I built my system from scratch, first one I ever built. I was quite proud of myself after I did it, and I figured that once you do it the first time, doing it again or making ANY sort of upgrade should be a piece of cake, right? WRONG. I bought me an a7v333 asustek motherboard from pricewatch recently, and it came in the mail today. "No problem", I thought. "It'll be just like rebuilding it from scratch on a new board. A bit of a pain, but there shouldn't be any complications.

Or so I THOUGHT. Upon dissembling my old computer, I put the cpu/heatsink in the new mobo OUTSIDE the case, then went to install it within the case and discovered that it does NOT FIT my I/O faceplate. Apparently, this mobo's onboard sound goes vertically up the mobo, whereas my faceplate expected it to go horizontally, so now it won't fit. And even more chilling, I've tried inserting my meaty Geforce4 Ti4600 into the unattached mobo and it looks like it may not even line up properly with the card openings on the case!

The case is an Antec full-tower case, the mobo, as I've said, is an Asus A7V333. A few questions:

1. Does anyone else have this setup and does it work properly for you?

2. How would I go about getting an I/O faceplate that works? Does it cost anything?

3. How exactly does one REMOVE an I/O faceplate from the case?

Any other help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Check the back / face plate on the case.
it may / should be a pop out Or screw mount type of plate. ( hopefully)
The new Mother board should have a replacement plate included
In the bag with the other hardware.

If Not look at the plates that should have been included with the case itself.
( hope you saved all those extra parts)

If you don’t have the replacement face plate.
Contact a Local dealer who assembles systems.
They should have one around somewhere.

I, as it turns out, am the biggest IDIOT in the whole world. Yes, the part I needed WAS indeed in the bag. Thanks. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

I still can't, however, figure out how to get the existing plate OUT. It seems like it should pop out, but in what direction? Inwardly or outwardly? I don't know. I'm sure I'll figure it out, but if someone has this case and can help me out or just has a generic knowledge of the matter I'd appreciate it. I'd hate to break the darned thing. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Most Pop inward to remove.
Avoiding the accidental pop out when the M/B is installed.

Just press the I/O plate inward to remove it..
The Mother board Must be removed before you attempt to remove the old plate

Thanks for the advice, but try as I might, I can't get the thing to come out. If I push inward on it, it don't BUDGE. If I push otwardly on it, i get some play in it, but it seems to be braced in by metal bracketing that won't let it unattatch. Anyone out there with an antec case that can help me?

If you would Like to .
Follow the link below and have a look at MY ANTEC case
http://www.kdcomputers.com/eui/prime/profile/424/23/component.htm

I have the old face plate In hands at the moment.
It is hard to remove at first.
If you look closely at the mounting you will see it has a small lip around the template .
That is the way it is held in place.
The other side has no lip .

Here is a link to the I/O plate http://www.antec-inc.com/iopanel.html

I have an Antec SX1040B and to remove the back I/O panel you push inward from the outside of the case I had to change mine when I built my system and installed my Soyo board. Mine was very hard to get out but it will come out in fact I cut my thumb when finally it came out.

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How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q255867)
How to multi-boot Windows XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/multiboot.asp)
Microsoft Expert Zone Multi-booting made easy (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/russel/september10.asp)
MSKB How to multi-boot Windows XP (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q306559)

[This message has been edited by rond36 (edited 05-05-2002).]