The (non-crossover) patch patch cables that I make or repair have no labels. Nor do the 50 or so Ithat I have in my basement.

Any non-standard cables that I would touch (like crossover) WOULD get a lebel, though.

Phone cords are not a worldwide standard. I think bpratt was saying that ethernet cables look like large phone cords, and are a worldwide standard.

How's you eyesight? The words on the cable claim it's cat 5, but that should have 8 colored wires. It doesn't look like one of these?

Enormous thanks, murphy,

Eyesight is lousy (very strong bifocals).

By adding a magnifying glass to the mix and with the aid of the helpful diagrams you linked, I have determined that I have a crossover ethernet cable.

So I guess if I want to connect my laptop to a modem or, physically, to my router, I'll need to get another ethernet cable (preferably type A).

Or, if I want to use the laptop's internal modem in Europe, I'll need to get an adapter for the modem-cable (telephone-type) that came with the laptop. (Laptop just arrived yesterday and I've only gotten as far as opening the box, so I'm just figuring out what's there.)

Read the cable very very carefully...

-Vincent

I think Roberto99 is in my position as well...

When the cable comes from a thousand foot box, and the connectors come from a bag of fifty, the resulting cable has no label on it to indicate if I made a straight through or crossover cable. Or if I missed a pin somewhere and have an entirely new wiring scheme ;)

In my cases the label is never there (I just look at the plug when I need to verify), but I think roberto99 is a fair sight more conscientious than I am ^

Slightly OT: Bulk Cable + connectors costs significantly less than 50 pc x 10 ft @ Best Buy :D

The cable is NEVER labeled str8 or crossover when purchased in bulk, because whether it is one or the other is determined by how you terminate it . When you buy patch cable, read the cable itself, it is labeled.

Bulk cable is ALWAYS labeled what it is certified to on the cable.

-Vincent

That is because BestBuy charges a whopping $19.95 for a frikkin ethernet cable.

FWIW; my source for cheap cables is www.monoprice.com

I second the recommendation for monoprice. I bought an hdmi and a couple optical audio cables from them for < $20. The hdmi alone would have been $50 at radio shack or bestbuy.

Exactly. As opposed to the old days, when you had thick coax 3MB Ethernet, thick coax 10MB Ethernet, thin coax 10MB Ethernet, 10/100 Base T (modern Ethernet), 100MB FDDI, 4 and 16MB token ring, and Arcnet (which I think was also 4MB). And coax ethernet had a variety of different connectors include AUI with slide lock(the worst connector design EVER), bayonet, and vampire taps.

However, if the original poster is in any doubt, a short new Ethernet cable (3-6 feet) should only cost a buck or two at a computer supply store, so you could just buy a new one and toss the old. I just threw away a dozen yesterday because I was cleaning out my garage and couldn't remember which ones were "good" and which were "broken", and it wasn't worth the time to try them. Cheaper to just make some new ones.

Bob

Chances are you will not need a telephone adapter, normally the wall sockets can be different country to country, but if you unplug the cable at the 'phone end it "should" plug directly into your laptop

That's my source for supplies, too.

Another Stupid Question (or, There's Always Something)
 

Okay, so I went to Best Buy to buy a Category 5 ethernet cable and came home with a Category 6 ethernet cable (all they had). "RJ45 male to male".

Stupid question #1: Is this a problem?

Also, before I leave for Europe, I need to set up the new laptop. Now, my network is "wireless", but it has 4 ethernet ports, and I want to plug the laptop into that in order to download Win XP patches, anti-virus updates, etc.

Stupid question #2, et al: Do I have to shut down my entire network, PC, modem, router in order to connect the laptop through the ethernet port?

Does it matter whether I connect the cable to the laptop before or after I connect it to the router? (This is probably important only if the router is not turned off.)

You should be okay just as long as you're not going to Antarctica or Australia.
The bits run backwards there, just like the water down the drain.
Fortunately, I still have a couple patch cables hanging around from my trip down there a few years ago. Make me an offer and they're yours... :D

Male to Male? This sounds like OMNI material :D

No worries. The category of the cable just determines the number of twists per meter. The more twists, the more the noise cancellation, the better the signal strength. You can use anything from Cat 3 to Cat 6 and have no worries at all.

RJ45 is the type of connector. It's like a fat phone plug - 8 wires. As long as the 8 wires are in the same order on both ends of the cable than it is a standard ethernet cable.

Ethernet cables are hot-swappable - no need to shut down network equipment. You may however need to reload things at a software level, but no need to shut anything off physically. The order in which you connect the cable matters not.