Hi,
Im new to pc building and i managed to fry my motherboard. Instead of using standoffs to fasten the motherbaord to the case, i used screws instead, as the standoffs were a bit hard to screw on. I switched everything on, then pressed the power button on my case and i saw a massive spark followed by a foul smell but after inspecting the motherboard, i can find no burn marks. I took out the mobo from the case and put it on a glass table, tried to power the mobo up again but no lights come up, not even the green led on the motherboard. I reset cmos, took out battery and replaced it, took out everything except ram and cpu but no sucess. Here are my questions:

will i be able to recue my motherboard? (although im pretty sure its fried)
does this mean my ram and cpu has fried to?
will i be able to rma/replace under warrantry? like saying the mobo was DOA or sumthing?

the mobo: asus p5k-e wifi edition (p35)
cpu : intel c2d e8400 + arctic cooling freezer 7 pro
PSU: Coolermaster iGreen 600w
GFX card: Gecube hd 3870xt OC edition
Case: Coolermaster elite 330

i bought the mobo from "www.overclockers.co.uk", basicly 2 days ago
and everything else from "www.ebuyer.com", around 4 days ago

any help apreciated, thanks in advance. Ben

CPU is prolly fine. Mobo is toast.

It's your karma, and your responsibilty to say the right thing.

Live with it, a learning experiance

Or you can put the smoke back in the Mobo, it's not cheap with the prices of good mojo as much as oil.

Hopefully the PSU isn't taost too.

will i be able to return it though free of charge if i say the motherboard was DOA? or is it covered?

I would try a different power supply first. But do it on a non conductive surface. I always use an old motherboard box or phonebook. You should have a spare ps anyway for testing purposes. Before sending them in, I would inspect the board again, front and backside next to a window or someplace with good lighting. Chances are any burn marks are around the main ps 24 pin and 4 (or 8) pin connectors.

Think you should remove the names of the companies you bought from your post then if there is no visable sign of abuse to the MB & it is still dead after trying a different psu then RMA it. If its got some signs of abuse then you may not get it accepted as a DOA but its worth a try... gl.

theres no signs of burn marks, i think, i tried rebuilding system outside of case, on a glass surface and no signs of life in the mobo

i cant test the power supply as i dont have a computer that works with an atx psu, as i use a laptop and a computer from year 1995

if theres no burn marks, will there be a good chance of rma?

and what should i type or say what happend with the mobo when i phone sum1 up?

thank u guys for helping me after being so foolish

I'd say that when you put it together and pressed the power button, nothing happened at all, no signs of life, and make out as if you used the standoffs and such, grounding yourself properly with a wrist strap or something, doing everything all your manuals told you to do and generally being safe so that there's no logical conclusion for them to draw other than the mobo was DOA. Worth a try tbh, and if there are no burn marks you have a good chance of getting it back.

If there's something wrong with that idea, someone correct me

EDIT: You might want to test the CPU and/or RAM before RMA'ing the mobo so you know what to RMA. If you can't do that, then tell the mobo tech support that you've tested them and they work when you go to RMA your mobo lol.

well i just sent overclockers an email, and hopefully i get it rmaed.