I purchased a new motherboard for my old computer. Unfortunately, the wiring for the front panel connectors in the case do not match the pin connections for new mobo. How best to rewire? Are there simple tools that can be used to rearrange the wires? Do I need to a build the connectors from scratch?

Front panel connections are almost universal unless you have an "OEM" case - they often use one or two large connector strips that mate to a proprietary motherboard front panel header. If you want to change the connector strips, you will need to remove the wires from the old ones first & to do this, you will need a very small screw driver or small utility knife. Look at the connector strip and you will see these tabs over each connector - you use the screw driver or knife to gently lift the plastic tab so they don't hold the connector, then just pull on the wire to remove the wire & connector. To put it into the new connector strip, just push it into place.

Front panel connectors are normally configured as follows:

1. HD LED, Power On, Reset: 2 pin (female) connectors for each.
2. Power LED: 2 pin ( female) connector or 3 pin with the center position unpopulated..
3. Speaker: 4 pin (female) connector with the 2 center pins unpopulated.

The colored wire normally is considered the + and needs to be plugged in properly for the LED connections - if the LED doesn't come on, you probably have the wires reversed (or plugged into the wrong pins on the header).

I'll give it a try and try to match the diagram supplied by the mobo manufacturer.