So far I have only been able to get psql to start with these pg_hba.conf entries: local all trust host all 127.0.0.1 255.255.255.255 trust Then, I can use >psql -h localhost template1 and get a prompt. Then if I want to get to another database, I must use \connect otherdb. Any other lines in pg_hba.conf don't seem to work, as for example when I try to specify an IP address or database, I get only errors when trying to log in to a specific db as a specific user (No such user, etc.). Note I am using cygwin/NT 4.0 to run Postgres 7.0.3. I am starting and stopping postgres after each pg_hba.conf change. As a result, I'm not getting anywhere near being able to use ODBC, as it needs a user and database. Do I have to stop and start ipc_daemon too? (Something tells me I wouldn't have these problems on a Unix/Linux box....)