Ask Slashdot: Extreme Cable Management?

An anonymous reader writes "I am not a fan of wireless except for Wi-Fi to a notebook, but have gotten frustrated by the vast amounts of tangled cables around my computers: I have two machines, four monitors, multiple external hard drives, cable modem, network switch, router, USB hubs — everything requires power and connection to the other devices. The tangles and tangles make it almost impossible to move anything without spending twenty or thirty minutes under the desk. I'd rather untie balled-up fishing line than try to snake a monitor cable out from some thirty or so other wires. Anyone have good ways to prevent this?"

Wire ties

[Anonymous Coward]

Buy wire ties, or flex-tubing, or some other sub $20 cable management and stop leaving your loose wires to get tangled?

I do not advocate

[alphatel]

I cannot ask you to view cableporn [reddit.com] as it is very addictive.

Trays and back-access.

[Anonymous Coward]

Set up your desk so that you can easily go behind. Get several layers of trays running along the back - along with a few larger trays to hold things like power bricks. Get some coloured tape, and match opposite ends with colour, or some other useful scheme.

I've screwed big old rectangular plastic food containers to my desk at home, underneath the main surface, and it works great and keeps my cat from strangling herself. At work, I have three layers of long metal trays as well as power-strips. I also have a pile of colour-coded velcro cable ties.

It wasn't always this way... I just got sick of taking 30 minutes to change simple connections. Now it is much better.

Google

[Synerg1y]

& Lifehacker have got you more than covered: http://lifehacker.com/364054/top-10-ways-to-get-cables-under-control [lifehacker.com]

don't be a chump

[Thud457]

velcro cable ties

Whoa, dude, are you made of money?!!

You can get 45 feet of Velcro ties for like $3 over in the garden center [homedepot.com].

Re:don't be a chump

[jeffmeden]

velcro cable ties

Whoa, dude, are you made of money?!!

You can get 45 feet of Velcro ties for like $3 over in the garden center [homedepot.com].

Looks like someone confused Velcro the company with Velcro the "stuff". 45 feet of that and not an inch of it will stick to any other... You can get velcro the stuff at HD but dont bother with the garden variety (hah) get the version in the electrical/electronic aisle. It will run you closer to $6: find it here [homedepot.com]

Labels are half the issue.

[Jaywalk]

Labeling helps you if you need to unplug or move one cable, but it's still a mess if you need to remove a cable from the snarl, as when replacing components or swapping out a bad cable. The answer to that is to eliminate all the extra wire that causes the snarl by taking up the slack. There are a bunch of gadgets [cableorganizer.com] that can be used for that. My personal preference are the velcro cable ties. I wrap the excess cord around my fingers and then wrap it with the velcro tie to keep it out of the way. I like them because they're reusable, cheap and can be used when storing cables as well.

Re:Wire ties

[Anonymous Coward]

Buy a roll of velcro and a pair of scissors or use black innerduct.

Unless you have rabbits.

[Jaywalk]

If you have pet rabbits -- or any other critters that chew cables out of instinct -- you need to cover your cables with this stuff [radioshack.com]. We had one chew through a lamp cord and it dang near cooked the little beast.

Re:Labels are half the issue.

[aztracker1]

+1 for velcro cable ties... I will also put a couple strips of vecro on the underside and back of my desk.. once you've got the cable wrapped, it just sits against the desk out of the way... works great... same for the back of my entertainment center.. also, my surge strips are often velcroed to the inside/back of the desk, so that they are closer to the devices... much less clutter. usually have one trunk of cables coming up from my tower as the only visible from the front.