This is a corollary to another post I did, but I don't think I asked my question very clearly. I have an older Socket 370 MB. I have an ATX power supply plugged into it, with the top of the male plug having a short wire between the green and a ground. This keeps the PSU on, but I am wondering - is there any power that is not available at the PCI slots? I have several i-RAM cards, and they will only work in computers that are fully working - CPU, memory, etc. I can't get the cards to work in either regular boards or PCI passive backplanes that are powered on. I know the cards are fine, as they work in any "real" computer. Any thoughts? Does the startup process, even if it ends at BIOS or a DOS diskette, power on other parts of the PCI bus, as opposed to just shorting the PSU on? thanks.

Are you sure that this post is clearer than the other? iRAM cards? Are these USB devices?

Tmagic - got it to work. Swapped out the PS with another one, and added an SATA HD and a CD-ROM drive to draw all power types. That must have done it, since the i-RAM controller fired up as soon as 5-volt line was present.