I am reasonably sure that I have diagnosed the problem that was preventing me from connecting to the ethernet.

After some extraordinarily brilliant and high-tech diagnostic procedures (I swapped cables and it started working again) I discovered this bit in the 50 foot cable that connects to my router. (see attached photo).

Apparently when I connected my UPS battery Monday afternoon I somehow pinched the cable between the table leg and the baseboard electric room heater.

So now, the question: Do you think this was really what caused my loss of internet connectivity, or should I look further?

ps: Is there any conceivable use for a fifty-foot uhh, now a 41-foot plus an 8.5-foot ethernet cable, each with a connector on just one end?

pps: This couldn't be caused by looking at porn, could it?

tanstaafl.

It's fairly trivial to attach new connectors, assuming you have connectors and a crimper, which you'd already know if you had such. Maybe you have a friend who could help out?

You could actually clip that piece out and make it into two cables. If you don't have a cheap RJ45 crimp tool, perhaps it's time to get one.

Frankly, if you're not terminating cable runs in buildings, I can't imagine why anyone would make their own cables. Not when you can replace that cable for $4.43.

Come on, we're talking about Doug, here.

I frequently make my own cables in my server room in order to minimize overrun.

The cable lengths that Monoprice offers — who offer a greater variety than most — are, in feet, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 20, 25, 30, 50, 75, and 100. If I want to run a cable that's seven feet or less, that probably makes enough sense. If I want to run one between seven and thirty feet, it might make sense. If I want to run one over thirty feet, I'd have an average of more than ten feet of slop. If that's a couple of cables, it's no big deal, but if it's dozens, it becomes a big deal really quickly.

Hmmm... let's see. (A) $8.99 for a new cable at the local electronics store vs. (B) $11.35 for a crimp tool plus $5.78 shipping + $3.95 for some RJ45 connectors, plus a couple of bucks for the bare cable (my 41-foot cable would be about three feet too short), coupled with the frustration of trying to make it work when I wired it up incorrectly, not to mention not being able to order any of the stuff because I can't connect to the internet without a working cable!... all that leads me to believe I made the right choice by choosing option "A".

tanstaafl.

You did ask if there was any use for said cable.

So who has the best alternate use for the remainders?

Clothesline.

garrote?

Beat me to it....

Object d'art.

Short speaker cables:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/cables/diy-speaker-cable-faceoff

Sell them to Tony as chrominance delay loops for streaming Youtube videos?

Peter

Hey. Suddenly I'm wondering if there would be a way to patch the ends so that the eight strands become a single long strand, thus giving me the 75-foot delay without needing 75 feet of cable.

Wonder if there would be too much inductive noise...

/me ponders...

Just say the word, and I'll mail them to you this afternoon!

tanstaafl.

I've got all the cat-5 I need, thanks.

Failed DIY Theremin experiment?

There might be enough left to make the world's first CAT5 jumper cables.

Yeah, just what I'd need if the battery in my Casio calculator watch quits.

For my iPod, I think I'd want CAT6, though...

tanstaafl.