Mobo CATCHES ON FIRE please help me

[Darkdiablo]

Ok so after getting with tech support about my original problem,
here is my original post:

http://www.bjorn3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17302

i returned the mobo and they said they couldnt find anything wrong with the board but would send me a new one anyway. my only initial problem was that i could not get the board to fit exactly on the risers, most of them i was able to screw in fine but the ones in the top left were slightly off center and so i just didnt scew them in, since the board was fixed into place by most of the other screws anyway. first thing i noticed that i didnt do before was that on my case, the PWRLED connector is a three pin and so i followed the instructions in the mobo manual and removed pin 3 and inserted it into pin 2 position, that went easy and quick and definitely seemed to be in place correctly. when i got everything hooked up, NOTHING at all happened. so i started unplugged things, when i unplugged both of the USB conectors for the top of the case, the blue LED near the RAM and also my mouse powered up this time and also the case fans started up for one second but then abruptly turned off again. so then i tried unplugging the SATA cable for that hard drive, that didnt do anything, and so then i unplugged the cable for the optical drive, and then eureka! everything powered up again when i hit the power button, but then a small flame appeared in a small area to the right of one of the black boxes above the CPU that say R50 on it. i quickly switched the PSU off. i have no idea what is going on, someone please help me.

[Xero (1)ne]

I think you shorted out the board by not screwing it in. The back plate for the ports and whatnot will push the mobo a tinsy bit off-center so you just push it until it's lined up and screw it in. It won't hurt the mobo to do this. Having the risers under the motherboard not screwed in will.

If you still think the board could power up (I doubt it), screw in the few screws in the top. Unplug EVERYTHING extra. See what happens.

You're probably going to have to RMA now.

One thing I always do is test everything on my desk outside of the case before I put it in. My desk is wood so nothing will short out.

I'm sorry to hear that your motherboard caught fire. Some people don't have good luck with their hardware. :frown:

[Scott]

NEVER install a motherboard without mounting all the risers and screws called for. I have seem maybe 200 custom builts by endusers come into the shop because the fried mobo's by not bolting everything down.

Alot of thoses mounts are also grounds and not having them in place can cause all kinds of headaches.

[Darkdiablo]

all of the risers were in place...the only thing missing was 2 screws at the top...i tried to push the mobo in place but i couldnt...didnt want to push any harder thought i would break it...so ur saying 2 screws is enough to short circuit the mobo?

[Scott]

1 not screwed in is enough.

[Darkdiablo]

damn, i thought only risers were for keeping the mobo from getting shorted, i didnt know screws mattered too....will XFX still let me RMA the mobo...do you thing theyll charge me a bunch?

[Scott]

just start a ticket and see what happens. PM XFX Support here and see if he can help. He comes to work in the morning, he lives in California.

[PP Mguire]

The only thing that will short the mobo out like that is if one of the risers touches a contact on the back of the board. By not havign it screwed in that probably happend. Not having screws in the risers, or not having risers there (Say, only having 4, 1 in each corner like me) will not short it out. my best guess is, when you unplugged things it moved the board enough to have a riser touch a solder contact on the back which shorted it out. By trying to turn it on multiple times you prolly blew a cap. RMA the board, when you get your new one make sure all risers are accounted for and the screws aer in their proper place, dont plug anything in cept your video card, and try turning it on to see if it works. (Power button can be plugged in of course)

That way there you dont take a chance at shorting out anything else. As for your power button its fine. You only need the 2 cables to be plugged in, in any manner. Its only a short to turn the board on.

[Darkdiablo]

thanks for all the responses, i turned the board back on and its not sending signal to the mouse, monitor or keyboard, ill RMA it asap

[PP Mguire]

Yea if its XFX they will certainly replace it and im sure if you do everything accordingly youll have no problems.

[Frag Maniac]

1 not screwed in is enough.Well although I feel a person shouldn't attempt building their own and/or replacing such parts unless they know full well how to mount them, it doesn't help that manuals are written so vaugely.

My manual for instance for my MSI 865PE Neo2-P only describes how to install components onto the MB, but nothing about installing the MB into the case. Seems to me if they think you need to know details on something as simple as inserting RAM modules in their DIMMs, they ought to point out the importance of proper MB mounting too.

On the ASUS M2V MB used in a friend's rig I built, at least they give some MB mounting details, but even there they just say...

"Place nine (6) screws into the holes indicated by circles to secure the motherboard to the chassis."

In fact the very next paragraph warns of overtightening and the damage it can cause but not the importance of some of the mounting screws acting as a ground connection. Add to that the many tech review sites that show MBs being bench tested without being mounted in a case and DIYers can easily make potentially dangerous assumptions. Fortunately I knew full well the importance of snugging up each MB mounting screw and using metal screws, others might not.

[Ranzear]

Oh god I just read this thread with the realization that I left the lowermost (uppermost in 'normal' orientation) by the connectors riser and screw out because the threads in my backplate were dorked up.

Aaaauuughghhhh!!

Nah it's runnin fine.

[Darkdiablo]

ya i assumed the 8 screws I had in the mobo was enough since in the manual it says "secure the motherboard with a minimum of eight-to-ten screws."

[ghidora]

The standoffs with exposed metal around the whole are the ones that are grounded. All ground plains in a multi-layer board are connected.

Pull an MB out of the case and test it with a continuity tester across various combinations of grounded mount holes and you will see what I mean.

If no grounded mount holes are bolted to the case, that can fry the motherboard.

Having said that, on rare designs, there can be separated ground plains. Which would require that at least one grounded mount be bolted to the case for each separated ground plain.

As was mentioned above, the manuals for these things aren't clear on mountings, so you should go with the assumption that all grounded mounts should be bolted in place.

[xfxsupport]

Well I guess we all learned that lesson. Start a support ticket at www.xfxforce.com and just list that the motherboard failed. PM me the ticket number and I will see what I can do to help.

[PP Mguire]

I dont understand how it would just fry your motherboard. If all of them are connected then only one should have to be screwed to the case in order to be grounded. If they are seperate then that motherboard design really shouldnt have been released. With all of my boards i lack spacers so i only put 4 in. One on each corner and ive never had this problems before. Ive even just left the board sitting on top of them before (case sideways on desk so it cant slide).

[Frag Maniac]

Although that manual does indeed say eight to ten screws, it DOES point out something many manuals don't.

"Securing the Motherboard into the Chassis
Most computer chassis have a base with mounting studs or spacers to allow the
mother board to be secured to the chassis and help to prevent short circuits. If
there are studs that do not align with a mounting hole on the motherboard, it is
recommended that you remove that stud to prevent the possibility of a short
circuit.
1. Carefully place the motherboard onto the studs/spacers located inside the
chassis.
2. Align the mounting holes with the studs/spacers."

So, although it's a bit vague in one way saying 8-10, they do let you know the importance of not using standoffs that don't align with mounting holes. I just think they should stress to use ANY standoffs that align with mounting holes and further detail which ones actually are required for proper grounding. Then again I know of no MB manufacturer that states such info in their manuals.

Line number 2 does hint at using any aligning holes, but hinting isn't thorough wording. I realize there are a myriad of cases out there with varying MB mounting patterns, but there may be some that don't have the required mount positions and the customer could make a damaging mistake in such a case.