in this case a 5 v output from keyboard controller 23 on line 14 powers system board 21 maintaining volatile memory on the board while power supply a is shut down by a signal in line 40 fig2 shows an alternative embodiment that incorporates a ring indicator 31 which may be powered by supply b on line 42 the ring indicator signal from any conventional fax modem or other transmission device is directed to keyboard controller 23 on line 32 while in standby or suspend mode the keyboard controller is active and receives a signal from the ring indicator keyboard controller 23 then signals power supply a for power up as described above to receive any electronic data from an outside transmission line this configuration permits a system to be always ready to receive incoming communications via a fax modem but to consume significant quantities of power only when the fax modem is actually in use a termination signal may also may be received by the keyboard controller from the transmission device to initiate power down to either standby or suspend mode shortly after receiving the communication in yet another alternative embodiment push button inputs or switches may be used to activate standby and or suspend mode for example a push button labeled standby may be provided to turn power off to power supply a and another labeled suspend to turn power supply a off while maintaining power to system board 21 another push button labeled resume could return power to power supply a there are many equivalent ways that such inputs might be arranged which will be apparent to one with skill in the art in.