Assistance with refurbished ViewSonic i5 Gen6 mini computers.
Assistance with refurbished ViewSonic i5 Gen6 mini computers.
You can locate these items on eBay, Amazon and other retailers at an affordable price of around $85 with free shipping. The product is a VPC10-WP-2 model suitable for a Windows 10 slot-in PC and interactive flat panel displays. Search for it directly. A link isn’t necessary—just browse on the sites. It appears to be a solid offer; I secured one quickly without hesitation. Returns are straightforward. The main issue is the absence of a power switch. As anticipated, it seems compatible only with its matching display adapter. Despite having built-in AC power and standard cords, the device functions independently and includes typical connectors like VGA, HDMI, USB, and audio jacks. I’m curious about the power control location—whether it’s hidden on the board or an external connector. I haven’t examined the hardware yet, but the unit is brand new, unused, and ready to go. I reached out to others hoping someone could help identify the power switch if needed. This deal looks promising for a variety of uses.
It didn’t come with any instructions or clear options for turning it on easily. The main clue seems to be the tiny 120-pin connector, and possibly adjusting grounding on one of the very small pins might trigger it. It’s disappointing, but it could also explain why it costs around $85. There should definitely be a straightforward way to activate it.
A small reset button is located near the Ethernet connection and the power/SSD indicators. It doesn’t start the device, likely discharging the CMOS battery.
Hi Arika, I'm not sure how you are so awesome to have found this while I searched for days using technical terms. I must have not tried something obvious. This a GREAT start as now I know the two contact pins I was suspecting would work are in that area on the connector. I assure you that scraping a screwdriver across the connector randomly like that is a BAD idea. Some of those pins DO go directly to the LIVE 19V power supply that is on and active even when the unit is off So I am still looking specifically for where the contacts are so that I can wire up a momentary switch. But this is a good start, if the guy in the video is not actually trolling. I'll read the video comments next. Thank You!! I wonder how I did not find this. I posted here after a couple of day of looking. I have emails out to the manufacture and sellers and zero replies or answers so far. -SteveG
Thirty one pins extend from the lower left corner—grounding it activates the circuit. I connected two 33-ohm resistors (66 ohms) in series during testing, ensuring that if any of the 19V rail contacts were present, it wouldn’t damage the board. Maintaining pressure for 5 to 10 seconds mimics a standard power switch operation without shutting it down. The BIOS doesn’t offer an option to power on when AC is applied, which would have been convenient but incompatible with its intended use, especially given the hot 19V supply. Wake on LAN might work, but likely wouldn’t fit in a sleep mode scenario. Tracing the pin on the tiny connector while keeping something in contact is going to be challenging. The 120-pin connector appears to be a custom connector type, making it hard to source a compatible breakout cable. There are additional USB ports and another Intel GBE on that connector. It would be great to have a power switch reset button and an extra Ethernet port removed. This setup could easily become a compact gigabit firewall, VPN/router box with two NICs and a hardware AES instruction set in the CPU.
Check for any additional details about the unit. Your setup involves a VPC16-WP-4 (8th gen Intel) placed in a device that uses an OPS-standard PC, though it seems this isn't typical. You mentioned the OPS connector has 80 pins.