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Archived This topic has been archived. Information and links in this thread may no longer be available or relevant. If you have a question create a new topic by clicking here and select the appropriate board.
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HP Z420

Hello,

 

I moved my z420 workstation mainbaord to a different case (Fractal Design R4) and keep running into the screen that notifies me of different panels not being connected.

 

So far I was able to solve the issues with: Front Panel Audio, USB2.0 and ieee1394 due to searchin through the HP Forums and figuring out which pins need to be connected to ground in order for the mainboard to pass the test.

One issue I can`t seem to figure out / get to disappear is "939-Front Panel Usb 3.0 not connected".

I have connected the USB3.0 cable from the case and it still displays this issue - reading through the forums I came accross that z420/z620 have a USB3.0 redriver .
Do I need the original panel to make the board believe that usb3.0 is connected? Is there any other way of fooling the mainboard that usb3.0 is connected (similar to the detect pins with audio and usb2.0?) 

Since the pc will be running 24/7 as small fileserver, I don`t really need front usb3.0 - I`d rather have it boot normally after a power failure and not needing to be physical present to press f1 for it to boot

Any help on how to solve this is highly appreciated

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
HP Recommended

pj_1 wrote:

      Is there any other way of fooling the mainboard that usb3.0 is connected (similar to the detect pins with audio and usb2.0?) 

 

Here is the pinout of the front USB connector P29.  It is a blue shrouded connector, with 2mm spacing pins.  The pins are very thin, much thinner than the other USB internal header pins.  Pin 20 is a key, that is, the pin is missing.  This helps to figure out the connector orientation and pin numbers. 

Z620_Front_USB3_conn_P29.PNG

Pin 10 is the front USB 3.0 cable detect.  The Front IO cable grounds this pin, so the system knows the cable is installed. 

 

If pin 10 is connected to ground, meaning it is jumpered to pin 4, 7, 13, or 16, the system will think the cable is installed and there will not be a POST error during bootup.  The pins are very thin and fragile, so it may need an uncommon jumper to do this. 

 

This workaround is not recommended or supported, since it fools the system into thinking the cable is installed, and of course the front USB 3.0 ports will not work.  As an HP employee, I have to say this.    😉 

 

I am an HP Employee.
My opinions are my own, and do not express those of HP.

Please click "Accept as Solution" if you problem was solved. This helps other forum readers.

View solution in original post

7 REPLIES 7
HP Recommended

Just checked this on the Z620 I'm sitting at.....  I believe the navigation will be the same for you.

 

Part of the security layers with HP workstations is that you can turn a bunch of things off so that they appear invisible on a hardware and software level.  At least on the Z620 here is what I'd do:  F10 into BIOS/ Security tab/ Device Security/ USB3 Controller/ change to Device Hidden/ F10 to save in that subsection/ Esc back to File tab/ Save Changes and Exit/ F10 to really save the change.

 

Now reboot.... with some other projects I've used this method makes the "device" no longer detected by the OS or even by the computer itself (it is no longer listed in Device Manager).  For these type of changes I tape a post it note to the inside of the side cover so that at some time in the future I'll remember what I did.

 

I'm sure you know that there is a BIOS setting for whether the workstation restarts after power loss/return or stays shutdown.....

HP Recommended

Thanks for the reply - I finally got around to testing your solution and it works. Thank you very much

Though this also disables the rear USB3.0 ports - for now I don`t require them, but it would be great to also access them.


HP Recommended

pj_1 wrote:

      Is there any other way of fooling the mainboard that usb3.0 is connected (similar to the detect pins with audio and usb2.0?) 

 

Here is the pinout of the front USB connector P29.  It is a blue shrouded connector, with 2mm spacing pins.  The pins are very thin, much thinner than the other USB internal header pins.  Pin 20 is a key, that is, the pin is missing.  This helps to figure out the connector orientation and pin numbers. 

Z620_Front_USB3_conn_P29.PNG

Pin 10 is the front USB 3.0 cable detect.  The Front IO cable grounds this pin, so the system knows the cable is installed. 

 

If pin 10 is connected to ground, meaning it is jumpered to pin 4, 7, 13, or 16, the system will think the cable is installed and there will not be a POST error during bootup.  The pins are very thin and fragile, so it may need an uncommon jumper to do this. 

 

This workaround is not recommended or supported, since it fools the system into thinking the cable is installed, and of course the front USB 3.0 ports will not work.  As an HP employee, I have to say this.    😉 

 

I am an HP Employee.
My opinions are my own, and do not express those of HP.

Please click "Accept as Solution" if you problem was solved. This helps other forum readers.
HP Recommended

As always, very much appreciation to Dan_WGBU (our favorite engineer).

 

Unsaid but implied is that his method should let your motherboard be happy and not demand a F1 Enter stop, and still let you use those rear USB3 ports coming straight off the motherboard to the rear backplane.

 

My method will turn off all USB3 ports and make them invisible to the OS and the motherboard.  Dan's approach is better, and his cautions are well worth heeding.

 

Scott

HP Recommended

Thank you very much for the detailed information. Much appreciated 


I still need to verify if the solution is working. I will try to test also the USB3 connector from my case to see if it shortens Pin10 to ground or not. Will report back with the findings when I get around.

 

 

HP Recommended

Hi pj_1.

 

I am also interested in moving the Z420 into my define R4.  I was wondering if you had any final update for us on how your move went and if the USB3 connector that comes with the R4 to connect it to the front of the case gets the job done.

 

If not, I wonder if it would be possible to buy  a USB3 PCI adapter card to give you rear USB3 ports and some cards also come with an internal case plug to connect any front USB3 ports.  It would be an extra investment but could give you back the USB3 ports you if disabling them in the BIOS is the easiest and most effective way to work around the boot issue.

 

Let me know how it went and what you think of my PCI card idea.

 

Thanks,

Steve

HP Recommended

Thank you so much! This has helped me solve my problem. I moved an HP Elitedesk 800 g1 sff into a normal ATX case so i could install a better gpu and after i sorted out the usual shenanigans like PSU adapters (5vsb to 12vsb) i got stuck with the same error "Front USB not connected" and your post helped me solved it. I soldered pin 10 to pin 7 on the USB 3.0 header and voila! it works!

 

 

hp.jpg

 

 

 

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