I recently bought another video card hoping to squeeze a couple more years our of PC gaming but have since had a major system malfunctions. My current situation is that the computer does not seem to post (nothing on the monitor). I checked the video card and also the previous card on another computer and it seems to be ok. I have also tried new RAM which was sitting around in its original package (unused). Nothing. I get no beeps or anything. After a few seconds or a few minutes the computer will power off. I tried a known working PSU and it does the same exact thing.

One thing that I noticed is that the SB green LED on the motherboard is on, however when I disconnect power from the wall to the PSU, that light goes completely out in a matter of 2 seconds. Is this synonymous with system board failure? Or is there perhaps anything left to check?

I have hooked up my digital multimeter to the 20pn ATX power and each connector pin tests within the correct voltage, I even checked the CPU and reapply a light coat of thermal compound. Nothing seems to work.

I am not very experienced with motherboard troubleshooting as I usually by ASUS and have had nothing but luck with them. this one is at least 2 years old, could it just be at the end of its life?

The motherboard should not be at the end of its life. MSI boards have a 3 year warranty, at least they do in Australia, so you may be able to get it fixed under warranty. Determine if it's faulty first.
You could try resetting the CMOS (check the manual), maybe even remove the battery for 10 minutes or so (handle it carefully!) to reset it. Also remove any devices and cards not essential for the computer to start. If all this fails, part failure is likely. If it does start, replace the cards/devices one at a time (while the computer is off and restart and shut down and disconnect power each time you replace one) until you find the dud.
Hope this helps
Cheers

thanks for your recomendations. Unfortunately, I have tried the cmos reset accordng to the manual as well as other manual resets. I get nothing on post. More specifically i am trying to determine if a SB LED light going dim after seconds of removing power means the SB is faulty. In my experience, these SB LEDs should remain illuminated for 20 seconds or more after removing power. Can anyone confirm my suspicions?

Im not 100% positive but i think that is right. If your MoBo was ok, you should at least get some beeps letting you know something is wrong with a component. My guess is that it is completly fried. i would contact the manufacturer and get it warantied. if you can't get it warantied you can get a good ASUS ATX for right arround a $100 USD.

Do you have a surge protector or a UPS? If so check to make sure it didn't fail durring a power surge. if so most surge protectors will cover damaged electronics. just make them buy you a new one.

I read you know how to use a tester, take out your motherboard and inspec it closely there are components mark as f1 or F`s these are thermal lag fuses for protection check if they are open and try to repace them with thin fine wires, and if you are lucky you may find 1.

Hope i Have helped you
Good day

junt

you took away the power ,the light has to go out nothing to keep it on!
also did this problem happen when you installed the new card or long time after !

All the green LED shows is the presence of 5VDC standby power. Most decay in about 5 seconds after power is disconnected.

From your symptoms, I'd suspect a faulty capacitor in the VRM (voltage regulating module). Those caps are located near the CPU socket. Check caps for any signs of swelling or leakage - a sure sign of problems. Caps can fail though with no external signs of damage.

I hope I can revive thi s thread, I have the very same board with the same symptoms. I thought I had a bios issue but was able to confirm a good bios by hot flashing it in another board with the most current version. Flash was reported as succesful so I can rule out bios. What I have found is I am missing voltage at the caps near the cpu. Also the mosfets in the same area are without any volts at the source leg. I have a solid twelve volts at the 4 pin connector and the voltages at the 20 pin atx connector seem to be right on. If I can determine why there is no voltage at these caps I think I may have an answer to this incredibly long troubleshooting process I have gone through. Can some one tell me where I should look for the source of the problem? Thanks sorry for the long post.