# motherboard works outside case but not inside



## rh535 (Jul 28, 2007)

I just got my motherboard back from rma (Asus P5W DH Deluxe). I put it inside my case( Antec P180) and i get nothing on the screen but when i take it out i get something on the screen. Im pretty sure it is a grounding issue so i took out the motherboard and put it back in (4 times) and still does the same thing. Any ideas?


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Jul 28, 2007)

I am pretty confident you forgot to add the risers...


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## p_o_s_pc (Jul 28, 2007)

Don't forget to add the stand-offs (risers) i did that before with an old rig when switching cases.


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## francis511 (Jul 28, 2007)

if you have teh risers in then check cpu


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## p_o_s_pc (Jul 28, 2007)

what would teh CPU have anything to do with it?


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## francis511 (Jul 28, 2007)

ah`m jest sayin` .and where is rh535 ??


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## PuMA (Jul 28, 2007)

use raisers anf make sure the screwes are tightened correctly(so that they got good contact to the grounding thing outside the screw hole)


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## mitsirfishi (Jul 28, 2007)

your earthing somewhere on the motherboard with some of the studs  which are screwed in ive done it before one was in direct contact as it wasnt lined up with one of the board screws ;P easy mistake to make if not use those spacers depending on how you  connect your board but probilly using studs just make sure you dont have any excess ones when you line you board


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## rh535 (Jul 28, 2007)

I do have standoffs installed on all screws. On the motherboard where you install the screws it looks like little silver dots and some holes(4-5)I can see a bronze/motherboard color showing instead. Could that be the problem?


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## gerrynicol (Jul 28, 2007)

Can you post a pic of the mobo inside the case?


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## hat (Jul 28, 2007)

Cursed case...


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## Dippyskoodlez (Jul 28, 2007)

rh535 said:


> I do have standoffs installed on all screws. On the motherboard where you install the screws it looks like little silver dots and some holes(4-5)I can see a bronze/motherboard color showing instead. Could that be the problem?





A picture would be most useful.


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## panchoman (Jul 28, 2007)

try installing some rubber washers before you install the screws, the screw might be hitting something on the mobo. does your mobo work with it being attached the removable mobo tray like you've shown in the pic?


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## DaMulta (Jul 28, 2007)

Dippyskoodlez said:


> A picture would be most useful.



Not everyone has a tray


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## 3991vhtes (Jul 28, 2007)

DaMulta said:


> Not everyone has a tray


I don't


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## panchoman (Jul 28, 2007)

3991vhtes said:


> I don't



isn't that your removable mobo tray that the mobo is sitting on in the pic? is it possible that the mobo's io panel is getting grouned to the io shield?


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## Dippyskoodlez (Jul 28, 2007)

panchoman said:


> isn't that your removable mobo tray that the mobo is sitting on in the pic? is it possible that the mobo's io panel is getting grouned to the io shield?



I posted that  It was a random pic, and it appears to be mounted on some plexiglass, rather.


However, if you get a power on, but no POST, you might have a bunk component.


I had a gigabyte mobo that would appear to be "shorting" all the time, but occasionally booted up.


Put in a new GPU and BAM! it acted like it was brand new and worked flawlessly.


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## panchoman (Jul 28, 2007)

oh lol, didn't c that you put the pic up dippy. rh, when you plug everything in and run the whole system outside the case, does it work?


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## rh535 (Jul 28, 2007)

It turns on and everything but just nothin on the screen. What kind of rubber washers do i did?(what size?)


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## panchoman (Jul 28, 2007)

well before we do the washers, outside the case, your system wont POST? grafix card and all attached? 
we need to first get the system working before we try putting into the case, which is a whole other problem.


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## rh535 (Jul 29, 2007)

My computer will post outside my case with mem,motherboard,cpu and gpu attached. I also get stuff on the screen when its outside the case.


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## panchoman (Jul 29, 2007)

hmm, so heres what i think might be possible, though they may sound ridicously crazy

a. standoffs/screws are touching the mobo, if so rubber washers will be needed

b. i/o panel of mobo grounding to the i/o shield?

c. pci brackets grounding? like electricity going from the grafix card to the pci bracket things and grounding to your case?

do you have a removable motherboard tray?

some pictures would really help....


