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weird question

N

ne0-reloaded

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 1, 2003
Messages
1,216
this is a weird question, but is it possible to power on a pc without having a case, i have all the components (cpu, vid card, cdrom, mobo, hdd) but no case. I think its possible, but im not exactly sure...

thanks
 
Sit it down on the ground, preferably on a surface that doesn't create static, put everything in, hook it up to the PSU and monitor, and short the power on pins (with a pen tip or something like that), and watch it go!
 
which pins are you talking about? i tried shorting the pwr led pins and reset switch pins wit a jumper but no go.
 
In that area there should be two pins that you connect the power switch to. Check your mobo manual (if you have it), and short that one.
 
assuming it's an atx motherboard, it's only a momentary contact switch. If you short if with a jumper, it will likely power up then turn right back off - if it does anything at all. You should really short it with either a paperclip or a small screwdriver.
 
maxelhombre said:
assuming it's an atx motherboard, it's only a momentary contact switch. If you short if with a jumper, it will likely power up then turn right back off - if it does anything at all. You should really short it with either a paperclip or a small screwdriver.
Click to expand...

He's using a pen (like i suggested). No problems there.
 
As a more permanent solution, get one of the connectors inside a case (possibly the PC speaker, it should be nonessential because you never can tell) cut it, and splice it to a momentary toggle switch from radioshack or, if you can find one somewhere that doesn't rip you off that might be better. (I'm still annoyed at spending nearly $5 on a headphone jack before because all they had in stock was a gold plated one that was, of course, COMPLETLY gold plated. I mean, who the heck needs to spend extra cash on something where even the "shield" is gold plated?)


I've seen examples of people basically doing thise sort of thing. They squeeze a system down into a box lined with something or other intended to be safe, ghetto mod a battery pack or hook it up to a converter and they run it in their car as a MP3 player. Of course, this was really back before a good car MP3 CD player only cost in the area of $200 and less. All the stuff you'd have to do just isn't worth it IMO. Besides, an old P75 laptop can do that.

Mind if I ask, just out of pure curiosity, what exactly you are trying to do?
 
I mean why does he need to run a PC without the case. Is it something like I mentioned or something more.. unique?

I'm just curious anyway.
 
My # 3 folding box was laidout on a piece of plywood, and all hooked up and ran for a month before I got a case to put it in,

I don't have any little kids around and the cats are not allowed in that part of the house, so no chance of an accident.

and resist the temptation to fiddle with stuff while it is running, unless you like curly hair and sparks :D
 
racercarl said:
and resist the temptation to fiddle with stuff while it is running, unless you like curly hair and sparks :D
Click to expand...

Too late for that considering I ran my main system like that for maybe a year and a half at one time. I did finally put it in a case though since my son was getting to be a not so little baby anymore and was eyeing the wires and stuff too much.

Anyway, there is no problem with running the computer without a case. I just happened to have an old motherboard tray laying around that I mounted my motherboard to. It made everything a lot easier. Just make sure you don't move any of the cards around, don't bump whatever you have the system sitting on too hard or move any of the wires around too much. I had a bad problem with that sometimes and it would shut the system down and I'd have to reboot. Luckily I never killed any hardware that way, but it's possible. In other words, don't generally use this for a permanant solution but just something to get the system up and running while waiting on getting a case. It's great for low temps, but bad for the health of the hardware unless you're very very careful.
 
racercarl said:
I don't have any little kids around and the cats are not allowed in that part of the house, so no chance of an accident.
Click to expand...

I take it you don't ever eat or drink at your desk? Darn it, you have to keep up the proper image, don't you know that?

Lol, seriously though. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've had to jump and pull the plug, then stuff paper towels everywhere desperately trying to beat the flow of mt dew/tea/whatever slowly but surely inching towards my PC. On that note, thank goodness I now have a USB keyboard. When I'm worried about a spill causing a short, I just unplug it and plug it back in later. No fuss. Once when I had a 486 I burned out a keyboard controller chip and had to just get a new mb because it was out of warantee and I certainly knew no one who could fix such a thing. Lol, what good is a computer with no keyboard (and bear in mind this was in the mid 90s before Windows was very capable.)

Anyway, the wood idea sounds good. Really easy to implement and should be safe for static. Also, I noticed when I set my laptop down on most surfaces (lap included,) it gets hot in a hurry, but if I set it on a peice of wood it stays much much cooler. It seems to me a PC would run cooler on a board than many other things. I'll be a system like that runs pretty darned cool to begin with though without a case limiting the air flow. I start to kind of see advantages to such a thing, though it's not worth it IMO.

BTW, I've left my case opened and fiddled around with stuff inside before. Really freaks me out how the tiniest thing can force the system into a reboot though. Makes you think you did serious damage. Lol, a few times I've attempted to boot up with the CMOS clear jumper set and it took me several minutes to figure out why it wouldn't even do anything. These PCs seem to be able to take anything now.
 
the reason im doing it is becuase i gave my old case away and i bought 2 200gb hard drives that i wanted to reformat and store files on until i get a case. i didnt want to have to take out the drives out of current system, move the files, then set everything back up. i got it working eventually and im happy. soon as i get a case, it's gonna be a dedicated file/ftp/possible http server.

thanks for the help everyone. if the hard drives didnt get so damn hot, id leave it out the case permanently. guess ima have to buy hdd coolers 2.
 
Yes, you can. Just make sure the mobo is on a non-conductive surface or it will short out and won't boot. Put it on a cardboard box or something. Then, hook everything up normal, and short the two power switch pins together. I usually use the tip of a flat head screw driver for this. However, make sure you only short them together until the system comes on, then remove the screwedriver/pen/whatever. If you leave it shorted for 8 seconds, it will turn back off.
 
Dont put the mobo on an anti static bag when running it.

you could short it>>>>its conductive

Yes, its anti-static, but not really when the parts arent closed in the package, and just because its anti-static doesnt mean that its not conductive material.

because if they were'nt conductive they would build up static I think. I also think I read something similar about not storing components in plastic bins/drawers.
 
i got it sitting on a box on my desk. i like it, it looks cool, i might leave it like that. the only prob is i got the hdd sitting on the anti static plastic bags, but the drives and i left it running so server could install. when i came back about 12 hours later, it felt like the bag was gonna melt or something.
 
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