Fried 2 motherboards....

[Moonunit707]

long description, but hope it explains enough info

The first mobo fried instantly, the second replacement one on the 4th start up.

So, I had issues with an ASUS P5N-D mobo POSTing and and eventually not receving power... I took out the mobo and placed it onto a wooden surface with only the video card, cpu fan, ram and the case power-on button cables plugged in. I got it up and running just fine and next plugged in the HDD and got win XP to load up to the "Unrecognized hardware" error message. So i figured the mobo was touching the sides of my steel case and grounding out or something (it was touching, but didnt realize until the 2nd start up) I placed it back into the case and only screwed it down enough so that it wouldn't slide around (just a couple of threads down.) I went to start it up and the power line from the 24 pin EATX to the cpu fan plug shorted out. The line burnt the outer coating of the mobo and all power was lost.

Any info as to why this is happening is greatly appreciated. I'm still very new to this and this is my first major build.

Coolermaster HAF 932 steel atx full tower
ASUS P5N-D LGA775 motherboard
G.SKILL 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Intel P4 2.8GHz
Coolermaster silent pro 600w ATX12v PSU
EVGA Nvidia GeForce 9500

[glc]

Are you using standoffs to mount the board in the case? Are all the ports coming through the I/O shield correctly, with no tabs getting bent and shorting inside a port?

[Moonunit707]

No i'm not using any standoffs, which could be the problem right? And yes all the ports are coming through the I/O shield. I'm really hoping the problem is just some rediculously dumb thing I forgot and not anything major.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Moonunit707 No i'm not using any standoffs, which could be the problem right? And yes all the ports are coming through the I/O shield. I'm really hoping the problem is just some rediculously dumb thing I forgot and not anything major.

That IS the problem. You absolutely need the standoffs and all of them...they keep the mobo from shorting out on the motherboard mounting plate. Quit guessing on how to install your motherboard and start reading the manual that came with it...word for word, step by step, verbatim.

[Moonunit707]

Makes sense, thanks for the info albeit a little harsh.

[David M]

My apologies for sounding harsh...it was not intended that way. I do see a lot of posts where someone would not be having the problems they are if they read the directions. Again, my apologies.

[glc]

Look in the small parts bag that came with the case - it should have somewhere around 9 standoffs. Those MUST be screwed into the motherboard mounting pan under each and every screw hole in the motherboard. The screws then go through the board into the standoffs. Weren't you a bit suspicious about your assembly procedure when the motherboard was not sitting level in the case?

[triquee]

Expensive lessons are no fun to learn. But hey, at least now you know!