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## bigboi86 (Jul 29, 2007)

panchoman said:


> hmm, so heres what i think might be possible, though they may sound ridicously crazy
> 
> a. standoffs/screws are touching the mobo, if so rubber washers will be needed
> 
> ...



The I/O shield and panel are supposed to be grounded. The entire chassis of a case is ground... so when a shield touches the case, it's grounded, and when the terminals touch the shield it's grounded also.


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## p_o_s_pc (Jul 29, 2007)

bigboi86 said:


> The I/O shield and panel are supposed to be grounded. The entire chassis of a case is ground... so when a shield touches the case, it's grounded, and when the terminals touch the shield it's grounded also.



I kind of agree with that. I had forgot to put in the I/O shield and the board touched the case and it didn't start. Bigboi86 try testing to see if the shield is conductive but take it out of the case first.


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## panchoman (Jul 29, 2007)

i just thought you know other then the standoffs, the only other metal things that the mobo touchs are the io shield and the pci bracket. if theres something screwed up with the mobo and the electricity it going to the i/o ports/panel, the i/o sheild touchs them and it touchs the case and its metal you know. same with the metal pci bracket, though thats not very likely..


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## bigboi86 (Jul 29, 2007)

How does a mobo touch the PCI slots? Lol. Only the PCI cards and graphics cards should be touching them.

I'm like 100% sure the I/O shield is conductive, It's made of steel. I have no multimeter around to test it though.


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## panchoman (Jul 29, 2007)

bigboi86 said:


> How does a mobo touch the PCI slots? Lol. Only the PCI cards and graphics cards should be touching them.
> 
> I'm like 100% sure the I/O shield is conductive, It's made of steel. I have no multimeter around to test it though.



well it is, so if theres something wrong with the mobo, like the electricity flows through the i/o panel, and the electricity gets onto the shield, it'll go to your case you know, and thus your mobo is grounded, 

and mobo's can touch the pci slots, some mobos have an onboard sound card which fits into the first pci slot instead of the i/o shield, so hah, im not wrong. though i meant the grafix card which is hooked to the mobo.


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## rh535 (Jul 29, 2007)

UPDATE: I tried putting paper cut outs as washers and i still have the exact same issue. Any other ideas?


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## panchoman (Jul 29, 2007)

rh535 said:


> UPDATE: I tried putting paper cut outs as washers and i still have the exact same issue. Any other ideas?



i was going to suggest just that actually. scary. so this means that the problem isn't with the standoffs so it might be the i/o sheild, try putting the i/o shield onto the mobo when its outside..


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## francis511 (Jul 29, 2007)

rh535 said:


> My computer will post outside my case with mem,motherboard,cpu and gpu attached. I also get stuff on the screen when its outside the case.



what sort of "stuff" ? and didja check the cpu ( was seated correctly)


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## rh535 (Jul 29, 2007)

I got an error saying no hd attached. Yes i checked the cpu.


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## Namslas90 (Jul 29, 2007)

rh535 said:


> I got an error saying no hd attached. Yes i checked the cpu.



Check your HD connectors and maybe swap the cable.  Also check the jumper settings in the back of HD.


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## rh535 (Jul 29, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> Check your HD connectors and maybe swap the cable.  Also check the jumper settings in the back of HD.



Thats not a problem i just got that error because i didn't have it plugged in. I get something on the screen outside the case but nothing when the mobo is in the game.


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## DrunkenMafia (Jul 29, 2007)

has anyone thought about the gfx card not being slotted in correctly when the mb is installed in the case..  

maybe it is not engaging the pci slot enough and therefore not working...


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## bigboi86 (Jul 29, 2007)

panchoman said:


> well it is, so if theres something wrong with the mobo, like the electricity flows through the i/o panel, and the electricity gets onto the shield, it'll go to your case you know, and thus your mobo is grounded,
> 
> and mobo's can touch the pci slots, some mobos have an onboard sound card which fits into the first pci slot instead of the i/o shield, so hah, im not wrong. though i meant the grafix card which is hooked to the mobo.



