shorted MB - opinions?

[teeman]

Hey all,
I recently picked up an Asus P4C800 Deluxe MB (Intel 845P)along with a 2.4 800mhz FSB P4. After everything was put together and switched on, I noticed the dreaded burning wire smell, and no signal to monitor. A quick check showed all fans and LED's and powersupplies powering up fine. After scratching my head I went to check the risers the MB was on and realized I had an extra riser where there is no screw hole - forgot to take it out! After removing it, I saw the blackened burn mark where the riser came in contact with the underside of the MB and shorted. After kicking myself in the arse a few times I powered up the machine for the hell of it- and low and behold it functioned without any problems! I've since successfully installed XP and have been running sissandra's burn in wizard for the past few hours - CPU never reaches past 30C and MB never goes past 26C - pretty cool numbers. I've never done this to an MB before, so I'm not sure how I should go about it. It seems fine, and the saying goes if it ain't broke - don't fix it, but does anyone with experience have any suggestions? should I send it in to Ausus for a check over or try to exchange it? the burning smell and black marks on the riser can't be a good thing, it seems hard to believe that there won't be any lasting effects to the lifetime or performance of the MB. Does this happen often? Are MB's know to behave like this? I was pretty sure the MB was dead after that...glad I was wrong. Any Suggestions?
Thanks!
T

[Target]

I suggest you thank your lucky stars that the thing works at all.

You can't really send it back for replacement as any issues the board may exhibit were most likely caused by the short you created between the board and the case at install time.

You can send it to Asus and have them check it over for you, but its unlikely they will be able to tell you much more than you already know. You'll also be without your machine for god knows how long while they have it for review/testing.

Since it apparently works for you now, I'd say you were one of the lucky ones. Does it happen often, yes.....is it always fatal to motherboards, no. Can it be, certainly.

My guess is that you caught the problem and turned it off before the short was able to cause permanent damage. Chalk it up as a valuable lesson learned, and continue to use it until it fails, or you tire of it and want to upgrade again.

[teeman]

Target,

Thanks for the reply! Hehe, well, a update since a few days ago - no more video signal to monitor. Everything powers up fine, but I can't get a signal to my monitor anymore - the same symptom as when the stray riser was in contact. Oh well, I guess I'm not a lucky one. I will have to be sending it back in to Asus, and hope that my MasterCard Purchase assurance will cover the repair. I'm almost inclined to just buy a new one. Arrgh. Any other bits of advice or stories would be much appreciated.
Thanks all
T

[thekingofpain]

Might be quicker to attempt to deal with your vendor rather then Asus direct---at this point its sorta like you set up your inflatable pool with a rake underneath it---and are looking for someone else to make your mistake go away at their expense...

[teeman]

King of Pain,

Thanks for the advice on trying my vendor - but unfortunately I'd rather not risk sending it off to the vendor as I'm sure they will clearly see the burn mark on the bottom of the board, and it would most likely be a waste of shipping. Sending it back to Asus will not yield a repair or new board swap, but an official letter of non-repair due to user installation which I can use for Purchase assurance (IF the item is eligible)

I'm trying to figure out the tone of your post. I don't see any need to reiterate the faulty installation with an analogy (the pool bit), as I have already explained in detail that it was an installation error on my part. And I'm definitely not following the bit about trying to make my mistake go away at someone elses expense - are you aware that the purchase assurance program is meant for user damaged goods? There is absolutely nothing shady about putting a purchase assurance claim through. I've done nothing but tell all involved parties the truth. In fact, the requirement IS that I damaged the item. But I guess maybe you're right and I should shell out another $180 on mobo though I may very well be covered with this great service. I should have thought of that myself.
T

[geneparr]

I'm looking for help/advice re. installing the ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe board in a PCPower&Cooling case. Reading the above messages increases my fear!
The Case instructions read "install the metal standoffs in the baseplate threaded holes that apply to motherboard grounding. Install the nylon standoffs..in all locations except those to be used by the standoffs provided."
MY QUESTION:

[geneparr]

Sorry, I clicked wrong! Here is MY QUESTION:
I need to know how many needed for grounding and which ones?
thanx,
REP