Help: 2 Motherboard Screws Stuck in Standoffs (But Not Fully Fastened)

[Rideronthewheel]

I was installing my motherboard last night (Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H) into my case (Cooler Master Elite) and ran into some trouble when mounting it with the standoffs and screws. I screwed in the 6 standoffs, put in the IO shield, then aligned my motherboard with everything. I then inserted the screws and began tightening them. 4/6 screws went in fine - the heads rest on the solder star-like shape surrounding the hole. 2 screws, however, would not tighten all the way down to the board. I am nearly certain they are the same type of screw, yet they would not fasten fully. But when trying to remove them, I realized they had become stuck inside the standoff itself and loosing/tightening the screw merely turned the standoff in the case. I tried to prevent the standoff from spinning by squeezing the threaded end protruding on the case's exterior with pliers but even with a full-stength grip, the screw still spins with the standoff.

What should I do?

-Try and use a vice-grip to stop the standoff from spinning? (The threads on the standoff are already damaged from the pliers.)

-Or simply turn it so the standoff is in fully and ignore the 2 screws that aren't touching the motherboard? (is this a danger to the board?)

I cannot remove the motherboard as is, but do not need to. Seeing as the board is secured and elevated off the case panel, is there really anything problematic beyond the board being stuck?

Thank you very much!

-Neil

 

[Rideronthewheel]

Any thoughts? Is the fact that 2 screws aren't tightened down to the motherboard an issue I need to deal with? I'm just being cautious.

Thanks.

 

[jerreddredd]

I would remove the Motherboard and standoffs and get replacements for the problematic ones. - but that's me.

as long as the MB is secure you should be ok. though the loose standoffs may cause vibration noise.

 

[Rideronthewheel]

I might remove the motherboard too but I can't. I can spin the screw/standoff piece so that it's tight, it's just the screw doesn't tighten down to the board's surface. I don't think there will be any vibrations the way it is. I can't remove them though because they are locked together. Maybe vice-grips on the standoff will let me muscle out the stuck screws...

My main concern is that for the safety of the board it might be necessary for all the screws to be tightened down so the heads touch-down.

Thanks.

 

[princeton14]

Funny, I'm doing my first build today on a cooler master elite case and have the exact same problem. The second and third screws on the left hand side (from the top) are stuck in the standoffs but not fully secured, and one standoff is stuck in the case which makes motherboard removal impossible. So I'm left with both two loose screws, one of which is right under my graphics card, and no way of getting either them or the motherboard off the case. The card slots on the back side of the case have a small edge on the left side which pretty much blocks access to the underside of the motherboard as well, so I can't really get a wrench in there. Every thread I've found seems to only recommend removing the mobo or getting a wrench underneath to hold it, but in lieu of those options does anyone have any other advice?