Well.... grounding is so that IF there is electricity flowing throughout the motherboard in an unordinary fashion... it will go straight to ground and prevent any injuries or shock or fires. 

Graphics cards and sound cards are supposed to be grounded like that. If there is something wrong with the hardware then it needs to be replaced, not ungrounded.


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## ex_reven (Jul 29, 2007)

DrunkenMafia said:


> has anyone thought about the gfx card not being slotted in correctly when the mb is installed in the case..
> 
> maybe it is not engaging the pci slot enough and therefore not working...



it tells you when your gfx isnt plugged when it posts.
It tells you to hit any key then it shuts down for you to fix your card.


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## DrunkenMafia (Jul 29, 2007)

ex_reven said:


> it tells you when your gfx isnt plugged when it posts.
> It tells you to hit any key then it shuts down for you to fix your card.



ah roger that...


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## rh535 (Jul 29, 2007)

When i forgot to put in my power cable to my gpu i heard a loud beep but i don't have a speaker in my case. So does that mean my gpu is working okay?


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## ex_reven (Jul 29, 2007)

uh, how was there a beep without the speaker plugged in 
are you sure the microwave didnt go off or something?


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## Dippyskoodlez (Jul 29, 2007)

ex_reven said:


> uh, how was there a beep without the speaker plugged in
> are you sure the microwave didnt go off or something?



Most mobos have an onboard speaker.

Was it a long BEEEEEEEEEEP?

Memory.


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## ex_reven (Jul 29, 2007)

Dippyskoodlez said:


> Most mobos have an onboard speaker.



Onboard as in built into the mobo itself? Or just the little microspeaker plugged into the board.
Ive never seen a speaker built into a mobo...


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## p_o_s_pc (Jul 29, 2007)

ex_reven said:


> Onboard as in built into the mobo itself? Or just the little microspeaker plugged into the board.
> Ive never seen a speaker built into a mobo...



I have i will take a pic and send it to you in a PM


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## ex_reven (Jul 29, 2007)

I see now.
Cool.

Not my thing though, I unplugged my speaker, frigging annoying little thing


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## hat (Jul 29, 2007)

Yeah most newer mobos come with a built in speaker for that kind of thing.


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## bigboi86 (Jul 29, 2007)

My 6800 had a speaker on it lol.


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## panchoman (Jul 29, 2007)

so what do you guys think his problem is?


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## rh535 (Jul 30, 2007)

Any other ideas?


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## bigboi86 (Jul 30, 2007)

You have to be installing it wrong.. there's no way a motherboard could work outside of a case just fine.. but not inside of a case. 

I'm sure you're grounding something that you're not supposed to be... or shorting something out somehow.

The back of the motherboard is not touching ANY metal?


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## suraswami (Jul 30, 2007)

bigboi86 said:


> You have to be installing it wrong.. there's no way a motherboard could work outside of a case just fine.. but not inside of a case.
> 
> I'm sure you're grounding something that you're not supposed to be... or shorting something out somehow.
> 
> The back of the motherboard is not touching ANY metal?



I had the same kind of issue.  The mobo drived me nuts for a month and then I gave up.  RMAd it and got a replacement that works fine.  Its the internal circuit that is shorting when it is placed in a case.



rh535 said:


> Any other ideas?



Is it a refurbished board u got as a replacement?  Call them and explain.  Create RMA and get another one.  May be another defective one.


My first mobo (Biostar Tforce S754) overclocked like mad.  This replacement (I think is brand new mobo) which is a newer version is a dum ass.  Doesn't want to overclock the RAM past 200 FSB from 166.  For some reason in CPUZ the ram frequency keeps changing when the processor is in load (memory speed goes down when on load and goes up when not).  The first one took all the way to 240FSB.


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## rh535 (Jul 30, 2007)

BIG UPDATE: i just pulled the mobo and everything out of the case i don't get anything on the screen.(from outside the case). I also tried a pci gpu and i still get nothing on the screen. I think i am going to rma the mobo again.


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