I have an abit fp-in9. I have had this board for over a year and decided to get a new case for it.

I purchased an NZXT lexa blackilne, and then the problem started.


The board works fine when set up outside the case but when i insert it in the case it shorts out (the board freezes in bios and other parts randomly)


I have checked all components and they work fine (incl power supply). Since it works outside the case the only other reason for it not booting & freezing is that something is shorting out the board.

I have inserted the board with static bag underneath and it still shorts.

I have put washers on the stand offs and it still shorts.

I have left the screws out and it still shorts.

I have put foam bits to make sure no part of board touches back plate but yes it still shorts.

I have put the same set up in a similar lexa case and it still shorts.

I have tried the graphics card in another mobo in the same case and it works so it aint the graphics card touching off something in the case and shorting.

I have set the power supply and hdd outside the case incase they were causing the problem but they were not as it still shorts.

What on earth could be causing my board to short or freeze randomly. The freezing occurs within 10secs. Sometimes i can get to windows xp login but then freezes. Other times it just wont post at all and the flashing ready sign on the top left of the screen will be there.

PLS PLS PLS PLS some1 help as i am going grey with frustration and stress.

Yeah i am just looking for advice. Maybe some1 knows something i do not (hopefully)

I have tried without the power switch cables inserted. Manually shorting the two pins in the case but the same results.

By any chance could there we some electrical field being emmitted from the metal in the case-enough to short the boards or something?

I am really stuck on where to go from here. I would really like to figure this issue out also instead of just getting a new case ya know.

tnx

Anything around the I/O shield that is touching that is not supposed to be?
Aside from that, looks like maybe there is short in the motherboard at one of the screw points.

Hi Jitpublisher.

I have also tried removing the I/O shield and the problem is still there. It does not look like any part of the mobo is touching off the case.

I have tried inserting the mobo and leaving the screws out but it still shorts.

SInce the board works fine outside the case on some cardboard it must not be the actual screw points.

not got a standoff in the wrong place?

yeah, my first thought was a standoff touching the bottom of the board and not a screw hole.. those are hard to catch cuz you can't see them when the board is down. count the standoffs before and make sure you got the same amount of screws going in

Question your assumptions.
Because it takes a varying amount of time to shut down, it may not be a short. If you had a short, I would expect an immediate and consistent failure.
Check the size of the heads of the screws used to secure the motherboard. If you used the wrong ones that have a larger head, then you can short the motherboard. Look carefully at the area surrounding each mobo mounting hole to see if there is any possibility of a short.
The mobo needs to be grounded. Use all of the mobo mounting holes, and use the I/O shield.
It is strange that your mobo works in your old case, and not in a similar NEXA case, or your new one. Perhaps a call to NEXA support might uncover something.
Perhaps it is a heat issue, or the cpu cooler is not seated well. 10 seconds is about the time it would take for the cpu to shut down from an overheating problem. Because it runs ok outside of the case, I don't think that is the problem.

When you put the mobo in the case, do not connect any of the fans, usb, or other connections. Short the power switch to start it up. If it runs, add connections, one at a time.

Good luck, and please post your solution when you find it.

do you have anything to prop the board up with? try booting the board outside the case vertical, that seems to be the only difference. gravity may have something to do with this. its fine horizontal but when you stand it up something comes loose.

Also, check board for defects, capacitors do weird things when they start to leak.

I really appreciate the help guys.


I have checked the stand off positions a number of times and they are correct.

Geofelt you posed an interesting point about the board needing to be grounded.

When the board is set up on card board outside the case what is grounding it then? the card?

I notice that around each screw hole on the mobo there is a solder pattern with what looks like brass solder dots. It is an interesting pattern so it must have some significance. Is it necessary for me to have a screw to cover this "solder pattern" in order for the board to be grounded?

Is that how a mobo is normally grounded or is it different for different motherboards?

I will go look for screws to see if they can cover around the screw holes over the solder pattern to see if this grounds my mobo thus solving the problem.

To give a more specific desription of what happens when the computer turns on: I turn it on, It posts, i go into bios normally and check system temps then if i wait a sec or two the screen will freeze.

Normally the temp readings will go to -1 all the way down and then i cant do anything other then turn off comp. If i reset the comp it will just go to black flashing screen and not post. I will usually have to reset cmos to get it back into post but not always.

So as i said it freezes within 10 secs, sometimes the comp wont even post and it will freeze once turned on.

Thanks guys, things are getting productive=)

My quess is the heatsink is loose, and when you stand it up in the case gravity seperates the HS enought to make the temps crazy.

Laying flat gravity allows for a decent connection.

If the HS is on right it should'nt wiggle at all. Try wiggling it and see if its loose.

You do NOT want big headed screws, they can cause shorts. Sometimes it is easy to get the wrong ones. The mobo should be grounded to the case through the standoffs, and the psu is grounded to the case with the psu mounting screws.

Roadrunner has a good theory on why a case mount might be a problem, causing high temps.. What cooler do you have? Remounting it could be a good idea.

I just tried there with the big screws. Same freeze as usual. By big screws i mean wide at the head not length so as to cover over that metal/brass patterned circle around the outside of the screw hole. It must have something to do with the grounding of the board no?

I am currently testing the board horizontally, both inside and outside the case. I really dont thing it is the cpu and heatsink. I have reseated a few times now. Since it works fine outside it should be fine inside.

As for the temps, that only happens when the board gets shorted, as in all is fine and the bios temps are being read ok until the short where the screen freezes and the temp readings go to -1. It has nothing to do with a temp problem.

I think the solution will be something to do with what makes the board work outside the case but not in the case when all that is changed is its environment. Nothing extra plugged in-the same as when it is set up outside the case.

the gods are playing tricks on me or it could just be magic.

up til late last night and i have narrowed down the issue a bit but unsure where to go from here.

I said that i tried the graphics card in a different mobo in the same case and it worked.

So my 8800gts went into and xfx 650i mobo that was in the lexa case and all is well, no freezing.

When i place that same graphics card in the abit board in the lexa case problems start to occur. The display seems to freeze like there was a short somewhere.

When i place the above setup outside the case on some card there are no problems. When outside the case i must prop up the graphics card a bit so that it can fit nicely into the pci slot, thus the cards base or any part of the front frame is not touching anything. (the card also fits nicely when in the case, i have tried many times)

I believe the front panel of the graphics card (where the video in/out is) when placed in the lexa case is causing the freezing/short. This might have something to do with the pci slot on the mobo being sensitive and getting upset when the graphics card is touching off the case.

Does this sound feasible to any of you guys or is that definitely not the problem?

Any ideas on how i can prove this is/is'nt the issue and maybe try and resolve it?


I have ruled out so far:

>Stand offs and screws
>psu
>all components plugged in
>I/O plate and backplate
>power switches etc
>all hardware

So the problem has to do with contacting off case and the only thing that is doing that all the time is the graphics card.

Is it possible for the front plate to be sensitive on some motherboards?

Should i be checking the pci slot for the problem since the graphics card works on another mobo in the same case?

Strange thing is that i can touch the front plate of the graphics card when outsid the case and there is no shorting.

A mystery that needs to be solved people.

well its not the front plate of the gpu anyway. I used insulation tape to cover the whole front plate and it still freezes/shorts.

Hmmmmm.

could it be that the board just does not like the case and wants to go back to its old case?

I think this could be proof of inanimate objects having a personality.

Any1 have any last ideas before this board gets turned into something artistic rather than functional?