Help with ASRock dual Sata AGP/PCIE and PSU cabling

[Mr Wondestuff]

Hello all, new to the forums so treat me gently

Anyhow I have purchased a bunch of components to put together, notably the ASRock Dual Sata 939 AGP/PCIE mobo.

I need some clarification about the cabling from the PSU to the Motherboard. I have a Tagan TG480-U22 psu which has a number of leads including a 20pin connector plus a connector to make it 24pin (black) and a +12/P4 connector (blue).

Having set up the motherboard I put the 20 pin connector in the 20 pin slot and the +12/P4 in the 12v socket (as well as putting all the other connectors throughout the motherboard).

Horribly I smelt burning as soon as I switched it on and immediately switched off the machine. I took out the 12v power lead and the machine came on without the rear fans (the cpu fan was working as well as the front and graphics card).

Was I correct in where I put the 12v power lead (the blue one). If so, have I knackered the motherboard and/or cpu?

Any help appreciated.

 

[imported_Imp]

This board only has a 20-pin power connector and the 12v CPU, so I'm not sure how this burning could have happened. Was anything put in backwards? What's burning, you PSU or something on the board? Also, just double checking, the 12v line was 4-pin right? Could it be a faulty PSU (I haven't heard much about Tagan.

 

[Mr Wondestuff]

Could it have been the arctic themal paste I put on the cpu that the smell was (it was coming from the board)? I put all the connectors the correct way round.

The 12v connector is 4 pin Here's a pic (i only have one - not two as pictured)

I take it both the 20pin and the 4pin 12v need to be connected to the motherboard.

Maybe I should give it another go.

 

[grooge]

you did not mount the board directly to the bottom of the case don't you?

 

[Mr Wondestuff]

Hmm...I think I may have. There were no risers supplied with the motherboard or case. Do you think I shorted the board?

 

[Greenman]

Yes, you shorted the board. The risers come with the case, and if they weren't installed, you had hundreds of points on the motherboard shorted. It still might work, but I don't know if using it will put the other parts at risk.

 

[grooge]

I would take it out of the case and have visual look at it. Check for burned traces or melted component. Your PSU "may" have turn itself off fast enough to prevent furter damage, but.. don't count on this.

Anyway, it is up to you to plug the PSU to the board while it is outside the case and on a non conductive surface (I shouldnt have to specified that.. I think you've learn the hard way..) and power it again, without CPU,RAM or any other component.. If there is no more smoke, you could try your CPU.. but.. there is a risk there too. But maybe it is already dead anyway too.. if the board complain with beep, then it may not be dead after all..

 

[Mr Wondestuff]

Nothing melted or burnt from what I can tell. I've removed the arctic paste from the cpu and heatsink and nothing seems wrong there.

Ah I've noticed the risers in the manual now (small copper colour screws?).

I'm tempted to go to a computer repair place and ask them to test the components in isolation - would that be advisable?

 

[grooge]

I would do it myself.. I think that what had to be damaged is already damaged and can't be worst...

 

[imported_Seer]

Ok, I'm going to spell this out a bit more for you in an attempt to minimize further damage:

You get your motherboard close to your case, and then look for the holes on the motherboard. You have to match those holes up with the holes on the motherboard tray. The tray will have more holes than the motherboard. Once you have found a match, you take the screw (pictured here in the bottom most right http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/Full/44936i0.jpg ) and screw that in to the matching hole on the tray. Do this for all of the holes on the motherboard, making sure that you don't put a mounting screw where there is no hole on the motherboard. Then you put the motherboard on the mounts in the tray and screw it in.

I hope this helps. Best of luck to you for everything working! I wouldn't count on it, though; a burning smell usually means your screwed. I'd wager only the motherboard is damage, however.

 

[Mr Wondestuff]

Thanks seer, very clear. I'm hoping that, if anything, its just the motherboard which has possibly bitten the dust. Oh well you live and learn, at least I have my health and a roof over my head. I'll post back here with my progress.

Thanks to all those that responded.

 

[imported_Imp]

Well, sorry to hear that. Sh*t happens.

Grooge: how did you know 1, 2, 3 that the board was mounted directly to the case?

 

[grooge]

It is called experience..

I've dealt with noob users for long time now.. so I always suspect users errors first..

Smoke are mostly from grounded circuit..

 

[Mr Wondestuff]

Well Im not entirely n00b The machine Im writing this on was built from the ground up...not sure why I made such a silly mistake but maybe in my excitement I wasnt thinking straight and made a 'noob' mistake...oh and its been a few years since I did a new system build.

 

[grooge]

That's still a noob mistake to me

 

[Mr Wondestuff]

Just a quick update. I'm testing the motherboard to see if the rear fans would work (its a Gigabyte Aurora). I have put the power cable into the correct socket in the motherboard but they dont turn. However the cpu fan does work in its own socket on the motherboard. Could this be an indication the m/b is fried or do these fans come on at a given time that the case gets a little warm?

 

[grooge]

Sad to say, but it is probably fried..

 

[SpeedZealot369]

Hi, Im about to install this motherboard on my pc so can you tell me what you did wrong so I'll avoid the same thing? please explain words thhat you use like "risers" and "mounting directly" and pictures would be nice also. I just want to do it right my first time.

Thanks, everything is appreciated.

 

[Mr Wondestuff]

Just read the posts on this thread...theres a picture of the risers (look like long copper screws) which sit on the base of the case, the motherboard sits ontop and you then screw in the normal looking screws through the board into those risers. The risers (as the name implies) rise the motherboard off the base of the case to prevent shorting out. My other question (which wasnt answered but which I now know) was about the two power cables which go into the motherboard (the 20pin and 4pin).

 

[grooge]

Originally posted by: Mr Wondestuff
Just read the posts on this thread...theres a picture of the risers (look like long copper screws) which sit on the base of the case, the motherboard sits ontop and you then screw in the normal looking screws through the board into those risers. The risers (as the name implies) rise the motherboard off the base of the case to prevent shorting out. My other question (which wasnt answered but which I now know) was about the two power cables which go into the motherboard (the 20pin and 4pin).

Yes, you need both power cable attached. the 20 pins one and the 4 pins one. Note that some 24 pins PSU has a 4 pins block that can be removed from the main connector to make it 20 pins. This connector SHOULD NOT BE USED in place of the ATX12v. The ATX12v has 2 yellow wire and 2 black wire.

 

[Mr Wondestuff]

Yup I noticed all the labels on the power supply indicating this. The 4 pin was something I hadnt seen before (my current system has it and I hadnt plugged it in - have done it now). I suppose with all these high performance graphic cards and cpus additional juice is required.