Locating the right socket for those mischievous little ones
Locating the right socket for those mischievous little ones
You recently assembled your new PC and it’s not turning on despite the green light appearing on your motherboard. You suspect the power cables might be involved, possibly related to the power button connections, but aren’t sure where to connect them correctly. Your motherboard model is an ASUS P8H77 M PRO.
The labeling on cables is typically visible on the cable itself. You should follow the provided connection diagram. Even if your PC doesn’t start, there are several possible causes.
Confirm your motherboard identification is correct. The image provided doesn't match the P8H77M Pro model. Refer to the case manual for details on cable colors and note that the HDD/IDE LED and power LED each have positive and negative terminals.
The image you provided doesn't align with the P8H77M Pro. Observe the multiple upright SATA connectors shown, unlike the actual board. Refer to the "Anti-Surge" section in your first photo; it shows the connectors above the black PCIE slot, whereas on this board they're positioned differently (on the left side near the RAM slots, as seen in the Asus product page).
Begin by connecting just the two pins labeled Power and Ground in the diagram above. Use a small Phillips head driver and briefly touch the driver between the two pins—your system should start if everything else is properly connected. For powering up, you don’t need the other leads shown; typically, the single green plug connects to the Power LED terminals (green to positive, white to negative). The HDD LED plug is probably the red one, though it might be orange as well—check for markings indicating their positions.
Now recovering well, focus on matching the cables with the correct pins on the motherboard. Verify that the PC activates when you press the power button. If it doesn’t start, the internal micro-switch may be broken or the wiring from the switch to the board is damaged—start troubleshooting the remaining parts one by one.