Hi. I need some info. We unplugged the small connection on the Motherboard and it only has 4 holes (is that called 4 pin) the connector on the new PSU says PCI-E and is 6 or 8 pin. Is this universal and will it work?
Is has ATX-CPU below the connection point.

There should be at least 20 pins. Nowadays you usually see 24. The extra 4 may be separate from the other 20. Maybe this site will help explain it.

http://www.motherboards.org/articles/guides/1487_4.html

Another picture
http://techreport.com/r.x/tyan-tigermpx/power-connectors.jpg

Terri may be talking about the CPU connector. I'm sure the one on your motherboard is only 4-pin. What you're looking at if it says PCI-E is NOT the CPU connector, but rather a 6 or 8-pin connector to power a video card which needs power. There will be another 4-pin connector on that power supply for the CPU power and it should be marked as CPU. There may be be two of them together for use in an 8-pin CPU connection. There will also be a small 3 or 4-pin (single row) for the CPU heat sink if it has a fan.

ATX simply means the form factor of the power supply which means it may be a bit bigger than the original power supply.

The large connection Jenny refers to is the main power supply to the motherboard. Your motherboard will have either a 20 pin or a 24 pin connection. Most power supplies have what is called a 20+4 connector. That means a 4-pin connection can either be used if needed for a 24-pin motherboard, or the 4-pin can be pulled aside and the remaining 20-pin connector used on a 20-pin motherboard.

If this is your first time replacing a power supply, you might think about taking a picture of all the connections that go from the power supply to the motherboard so you can refer to it as you put the new one in. Making sure all the fan headers are connected is critical.

Here is my order of doing a power supply. I leave the main large 20 or 24-pin connection until last - well last before I install any video cards which need power.

1. The 4-pin (square) CPU connection.
2. The 3 or 4-pin CPU heatsink fan connection (assuming the heatsink has a fan).
3. All motherboard and case fan connections.
4. The main motherboard power connection (either 20 or 24-pin).
5. If I have a large PCI-E video card which also needs power (either one or two 6 or 8-pin) connections, I plug those in after I install the card.
6. Data cables from the components to the motherboard.
7. Power cables from the components to the motherboard.

What is the brand and model of your replacement power supply?

This should be the one here -

HP Upgrade PSU

Good little replacement power supply. It says it has a 4+4 CPU connection, which means you will only use one of them for your CPU power. The extra is if you have a high powered CPU which needs the extra power of an 8-pin connector.

The main motherboard power connector is a 20+4 connection, so you can either use all 24 pins or pull the 4 on the end away for use on a 20 pin motherboard.

All these connections are "keyed" so there is only one way to plug them in. But pay attention to the side where the little clips are secured on the motherboard header.

Again, do make sure all those case and motherboard fans are connected! After you get everything plugged in, boot it up with the side still off so you can immediately shut it down if a fan isn't running - especially that CPU heat sink fan if there is one.

EDIT: Forgot to say that since this is an ATX form factor power supply, it may not fit well in your case unless the previous power supply was also ATX, which most of the OEM power supplies are not. Check to be sure it will fit properly and securely in the place for the power supply.

Hi. Just got all of your posts. I had done some googling and found that the eight pin connector could be separated into a four pin, so all is done. Wasn't difficult, just tedious. Didn't want to disturb anything that I didn't need to.
I appreciate all of your help. Once I found the info I needed on the 8 pin split, I couldn't wait to give it a try.
Thank you all, you are so nice and helpful. Now, what do you think I should do next, it's running just like it did before, cycles on, cycles off, on, off and then on!
Terri

Wow, what great news! It can definitely be tedious to be sure every is connected including the optical drive etc. I take it that it fit OK in the case and all your fans are running?

Good job!

Oh gee, If I drank I'd get drunk for sure. After reading Draclvr's post about to be sure the fans are cooling, I ran to the back of the pc and didn't hear a thing but felt the side of the tower and it was somewhat warm and there was a slight odor. We went step by step, even marked what needed to be plugged in. However, I now am wondering if there is something to be plugged in on this one that the other one didn't have or was combined with something else.
Drac, thanks for the good job but the cycling on and off is not what it is supposed to do. I am so tired of making a mess of things. I think I just might go to bed.
Thanks,
Terri

PS. I think the 4 pins was for the CPU and the motherboard has 24 pins. Since it was on the board I thought it was part of the motherboard.

The odor could be the new PSU - they do that sometimes.

Open the case and then power it on. Do you see the fans spin up? If so, you probably have a BIOS option to spin them down until needed. Mine stay off most of the time.

Sounds like you're making progress

That's why I said to power on the computer with the side off first. That way you can see if the fans are all turning - especially that CPU fan. If it's not, that could be why it's powering down.

But like Inland says, a new power supply can have a smell at first sometimes, although I've never had one do it. Make absolutely sure those fans are all turning.

Yes, the 4-pin was for the CPU POWER, but not the CPU heat sink FAN - assuming it has one. The 24-pin was definitely the main motherboard power.

Draclvr. I had already done everything when I saw the postings.
I don't think I'm going to do anything with it tonight. I do know that we plugged in 4 connectors, same as the other PSU. I can see two fans with the cover on the pc. One has a disk in the center with AVC on it an I can't make out the other one. Don't see one where the new PSU is but am pretty sure there is a fan in it. Now I'm curious where it is, since I don't see it on the back on the pc.
The odor could be the new H/ware but the side of the cabinet was a bit warm, too warm. Also my pc ran so cool to touch and I could always hear the fan(s) going. I will remove the cover tomorrow and take a look.
Take care fellow Boomers, and thanks.
Terri

When you tackle it tomorrow, take the side off. I looked at your service manual. You should have a good-sized heat sink fan on top of your CPU. The connection for the small plug from the fan to the motherboard appears to be located just in front of the RAM modules. Make sure it's plugged in.

The only other fan I could see was the one on the back panel as an exhaust fan. Of course, the power supply has one too.

So, make sure the heat sink fan is turning and the rear panel fan is turning when you power up with the side off.

Help me understand this -

Is the PC restarting itself? If so, do you hear a beep code? Beep codes can be very faint, you really have to listen.

Is the PC starting, but you see No Signal on your monitor?

Draclvr. I'm going to have to look at a diagram to see exactly what you're talking about. I'll hopefully get to it later today. The weather is bad with thunder and lightening. I really don't think the fans were turning, the pc was so quite, don't think there was any noise. I wish I had the guide, I guess they forgot to put it in the box.

InlandAZ, It's doing the same thing it was doing before I installed the new PSU. When I hit the on it acts like it is going to boot up, lights flash and I can hear it starting but then it stops, then starts again, stops, starts etc. Not sure if I had the monitor on at first but when I did turn it on there was a signal. I've never heard any beeps when it does this.
Terri

Sounds like there could be a loose connection somewhere. Check that everything that can plug in is plugged in tight. Best to unplug(unseat),then plug back in(reseat).It also could be a componant that is rapidly heating up and failing.That would be a serious problem.