Help installing mobo into computer...

[Onionsoilder]

Alright, so my new computer case and components finally arrived in the mail today(yay!) and I went to go install everything. I got the CPU and heatsink attached to the motherboard just fine, but when I went to go put the motherboard in my case I found a problem.

With the motherboard came what appears to be a metal template to go over the external plug-in slots, but it doesn't seem to fit with my case(or the actual motherboard for that matter)

On the first picture I have what it looks like with the template attached. As you can see, it fits in a rather funky way and actually covers up two of the ports so they can't be used(circled in red). In addition, this lifts the motherboard up off the case so around half the screws can't be screwed in. Without the template on though, it leaves the inside of the computer open as in the second picture. Anyone know what I should do with this thing?

 

[Cutlass]

Those tabs are supposed to be folded back so that the ports slide into the holes and it the tabs grip them.

 

[GoodGame]

My first rule is always screw the mobo in first, then apply the CPU. But that's not the problem.

On the crappy aluminum foil thing, usually the one that comes with the case is garbage, but the one that comes with the mobo should work fine out of the box. Just whatever you do, don't try to squash the mobo to fit the foil plate, as putting pressure on the components might damage them. Better to just grab a knife/scissors and cut the foil to fit. The foil should fit snuggly, but well, without warping itself or putting pressure on the mobo.

If it's too much hassle, set it aside for now. The main use of it is to help keep dust out of the case. Better to test that the components are working before the warranty time expires.

EDIT: but yeah, what Cutlass said.

 

[Onionsoilder]

Alright, so if I do it that way (bending the tabs and cutting the foil) I can get everything in place, but I can only get 6 out of 9 screws into the motherboard(the motherboard is lifted to high off the base plate for the screws to reach it). Is that okay? Aside from forcing them in(which seems like a bad idea) I can't get the last 3 in.

 

[Cutlass]

if the board is firm and not moving you can get away with 6 screws.

 

[Onionsoilder]

Alright, well it's secure so I'm goign to go ahead with installation. Thanks guys!

 

[Genocidicbunny]

If you have a hefty heatsink, you might want to find a way to get those last 3 screws in. You really dont want the mobo being stressed.

What you might be able to do is cut off the bottom tab for the template so that it sits a bit lower. Then a bit of tape at the top would close that crack. All you'd need is a dremel or a set of metal shears.

 

[GoodGame]

Alright, so if I do it that way (bending the tabs and cutting the foil) I can get everything in place, but I can only get 6 out of 9 screws into the motherboard(the motherboard is lifted to high off the base plate for the screws to reach it). Is that okay? Aside from forcing them in(which seems like a bad idea) I can't get the last 3 in.

Not sure what you mean that the mobo is lifted too high. What do you mean by the base plate? Is it an extra removable plate in the case? Edit: There are various non-conductive spacers that you can use to try to mobo level with all of the screw-holes; It's kind of suspicious that the mobo screw-holes weren't all level with each other that you couldn't screw all of them in.

Pretty much as long as the mobo's fibre board doesn't flex/sag when mounted to the case, then there's no risk of damage to it as you add or remove components. A little flexing can occur without causing failure, but you want to avoid it.

 

[Onionsoilder]

Well, the mobo is sort of at a slant in the case. It's not bending or flexing at all, it's just mounted somewhat odd. Using my expert MS paint skills, I will attempt to illustrate:

There are some spacers that come with the case, which I can use to mount the motherboard like so:

With the second method above, I can get the motherboard level with all the screws in, but it's sort of suspended in mid-air. I'm not sure if this is bad to do or not.


EDIT:
I have another question. What am I supposed to do with the 1394 cable? It has the same pin configuration as a USB connector, but all my manuals say "'NEVER attach a 1394 cable to a UBS connector, it will damage the device'", so I guess I'm not supposed to attach the cable to a UBS connector. However, I can't for the life of me find a 1394 connector on my mobo, and there is none listed in the installation manual either.

 

[GravityWave]

With the second method above, I can get the motherboard level with all the screws in, but it's sort of suspended in mid-air. I'm not sure if this is bad to do or not.

As long as your mobo is screwed in correctly having it suspended in the air is nought to worry about. Mobos usually end up wonky because of the order the screws where screwed in, I personally screw in the corners first to prevent this.

I have another question. What am I supposed to do with the 1394 cable?

Firewire is pretty much heading to the graveyard on PCs IMHO, your mobo probably doesn't support it if you can't find a connector. I just used a cable tidy to hide my FW cable out of the way (a free drive bay is a good hiding place).

 

[Onionsoilder]

Alright, so I can just leave the 1394 cable disconnected? Cool. I guess I'll put those spacers on as well, so the mobo isn't slanted anymore then.

 

[Onionsoilder]

Alright, I got the mobo all set up and level, everything else is set up and plugged in, and I just installed the RAM, HDD and GC without and problems. Thanks for the help guys!

Now all I have to do is install the CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and External Hard Drive Bay. I'm a little confused about those since I canibalized them from my old computer.

 

[Cutlass]

Using the spacers to level the mobo is the right thing to do. the fact that it's a little in the air means nothing if you have all the screws in.

The firewire, if they gave you a cable with the mobo, then somewhere in the directions is a description of where to plug it in. But if it came with the case, the mobo might not support it. It's not that heavily used, so it can be done without. If you had firewire devices and your mobo doesn't support it, you could get an expansion card.

For your legacy hardware, there is probably only one connector for the IDE ribbon cable if the mobo supports serial ata ard drives. So you are limited to 2 optical drives or IDE hard drives without an expansion card.

 

[Onionsoilder]

Alright, I guess thatr makes sence about the IDE ribbon. I have the CD and DVD drives in now, I guess I'll have to hold off on the external bay, but I'm going to try and boot it up now! Hope it works!

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Unfortunately, as Cutlass said, most new motherboards only have a single IDE socket, which will support at most 2 devices. It might be worthwhile to buy a SATA DVD Burner and leave the CD-rom and external HDD bay on the IDE ribbon ( this is assuming the HDD bay is connected with IDE).

EDIT- looks like you already got it!

 

[Cutlass]

You can also get an enclosure for an external drive bay that will allow an IDE device to run off USB.

 

[Onionsoilder]

Alright, well I'll probably go the enclosure route so I can run it off of a USB port, but for now I need some more help(hopefully for the last time):

I closed the case up, plugged everything in, then powered my new computer up. It went through a loading screen displaying the motherboard manufacturer, then brought me to a black DOS-like screen that said something to the effect of:

Please select boot device and restart

Or insert boot media into selected device and hit any key

Erm... what exactly am I supposed to do here? I'm guessing this has something to do with either the hard drive or the OS, but I'm not sure what.

 

[GVBN]

So are you trying to boot Windows from HDD? I think you have to specify boot order in BIOS

With the second method above, I can get the motherboard level with all the screws in, but it's sort of suspended in mid-air. I'm not sure if this is bad to do or not.

That's exactly what you're supposed to do. Motherboard should be mounted on spacers, not directly to the case, otherwise it will just short circuit and die horribly

 

[Onionsoilder]

So are you trying to boot Windows from HDD? I think you have to specify boot order in BIOS

Erm... I'm trying to install Windows. Right now I just have a brand-new, blank HDD in the case. I'm trying to get it to read the install CD in my drive.

 

[GVBN]

If the computer detects the drive then just go to BIOS and set your drive as primary boot device