Odd Motherboard + Cards + Backplate issue

[TheCorm]

So I got hold if an old DX or thereabouts board with a PIII 500mhz on it....splendid I though, I can upgrade my mums PII 300 and LX combo for a bit of extra spead....a simple op I though.

So I took the PCI cards and the board out of my mums old case, in with the new bits and put all the PCI cards in.....if it have the cards in firmly and lined up with the backplate.....it works.....if I screws them in securely....goodbye....does not post.....CPU fan stays off....hard drive and PSU fan spin up....that's it.

The general thinking here at work is that either something is shorting it out or there is a crack of some kind in the motherboard and the extra pressure from securing it causing an issue.

Any other thoughts....I wasted 2hrs fiddling yesterday and cut my thumb on the case....blasted thing.

 

[high]

Have you tried each one in seperately screwed in?? Sounds like one of them is lifting the end of it when the other side of the card gets screwed. If there's not 100% contact on the PCI Bus your mobo will not POST

 

[pspada]

Sounds like the original spacers are too big for this motherboard. they are usually brass hex type these days, but the old systems often used plastic spacers, which were not the same height. So if you replace the spacers with another size, the cards may seat and screw in properly.

 

[TheCorm]

It's a Tiny (brand not size) case, midi tower and had the LX board in originally, has brass hex spaces, I just took out the old board and put in the new one...

 

[pspada]

as I said, it sounds like the current spacers are incorrectly sized for the motherboard you are now using.

 

[TheCorm]

Interesting....I have never had spaces come with with any of the motherboards that I have bought (and that's a fair few, more than 100), only with cases.....how can they be motherboard specific?