A4000 Power Tower

Power Computings A4000 Tower is a complete kit allowing an A4000 
desktop to be re-housed into a substantial metal tower, and 
comes complete with 230W power supply, a 7-slot replacement 
daughterboard, and all screws, clips etc necessary to complete 
the job.

Preparation

The desktop machine needs to be completely dismantled, apart 
from the power supply, but don't be put off, this is a very 
simple operation, just take care, and don't force anything.

Remove the desktop case after removing the two screws at the 
back, remove any zorro cards, then remove the rear Hard drive 
bay (four screws). The front panel is removed by squeezing its 
clips together while applying a firm pull. Be careful here, and 
if a clip won't move, use a flatbladed screwdriver to gently 
push the lugs through the slots one at a time. Once removed, the 
screws holding the front drive bay are revealed, and these can 
be undone and the bay slid out from the front. Note or mark the 
position of the data cables to floppy and CD ROM (if fitted).

Next remove the top support bar, and ease out the daughterboard 
by lifting it upwards. The processor/accelerator card needs to be
removed next, and again, gentle pressure from first one side 
then the other is all that's necessary to lift it out. Remove 
all data cables, after first noting/marking their positions for 
easy replacement.

All that's left is the motherboard. Remove the screws holding 
the board to the chassis, three along each side, and three along 
the middle where the daughterboard was. Remove the hexagonal 
port nuts holding the ports to the case at the rear, and gently 
lift out the motherboard.


The Tower Conversion

First of all, remove the sideplate that holds the motherboard
from the case.This is secured by two screws, and locates into 
a lug at the bottom. You can now screw the motherboard to this 
plate, not forgetting to replace the insulation sheet from the
desktop case underneath it . I slackened off the adaptor plate
that takes the ports before fitting the board, to allow for 
engineering tolerances, and then screwed the motherboard down 
and tightened the hexagonal port nuts (not too tight!) before 
re-tightening the adaptor plate. The fit was very good, and 
you should have no problems here.

Note that some of the motherboard screws are replaced by 
hexagonal spacer bolts. These should be fitted as shown in the 
accompanying pictures. If you have any doubts, offer the board 
up into place, and you'll see where the spacer bolts are needed.
Fit the new daughterboard to the motherboard, by firmly pushing 
it into the connector block, then screw it into place with the 
screws provided.

While the backplate is still out, the processor/accelerator card 
can be re-fitted. I have a Cyberstorm PPC card which is a large 
card, but it all fits back easily while attached to the 
backplate. Lastly, connect up the joystick and mouse extension 
cables located at bottom left in the pic.

The backplate can now be re-fitted to the tower, and the lead 
for the Hard Drive LED connected just before slotting it back 
into place. This lead can be fitted after re-fitting the 
backplate, but it's then difficult to reach. The lead fits onto 
the connector nearest the outside edge of the board.
Once in place, the power lead, reset switch lead, and power LED 
lead can all be connected. They are marked on the daughterboard, 
and I've also marked them on the accompanying pix.

Fit your hard drives into either front or rear bays now. I chose 
the front bay, and removed it first by means of the two screws, 
one on the outside and one underneath. The bay is a sliding fit, 
and mine was very tight. Slide it back, and have a look to see 
how it fits. Once out, fitting the drives is a doddle. Fit the 
floppy drive into the same bay, removing the front blanking 
plate by popping it off. I slid the drive in and aligned the 
drive, then tightened the screws I could reach, popped it out 
and tightened the rest. Fussy, but it looks nicer! :) Once all 
the drives are fitted, the bay can be replaced.

CD-ROM, Jazz etc can be fitted into the top bay without removing 
it. There are slots in the backplate that allow access for a 
screwdriver to tighten the inner screws on the lower section of 
the bay.

Now all the cables can be connected up. You did mark them, 
didn'tyou? ;) 
The main power block to the motherboard only fits one way round,
as does the power connector to the daughterboard. 
Data cables and power cables will fall nicely into place, but 
give them a bit of thought so that nothing is stretched. Note 
that the "Standby" switch wire is not used. There are cable ties 
supplied to keep cables etc tidy.

Finally re-fit any zorro cards. I found that my cards were 
easier to fit to the new daughterboard. A slight flexing when 
pushing them in is normal, but avoid sudden excess pressure, as 
with any circuitboard.

All that's left to do is to label the ports, using the labels 
supplied. What do you mean, you didn't make a note of them?? ;)
There is an accompanying pic with all the relevant ports labelled. 

OK, that's it!! Before powering up, finally check that the power 
switch on the rear of the case, just under the power lead socket,
is set to the correct voltage, connect up your monitor etc, and 
power up. Once you are happy that all is OK, power off and 
replace the outer case, then power up again and re-check all is 
OK.


Note:

These instructions are supplied "as is" and I cannot take any 
responsibility for any damage or loss caused by their use. I 
have no connection with Power Computing other than as a customer.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any other queries.


Kevin Twyman

Email:    kappo@theboyz.freeserve.co.uk
FidoNet:  2:2502/61.20
AmigaNet: 39:134/13.20