Blog: The End and the Beginning

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[url=http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2816&Itemid=229]Original Article Link[/url]

Did all those boards die in that Antec Fusion case?  If so you might be pointing the finger at the wrong culprit.  Below is an email I sent off to Antec about a problem I had that sounds suspiciously similar…

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I am a small system builder and recently built a Media PC for a customer using the Antec Fusion case.  The system was running fine for about two weeks when my customer reported he went to open the DVD drive and the system just shut down and would not start up again.  I picked the PC up from my customer and, after testing every component, it turned out the motherboard was dead.  I just assumed it was a faulty board from ECS so I replaced the board, at my cost, for my customer with a more reliable Intel DG965SS.  After spending nearly two days getting the system back to the state it was in (which required completely reinstalling the OS and moving nearly a terabyte of data) and stress testing the system for two days it was ready to be delivered back to my customer. 

We brought the PC in, hooked everything up, and things went smoothly right up until we went to swap DVD’s a got a nice little static shock of the front of the case and, once again, the system shut down and would not boot.  Suddenly, my customer remembered he had gotten a static shock the first time this happened as well. 
As I could not possibly imagine I had gotten a second faulty motherboard, and the static shock seemed too much of a coincedence, I did a bit of research.  My searching turned up a few other users having this exact same static problem with the Antec Fusion case.  Here are some excerpts from this thread – http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=754651&page=1&pp=30
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stryguy
New Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 3  I have the Antec Fusion case and have a major disappointment with it. It appears the front panel is not grounded. This means whenever I touch the panel with the slightest amount of static electricity (IE to change DVD’S) the entire machine turns off. I fixed this by running a grounding wire from the front panel to the main portion of the case but seriously, a $200 case shouldn’t be like this. 
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KTF
Member

Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Greater Boston
Posts: 22  Just a quick note. I am seeing the same problem that stryguy is having. When I touch the front panel the PC resets. Once I touched it when it was shutdown (power supply was ‘on’) and the system starts to boot.
Antec says they have never heard of it and I thought I was nuts until I saw the post from stryguy. I need to figure out how i am going to ground the front panel.
Other than that, its a very nice case.
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stryguy
New Member

Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 3  Quote:
You’ve probably figured this out already but if not…. I took a small wire and attached it to a screw in the case kind of in front of the motherboard. The other end I attached to a screw that mounted the CD Flap cover. Not sure if CD Flap Cover is the right term but basically the cd bezzel built into the case that flips down when you eject the CD. You’ll see a screw on each side of this flip cover (from the inside) and apparently goes all the way into the panel. The moment I did everything was fine. Be careful with the wire that it doesn’t get in the way of the cd flap.
Like I said, probably you already worked out a solution but if not here is one or if there are any other users out there stumped as to what’s going on.
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bigsnyder
Senior Member

Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Posts: 222  I can also confirm the Fusion’s lack of grounding on the front bezel.
C Snyder 

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Renagade
Senior Member

Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Metro Detroit Area
Posts: 202  Quote:
Originally Posted by StanF
It’s winter (at least in the northern hemisphere!), and the air is dry. Static electricity is much worse in the winter. You are probably shocking from the front panel over to the USB shell, which travels to the MB and causes a reset.

I’ve been having this same problem as well, but with me when it happens it would repeatedly do it. I actually ended up replacing my motherboard not realising what was happening. When it would happen, I never could get my mother board to come back from it. I even took the whole thing apart and put it back together with no luck getting it to start working right. And it did start when I went to eject a DVD from the drive. This pisses me off. Antec should of been able to prevent this. I’m currently am waiting for my motherboard to come back from Intel. Before I put it back together, I’m going to have to ground that thing.   
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A few of the reports were lucky as the static only caused the machine to shut down.  However, you will notice the last poster (Renegade), had the exact same problem as me where their system would not boot after the static shock.  They too blamed it on the motherboard and sent it back to Intel to be repaired until they came across the same thread I did.
So, after two dead motherboards, countless hours of system recovery and rebuilding, and looking like a complete jackass to my new customer, I’ve narrowed the problem down to the improper grounding of the Fusion front panel.  I have built a number of systems using Antec cases in the past and have been very happy with your product.  Unfortunately, this incident has been extremely costly in time, money, and, most important, my reputation with a brand new customer.  I do expect Antec will replace my case if you have managed to fix this problem, or refund my money if you have not, and that you will find some additinoal way to make this situation right.

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Their response, by the way?  We can send you the grounding cable…

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