problems securing expansion cards

motherboard: abit KT-7
CPU: duron 650 @ 600
ram: 256 pcsomething i dont know
video: v5 5500 AGP


Right now I have nothing securing my PCI and AGP cards to my case, and the computer boots up fine.

I'm trying to secure my PCI cards and AGP card to my case using 6-32 x 3/8" machine screws made of zinc metal.

I screw in the screws fairly tight, so that the card can't be moved. Most of the time when I do this, nothing shows up on the monitor when I turn the computer on. Sometimes when I put the card in an absolutely perfect but fragile position, the computer will start perfectly fine with video.

I try securing just one card at a time, even when that one card is NOT the video card, and I have the same problem.

There also doesn't seem to be any correlation between this problem and what other cards I have installed at the time, or which PCI slot they're installed on.

heres a picture of what it looks like without a screw in it:
http://people.ku.edu/~cal3b/case_problem.jpg

Why does it do this and how can I fix it?

Get a Life

More than likely it's a grounding problem. When you screw the slot cover down it pushes the card down enough to either hit the bottom or the back of the board cage and closes a ground loop.

Use post washers on your mobo when you put it in, you can also put post washers on the slot covers if you want to try that route too

don't use cheap computer cases.

Use post washers on your mobo when you put it in

What are post washers?

Originally posted by ASK-CandyMan
More than likely it's a grounding problem. When you screw the slot cover down it pushes the card down enough to either hit the bottom or the back of the board cage and closes a ground loop.

Use post washers on your mobo when you put it in, you can also put post washers on the slot covers if you want to try that route too that's strange, i never use washers and i actually recommend against doing that precisely because i want the entire case to have a common ground.

post washers i think are these little nonconductive brownish/red (maroon i guess) discs.

and i was serious, don't use a cheap case, sometimes cases have the slots aligned improperly with the motherboard and cause all sorts of securing problems.

oh dear..

is it a ghetto case? someone once called it a "razor chink" case before and i just couldn't help but :lol: despite being chinese. ;) they're the ones that have super sharp edges and are responsible for giving every asian computer tech a billion case cuts. :)

hey no, it doesnt have razor sharp anything. I think it was a cheap case, just because I know what I was thinking regarding cases at the time ("they're all the same").

But um. I'm going to buy a new one I GUESS. And see if it works. I don't understand the grounding and what not so I can't really fiddle with that.

Thanks bro'z.

do the grounding thing. all candyman is saying is to use the little brownish washers and shit. go to your local computer store and ask them for the reddish/brown plastic washer things. they should have em around i think

see, well he said something about the slot covers touching the case or something(I think).. so I cut the end of them off and the problem still exists, so ved.. it could still be a grounding issue but it isnt the issue candy describes

hmm do this. take a piece of wire and have the ends contact the expansion slot end and the case so that it conducts. know what i'm saying? but leave the card otherwise undisturbed. then see what happens.

be careful.

hrmm...is your motherboard touching the case?(shouldnt be) In that bag of screws that most cases come with, there are spacers included. Screw those on before you put in the mobo ;)

http://www.indiacomputerinfo.com/computer/6.htm

the slot cover is already touching the case in a different place.. if it was going to conduct it already would have, so, ved what u are thinking about though invar..

:shrug: when you secure the cards, do you have to use force to get the screws to fit in right? and when you do that, are you sure it doesn't pop out of your motherboard a bit?

the card with nothing securing it, is oriented a little different differently than the card with a screw securing it.. but it doesnt appear to be coming OUT of the PCI/AGP slot with the new orientation. the screw APPEARS to be securing it IN the slot.

Originally posted by JZ1
hrmm...is your motherboard touching the case?(shouldnt be) In that bag of screws that most cases come with, there are spacers included. Screw those on before you put in the mobo ;)

http://www.indiacomputerinfo.com/computer/6.htm

the bottom of the motherboard that is... same exact thing happened to me before i realized thats what those screws are for =o

ok brother, i will try that b4 buying new case..tnx

ok i fixed problem after some spacer investigation

i had spacers screwed into the case that didnt match up to the spacer holes on the motherboard. so when i was screwing in the card i was pushing the motherboard into contact with spacers. i dont know why, but when you put extra metal things on a motherboard, they stop working 4 some reason

Originally posted by Clamsoda
ok i fixed problem after some spacer investigation

i had spacers screwed into the case that didnt match up to the spacer holes on the motherboard. so when i was screwing in the card i was pushing the motherboard into contact with spacers. i dont know why, but when you put extra metal things on a motherboard, they stop working 4 some reason

Can't imagine why that would happen :rolleyes:

This is prolly the most common problem people have who don't generally build computers on a regular basis, if it makes u feel any better clam ;)