Mobo Installation question

A possibly-dumb question from a first-timer:

The I/O shield that came with my M2N-SLI Deluxe has little metal tabs
around all the openings. I'm guessing that the tabs are meant to be
bent inward so they sort-of grip the connectors on the board when it's
installed. But if I do that, some of them would end up sliding
between the board and the board-mounted connectors. Is this right?
I'm afraid of damaging the board or shorting something.

I hope I've explained that clearly enough. Thanks for any help

John

To e-mail me, use jcarlson631 at optonline dot net

John wrote:
> A possibly-dumb question from a first-timer:
>
> The I/O shield that came with my M2N-SLI Deluxe has little metal tabs
> around all the openings. I'm guessing that the tabs are meant to be
> bent inward so they sort-of grip the connectors on the board when it's
> installed. But if I do that, some of them would end up sliding
> between the board and the board-mounted connectors. Is this right?
> I'm afraid of damaging the board or shorting something.
>
> I hope I've explained that clearly enough. Thanks for any help
>
> John
>
> To e-mail me, use jcarlson631 at optonline dot net

The tabs are to make sure that all the connectors have a good ground.
Just push the connectors on the motherboard carefully into the open
slots on an angle, then when you lay the MB down over the standoffs, the
sockets should be nice and tight against those tabs.

"John" wrote

> The I/O shield that came with my M2N-SLI Deluxe has little metal
> tabs around all the openings.

Correct.

> I'm guessing that the tabs are meant to be bent inward so they sort-of
> grip the connectors on the board when it's installed.

Incorrect.

> But if I do that, some of them would end up sliding between the board
> and the board-mounted connectors. Is this right?
> I'm afraid of damaging the board or shorting something.

The shield can normally be installed as-is. There may already be a couple
of bigger tabs that stick straight out, and will press against the top or sides
of the metal-boxed connectors (keyboard, USB, Firewire). The ones around
the bigger ports (parallel, serial, sound) will only stick out about 10 degrees,
just enough to be springy, and press against the metal *faces* of the ports.

Here's a couple of my I/O shields, ready to install, no bending required.
http://i9.tinypic.com/67obb5v.jpg

On Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:26:58 GMT, "MasterBlaster"
<Nobody'> wrote:

>
>"John" wrote
>
>> The I/O shield that came with my M2N-SLI Deluxe has little metal
>> tabs around all the openings.
>
>Correct.
>
>> I'm guessing that the tabs are meant to be bent inward so they sort-of
>> grip the connectors on the board when it's installed.
>
>Incorrect.
>
>> But if I do that, some of them would end up sliding between the board
>> and the board-mounted connectors. Is this right?
>> I'm afraid of damaging the board or shorting something.
>
>The shield can normally be installed as-is. There may already be a couple
>of bigger tabs that stick straight out, and will press against the top or sides
>of the metal-boxed connectors (keyboard, USB, Firewire). The ones around
>the bigger ports (parallel, serial, sound) will only stick out about 10 degrees,
>just enough to be springy, and press against the metal *faces* of the ports.
>
>Here's a couple of my I/O shields, ready to install, no bending required.
>http://i9.tinypic.com/67obb5v.jpg
>
Thanks, Rob and MasterBlaster. Now that you describe it, it seems
obvious. I'm glad I asked.

To e-mail me, use jcarlson631 at yahoo dot com

-- John

John wrote:
> On Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:26:58 GMT, "MasterBlaster"
> <Nobody'> wrote:
>
>>
>> "John" wrote
>>
>>> The I/O shield that came with my M2N-SLI Deluxe has little metal
>>> tabs around all the openings.
>>
>> Correct.
>>
>>> I'm guessing that the tabs are meant to be bent inward so they
>>> sort-of grip the connectors on the board when it's installed.
>>
>> Incorrect.
>>
>>> But if I do that, some of them would end up sliding between the
>>> board and the board-mounted connectors. Is this right?
>>> I'm afraid of damaging the board or shorting something.
>>
>> The shield can normally be installed as-is. There may already be a
>> couple
>> of bigger tabs that stick straight out, and will press against the
>> top or sides of the metal-boxed connectors (keyboard, USB,
>> Firewire). The ones around
>> the bigger ports (parallel, serial, sound) will only stick out about
>> 10 degrees, just enough to be springy, and press against the metal
>> *faces* of the ports.
>>
>> Here's a couple of my I/O shields, ready to install, no bending
>> required. http://i9.tinypic.com/67obb5v.jpg
>>
> Thanks, Rob and MasterBlaster. Now that you describe it, it seems
> obvious. I'm glad I asked.
>
> To e-mail me, use jcarlson631 at yahoo dot com
>
> -- John

You're welcome, John. If it makes you feel any better, I had a similar
problem when I started on my first build. Better to ask, than to screw
it up!