Shield problem

Hi I just got a motor shield, Arduino brand. I have tried it with three different controllers, and each time I press in the shield the board shuts down. As in it does not respond and the serial monitor will give a warning, that the board not available. As soon as I pull the shield the board lights up. I have checked the pins on the shield and the IOREF seems to be the cause as if I move it a bit to one side and insert it, the board does not shut down. But the program does not run. The program and board works fine with a ln298 separate board. Any ideas why the shield won't work?