the 2 port one does.

 

They both have an internal SATA port.

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Ahh that's what that is.

 

In that case then...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inateck-Express-Connector-Controller-Internal/dp/B00FPIMJEW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1420216058&sr=8-4&keywords=pci+to+usb+3.0+card

 

will be the one i require?

 

I just figure that if i'm going to have a panel at the rear then i may as well have one with 4 ports rather than 2. May as well have too many ports than not enough.

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Well because the room is quite cluttered right now i've just wasted over an hour trying to get this sorted.

 

Can any of you advise what i've done wrong?

 

I bought these items:

 

Card: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inateck-Express-Connector-Controller-Internal/dp/B00FPIMJEW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1420216058&sr=8-4&keywords=pci+to+usb+3.0+card

Front Panel: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Akasa-Interconnect-Front-Panel-Reader/dp/B005VPRDRW/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1419887381&sr=8-11&keywords=front+panel+usb+3.0

 

I installed the card in to the white slot (2nd slot up from the bottom of the board - check page 1) as it wouldn't slot in to the bottom light blue slot.

I installed the front panel.

 

Then came the connecting up part...

 

The card had a cable which had a big sata connection on one end, a sata connection on the other end (big) & a white plastic 4 pin connector.

 

I connected the sata connection to the sata slot on the card. I had nowhere else to connect the other sata connection. The 4 pin white plug i plugged in to a similar looking one from my PSU but that was holes, not pins.

 

From the front panel was the blue USB thing as shown on page 1. I connected this to the card.

Also was a mini connector labelled USB which i plugged in to the base of the motherboard.

Also from this was a small sata connector which i plugged to my remaining sata connection on a mini card i have installed which gives off extra sata ports.

Finally there was another one of those white socket things with 4 pins. I found another white socket thing with holes & connected these up.

 

I then turned the PC on...

 

And it wouldn't get past the very first page of "loading asus express gate". It just wouldn't budge.

 

In the end i had to remove everything & put it back to how it was.

 

Turned the PC on again & it gave me an error message saying it couldn't load express gate. I restarted the PC & everything then seemed fine.

 

 

Obviously i'm now without USB3 ports.

 

Why didn't this work?

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Filled out the Amazon form to return the items.

Would be handy to know why it didn't work though in case I try to install just USB ports at the front & not a card reader also as I did.

HUBS - if you have a hub running from a port, does each port on the hub receive the full speed quota or is it divided?

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I installed the card in to the white slot (2nd slot up from the bottom of the board - check page 1) as it wouldn't slot in to the bottom light blue slot.

I installed the front panel.

 

Why don't you try the small dark blue slot (PCI-E x1) at the top? Obviously a PCI-E card would not fit in the light blue PCI slot.

 

The card had a cable which had a big sata connection on one end, a sata connection on the other end (big) & a white plastic 4 pin connector.

I connected the sata connection to the sata slot on the card. I had nowhere else to connect the other sata connection. The 4 pin white plug i plugged in to a similar looking one from my PSU but that was holes, not pins.

 

From the front panel...

Also from this was a small sata connector which i plugged to my remaining sata connection on a mini card i have installed which gives off extra sata ports.

Finally there was another one of those white socket things with 4 pins. I found another white socket thing with holes & connected these up.

 

I can't understand what you did there. You should've taken pictures of the setup. It's too late now. Draw it for us, if possible.

 

This is how it should look like.

 

Oq9VGSvl.jpg

 

If there is no SATA power connector at the back of the front panel and there is only a white 4-pin Molex, then connect that directly to the PSU.

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Why don't you try the small dark blue slot (PCI-E x1) at the top? Obviously a PCI-E card would not fit in the light blue PCI slot.

 

Because i already have a card in that slot that provides me 2 more SATA ports.

All the ones on the MOBO itself are occupied. I have 2x HDDs, 2x SSDs, a Blu Ray Drive & a standard re-writer drive. Between all that my MOBO sata connectors were taken up so i needed another.

