Re: unconfigured generic ATI VGA card?

[Petar Bogdanovic <list+2007%smokva.net@localhost>]

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 10:49:18PM +1100, Malcolm Herbert wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:39:48 +0100, "Petar Bogdanovic"
> <list+2007%smokva.net@localhost> said:
> > > Another issue may be that the host isn't giving the card enough power to
> > > run, as I'm told the net5501 has 3.3v 32 bit PCI only - the card itself
> > > is keyed for 5.0v or 3.3v so from that point of view it should work
> > 
> > My D-Link wireless PCI card was also keyed for 5.0 and 3.3v but never
> > worked when plugged into the 3.3v PCI-slot of a net4501. The card caused
> > no troubles on any other standard PC-mainboard.
> 
> ... was the wireless card detectable at all?  I'm intrigued that this
> video card would should show up in the lspci output and kernel boot
> messages if it were unpowered ...

Yes, it was detected by NetBSD and because everything looked so normal I
was digging for weeks until it came to my mind to simply plug the card
into a standard PC-mainboard.


BTW: As far as I understand (and I don't understand much about this
     issue), the 3.3v/5.0v label has nothing to do with the powering of
     the PCI-card - it's the I/O voltage used on the signal rails of the
     PCI-slot. Both 3.3v and 5.0v cards are `bus powered' by a +/-12VDC
     power source.