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Ok so i have modded a case so my computer will fit into a spare sky+ box so it will blend in ! My question is now how can i wire up the buttons on the front of the old sky+ box so the control the pc ? My goal is to use the power from the sky box to be the power button and use another button from reset ! But how do i wire theses ? They are on a pcb ? And also is it possible to get the ring of leds to work and turn off approiatly ?

Can this be done ?

Many thanks

Anything is possible - depends on how determined you are!

You have to find and isolate the parts of the track that form the switches on the pcb. This can be done by making a small 'slice' through the copper track either side of the switch contact areas using a stanley knife blade. Use a meter to ensure the pads really ARE isolated. Solder wires to the isolated parts and use these to replace the standard PC casing switches.

The LEDs can be similarly isolated - make sure you keep the resistors associated with each LED too OR find their value (probably around 1k ohm) and fit your own - IIRC the resistors aren't anywhere near the original LEDs.

I'm surprised you managed this task as I've looked into it myself and the mini AT board I have wouldn't fit properly - especially with the Sky Box switches still in place.....

There are boards that will fit but most boards are just a wee bit to big ! But u can fit it in using a pico psu aswell makes everything tideier an gives more room internally !

So basically just solder on wires to them ?

Also any way to used the ir sensor for a remote control and the pause forward back buttons for any programs ? Xbmc ? What would i need to do this ?

The IR sensor would require electronics (albeit minimal) to interface it to the standard IR port on your mobo. It's then a question of the correct software to accept control codes. XBMC remotes have software for use with the built-in IR ports of PCs so that's the first place to start looking.
The IR device in the Sky Box is a three-pin device with built-in amplification, pulse-shaping etc - basically, power, ground and digital signal output (via a pull-up resistor).
Not sure if there is software support for additional buttons but you could use a keyboard pcb (taken from inside an old keyboard) and wire the Sky Box buttons to the appropriate pins for any particular 'key' you feel you can use. I have a keyboard with the standard 'play, FF, RW, Pause' etc buttons and figuring out with matrix connections are associated with the keys would be pretty straightforward.

Been searching around would it be easier to use a product like an ipac2 ? They seem pretty easy right ?