prologue: touchscreen mod take one

So I have my Belkin 55-piece computer tool set via recommendation of mrshamill (I can feel her panicking from here; I didn't set myself on fire, promise) and today the touch screen mod kit and an organizer box for my things that are related to computers came as well as a soldering iron stand that has an attached magnifying glass and two alligator clips, all adjustable. Basically, I give the appearance of organization and competence and coolness. It is all a lie.

You might think this is to give an actual progress report; there's not one. I disassembled the mini into all it's component parts, sat down with the motherboard, and tried to figure out what I was doing.

As it turns out, I do not, but I am learning. Things I learned today.

1.) My board's internal usb connectors are four pin; the touchscreen's are five.

2.) Pin does not always mean the same thing in relation to usb ports when googling.

3.) I can cut wires very neatly.

The plan is as follows.

There are a total of four internal usb cables, plus the internal usb cable between the touchscreen and the touchscreen usb hub. Two of the connectors are useless, since they have very large connector ends, so I sacrificed one and cut it, thus now having one with one five-pin connector to the touchscreen hub on one side and wild crazy wires on the other. The idea, such as it is, is to tin them and then find a head that is four pin, then in some way make these two come together. I am going to guess this may not work well, but cables are cheap and I have time, so I may try anyway.

My second possibility is more complicated but highly interesting; get a pci-e usb hub, cut the connectors on the board, solder the tinned wires to that, and I have liftoff. It is very simple, which means I will doubtless set myself on fire. I mean, I am kind of due for it. It also is soldering, which is new and exciting, and that is why I hunted up my long-dead and sad motherboard from Brian to practice on first.

Currently, everything is still in it's component parts, organized by type, with padding, in various neat boxes for storage, since I'm not putting it together again until I figure out how to make this work or die trying.

Basically, this could end in a lot of terrifying ways. I'm rather excited.

Comments

[harpers_child]

i have mad envy for anyone who can take apart their computer and put it back together after making modifications. good luck.