When will front-panel pins become standardized? | Ask an expert

Q: Who do I have to buy lunch for so that somebody standardizes front-panel pins?A: Heh, this one’s a perennial annoyance, isn’t it? The front-panel pin layout on a motherboard varies a lot. Most DIY builders have become resigned to squinting at a motherboard, then the pins, then at the manual, then back at the motherboard, and repeating ad nauseum until everything’s plugged in. But it shouldn’t have to be this way.(If you’re reading this but not as familiar with PC building, front-panel pins are what you plug front-panel connectors into. The combination of the two links the USB ports, audio jacks, and power button at the front of a case to the motherboard and makes them active. Not plugging in the connectors properly—or not plugging them in, period—probably ranks among the top five reasons for why a DIY PC fails to boot on the first try.)To read this article in full, please click here