When builds go wrong...

[VirtualLarry]

You would think that after so many years of building PCs, one would not be prone to screwups, but I did an interesting thing the other night. I was assembling an old P4 mobo into a new case, and ordinarily, the brass standoffs have a coarse thread on the outside, and a fine-pitch thread on the inside. I neglected to check the specific hardware that came with this case, and just used fine-pitch thread screws to attach the mobo. They did seem to take more effort than necessary to screw them in, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Then tonight, I just realized the possibility that the standoffs used coarse threads both inside and outside (they do), and I used the WRONG screws to attach the mobo. I tried to remove the screws in two places to attempt to replace them, but instead of removing the mobo screw, it only attempted to unscrew the brass standoff underneath the mobo. Big problem. So essentially, this mobo is never leaving this case. Not a horrible problem, since I was planning on selling this box, but annoying nonetheless.

So I guess I would offer this rule-of-thumb: Always check your standoffs! There are different types, and if you're not careful, you'll screw up like I did.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
You would think that after so many years of building PCs, one would not be prone to screwups, but I did an interesting thing the other night. I was assembling an old P4 mobo into a new case, and ordinarily, the brass standoffs have a coarse thread on the outside, and a fine-pitch thread on the inside. I neglected to check the specific hardware that came with this case, and just used fine-pitch thread screws to attach the mobo. They did seem to take more effort than necessary to screw them in, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Then tonight, I just realized the possibility that the standoffs used coarse threads both inside and outside (they do), and I used the WRONG screws to attach the mobo. I tried to remove the screws in two places to attempt to replace them, but instead of removing the mobo screw, it only attempted to unscrew the brass standoff underneath the mobo. Big problem. So essentially, this mobo is never leaving this case. Not a horrible problem, since I was planning on selling this box, but annoying nonetheless.

So I guess I would offer this rule-of-thumb: Always check your standoffs! There are different types, and if you're not careful, you'll screw up like I did.

The motherboard is being held in by a bunch of screws and standoffs.

Why don't you just take all the screws out, and then work on the standoff once the motherboard is out of the case? It's not like you have to leave it in there.

 

[trOver]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
You would think that after so many years of building PCs, one would not be prone to screwups, but I did an interesting thing the other night. I was assembling an old P4 mobo into a new case, and ordinarily, the brass standoffs have a coarse thread on the outside, and a fine-pitch thread on the inside. I neglected to check the specific hardware that came with this case, and just used fine-pitch thread screws to attach the mobo. They did seem to take more effort than necessary to screw them in, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Then tonight, I just realized the possibility that the standoffs used coarse threads both inside and outside (they do), and I used the WRONG screws to attach the mobo. I tried to remove the screws in two places to attempt to replace them, but instead of removing the mobo screw, it only attempted to unscrew the brass standoff underneath the mobo. Big problem. So essentially, this mobo is never leaving this case. Not a horrible problem, since I was planning on selling this box, but annoying nonetheless.

So I guess I would offer this rule-of-thumb: Always check your standoffs! There are different types, and if you're not careful, you'll screw up like I did.

The motherboard is being held in by a bunch of screws and standoffs.

Why don't you just take all the screws out, and then work on the standoff once the motherboard is out of the case? It's not like you have to leave it in there.

exactly..........