Motherboard won't align with standoffs

josh2000

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Sep 1, 2011
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i'm building my first pc right now and i've run into a serious problem - i can't get my mobo into the case (ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 and Cooler Master HAF 912, respectively), because the two standoffs that came permanently attached in my case are not lining up precisely with the holes. i took out the I/O panel and it still won't fit. i can only seat one standoff at a time, with the other visibly askew underneath the board, slightly. and the standoffs are labeled B and E and go through the top- and middle-right holes in the mobo.

is it normal for pre-installed standoffs to take some trial and error to line up correctly? they slide in pretty easily in the videos i've seen but i don't think they had standoffs already in. i'm not exerting any real force but i'm worried about damaging the mobo if the edge of the hole rests on the standoff for any period of time. anyone else have this problem?
 

Gothams Finest

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Sep 15, 2011
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Mine took a fair bit of trial an error to line up, I had to use a fair bit of force, not enough to cause damage just enough to get them lined up.
 

DelroyMonjo

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I have the same MB and an Antec 300 case. The front 3 mounting studs were over 1 inch away from the mounting holes in the MB. I left it that way but installed the front 24 pin power connector using my hand to back up the MB. Had a very slight placement problem with the rest of the mounting studs but just don't tighten all of the screws until you get them all started slightly.
BTW, My ASRock MB did NOT have mounting posts or screws to attach the MB to the case. Glad I'm not a first time builder. Also, only got 1 SATA HD cable. What's with that? Good board so far, though.
 

josh2000

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Sep 1, 2011
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thanks for the assistance, guys. i ended up solving it myself late last night (about 4 hours before work :sleep: ) - i took a break to calm my nerves and after that i managed to get it in without much hassle. again, i'm a first time builder, applying any amount of force to the board freaks me out, lol. sorry for the noob-panic.

and yeah, all the asrock came with was a few cables and the i/o panel. the case came with all the standoffs and screws, which I thought was peculiar.
 

nuraman00

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Nov 13, 2011
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I have an Antec 300 case, and ASRock Extreme 3 970 motherboard. I'm having problems myself making the motherboard allign with the screws.

I can get one screw in, but only once have I gotten two in, and the fit of the 2nd screw just doesn't look right.

I also think the screws are too small to go through the motherboard screw holes and into the case holes, but I'm not sure if that's the problem.

Sometimes after I get the 2nd screw partially in, the 1st one just comes out. But I know the 1st one was in tight enough.

I tried for a few hours yesterday. Will try again today, and try to get a friend to help.

I'm a first-time builder.