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Internal & External
Connectors & Ports

INTERNAL

Internal ports and connectors are located inside of the PC case, on the Motherboard (see motherboard diagram).

• Ribbon cables connect the storage devices to the motherboard. One end goes to the device, the other end goes to the onboard controller of the motherboard.

 

 

 

 

 

• The power supply supplies voltage to the motherboard via the P1 or P8-P9 connector on the power supply

• The power supply sends voltage to the storage devices via its molex and mini connectors. 

• Use the submini connectors on the power supply to give voltage to the CPU fan.

 

 

 

 

• From the outside of the PC case, you can locate the power supply by finding the black power switch. Another indicator that you have located the power supply, it has one or two, three-prong power supply cord connections and a built-in fan, allowing air to be exhausted from the back of the PC.

Adapters and Dongles

• If there is no USB port, install a USB dongle on the inside of your computer. Dongles have ribbon cables that have to be connected onto the motherboard. Usually there will be a written indication on the motherboard to tell you where the dongle's ribbon cable can be plugged.

• Some dongles will allow you to convert your older computer to be able to use a PS/2 mouse and a more modern keyboard.

• Most older computers lack the connectors for newer devices, like a PS/2 mouse or a USB port. 

• If there is not a connection from your computer for a particular device, you have to install or attach adapters and dongles.

• These internal adapters and power supply connectors are visible from the back (and sometimes front) of the PC case.

EXTERNAL

External ports and connectors are located on the outside of the PC case.

• The outside of the PC case provides ports that support  external components, like a printer, mouse, keyboard,  speakers, microphone, earplug,  joystick and serial (usually a serial mouse) and USB devices (usually a USB digital camera, USB printer or USB mouse or keyboard).

• The ports are built into the motherboard and extend to the outside of the PC case.

• There are three types of mouse: serial, USB and PS/2. If the PS/2 connector is missing, you have to attach a PS/2 adapter, which is attached to the mouse, then attached to the outside of the PC case.

• Sometimes ports are located in the front of a PC case, but usually, they are in the back of the PC case.

A Few Names of Ports and Connectors

• PS/2 port (for some mouses and some keyboards)

• USB port (for USB devices)

• Serial ports and DB connectors (for joysticks, printers, some mouses and serial devices)

• Parallel port (for printers)

• Onboard controller port (for all storage devices)

• Com ports (especially for the mouse and modem)

• P1 or P8-P9 connector (power supply connectors)

Please refer to the PC Glossary for more information.

 

Understanding PC Hardware, Second Edition, ©2003 Cary Muhammad, (All Rights Reserved), vipcomputers4u@yahoo.com