Isolating the board eliminates the possibility of the unit shorting out in the case, as well as lowering the number of items that could be causing an issue with your system.

To isolate the board, you will need to remove it from the case (if already installed), and place it on a static free surface. The foam padding and the anti-static bag that the board came in work well for this. Set the motherboard up on this item on a desk or a table.

  Once you have the motherboard removed, you will only want these items connected to it:

• CPU (Processor)
• CPU Fan
• A single(1) Stick of memory (in the DIMM slot closest to the CPU)
• Power from your Power supply
• Monitor connected to the onboard video (VGA card if board is non-integrated)

Picture of motherboard isolated

Once you have your system set up like this, find the two pins on the motherboard that you had connected your power switch or power button was connected to. Using a screwdriver, butter-knife, or other flat piece of metal briefly touch both of those two pins. This will close the circuit and start the motherboard. At this point, if your fans spin, and your monitor activates (POST), then you were having a grounding issue.

If you are having a grounding issue, please ensure that you are using standoff posts.

Picture of motherboard mounted properly on standoff post

Lay the computer back in the case, on the standoff posts, and power it back on, If you are still able to get POST, then shut the machine down, and screw the board in to the standoff posts. Be careful not to over-tighten the screws. Start the motherboard back up, and if you are still getting POST, shut down and connect your power switch, continue like this, connecting a single item and re-POSTing between each, until you find the item that was causing the issue.