 

 

 

 

This is how it should look like.

 

Oq9VGSvl.jpg

 

If there is no SATA power connector at the back of the front panel and there is only a white 4-pin Molex, then connect that directly to the PSU.

That's where i'm going wrong.

 

The differences were:

 

I sent the sata power port to the PCI card i just mentioned.

The molex from each went straight to the spare molex's i found in the case.

The cable you say to connect to the PSU i didn't connect to anything since i had no spare connections for that.

 

I haven't yet sent it back, just applied for a return. Looks like i'll have to try again LoL.

 

Thanks for clearing that up.

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...

So I gather that there is no SATA power port at the back of the front panel, right? Just a 4-pin Molex?

 

In that case, it should look like this:

 

ZF1jhUvl.jpg

Note: There is no need to attach the card and the panel together with a power cable. Each one should be connected to the PSU separately.

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Sorry if i wasn't clear enough. I'll tell you exactly what comes with which...

 

CARD READER HAS:

 

20pin USB 3.0 female.

9pin USB small female

Small SATA cable

red & black wires which feed to a 4 pin male molex. Off this comes a 4pin female molex.

 

CARD HAS:

 

As you can see in the image - on the card itself, a slot for the USB 3.0 lead

A slot for a big SATA connection lead

 

ALSO IN THE CARD BOX:

 

A cable with big SATA connections. One that's stamped up "SATA POWER" on one end which has wires running off this to 2 SATA connectors.

A second cable which has a 4 pin male molex & at the other end is 2 SATA connectors. Bigger than the ones that plug in to the MOBO but same size as what i just mentioned.

 

IN THE COMPUTER ITSELF:

 

I see 2x 4 pin female molex although one of these is stamped up HDD/DVD. The other one is a white connector with no stamp.

The SATA leads which (for example) the DVD drive etc connect to (the big ended SATA leads) are all occupied.

 

 

Hope this paints a better picture for you. Sorry for my earlier wishy-washy description. It was a little poor lol.

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Umm... a picture would've been much better.

 

Anyway, just follow that picture I posted. You'd have to use the Molex connectors since there are no free SATA power cables on the PSU.

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No problem.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FPIMJEW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00 That is what came with the card. The first image shows. Although taking a look i didn't pay any attention to the yellow/black/black/red sequence so perhaps i had it in reverse.

 

The card reader is like so:

post-37542-0-05935800-1420668069.jpg

I didn't photo the blue USB 20 pin connector as it obviously has one.

Annoying how the photo looks real clear on my iPhone yet real dark on the PC.

 

The 2 small connectors - left one USB plug in to MOBO & right one SATA. I know where the USB one plugs in to since the current card reader plugs in to there right now.

 

Another image of the rear but unfortunately small:

611Yrmm2u1L._SL256_.jpg

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...

Yes, just a molex connector, no SATA power cable, so just follow my last picture, but since I have a lot of free time and like doing stuff in paint: :D

 

XvzSt7rl.jpg

 

EDIT: Actually, you should be able to do it this way too, if you want to.

 

4e1nfA0l.jpg

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Hmm strange then because i'm sure that is how i did it.

 

The USB from the reader obviously goes only 1 place - the card.

I have only female molex connectors on the PSU so the male from the reader went there.

The sata you show can only go one slot so that went to the card.

The male molex from the card also went to the female molex from the PSU

 

You miss out the mini sata cable that i showed as well as the mini USB cable, but again these can only go in 1 slot - sata to the only remaining sata slot & the usb to the usb slot on the mobo.

 

So why therefore it didn't work :(

 

I know one or two of those cylindrical components on the cards PCB was kinda bent, so dunno if this stopped it from working.

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I know one or two of those cylindrical components on the cards PCB was kinda bent, so dunno if this stopped it from working.

If the connections were correct and firmly in place, then it might be a hardware problem. Can't say for sure.

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