Whats the hardest cable to remove.

[8tg]

Fold out or flat RJ11 is also something I’m glad has been dead for 20 years.

 

Fold out ones expand but they’re flimsy, flat RJ11 you literally just sit the cable in there and hope you don’t even slightly bump it 

[Bitter]

11 minutes ago, Mel0nMan said:

I know it's not technically a connector but on some boards the PCIe x16 clip is a pain in the ass to remove. On my workstation you have to take like half the computer apart to be able to fit your hand between the case, GPU, and clip to release it.

Chopstick, use a chopstick my friend. It's non conductive!

[Bitter]

31 minutes ago, FakeKGB said:

IDE/PATA. That thing's a pain but not as bad as trying to put on Molex blind.

How about crappy Molex splitters and extensions that friction fit but yet somehow also have loose wire terminals in them so the wires are at all the janky angles and won't plug in together.

[WhitetailAni]

3 minutes ago, Bitter said:

How about crappy Molex splitters and extensions that friction fit but yet somehow also have loose wire terminals in them so the wires are at all the janky angles and won't plug in together.

Those things suck. I had to keep putting the Molex connectors in the OG case fans in my case until they finally all died, except my big side fan that I'm converting to SATA because it has both 12V (for fan) and 5V (for RGB).

Thankfully the only two Molex splitters I have left are ultra quality and take 5 minutes to separate once you put them together. They don't break though!

[LloydLynx]

A VGA cable that you screwed in really tight with a screw driver a long time ago but you don't have a screw driver at hand now.

[Mr.Cellkill]

This! especially those with screws. One you had to use a screwdriver.

DB25 and SCSI.

 

 

 

This picture is from Reddit.

[Generic Username]

Ethernet (especially when it's plugged into a laptop)

[Justaphysicsnerd]

On 7/25/2021 at 8:43 AM, Spotty said:

Kensington cable lock.

 

I have never seen someone actually use that irl then why do manufacturers still include it ? instead they could just include another say Type-C or USB-A port or maybe a headphone jack if your device already didnt have one

[Quackers101]

hardest is the cable itself, as it's near impossible to get it off the port.

while unplugging the cable is quite easy.

You said cable and to "remove" right?

[Freakwise]

1 minute ago, Justaphysicsnerd said:

I have never seen someone actually use that irl then why do manufacturers still include it ? instead they could just include another say Type-C or USB-A port or maybe a headphone jack if your device already didnt have one

Nothing?... I guess

 

I mean the thing is as far as I'm concerned manufacturers put them in the most inappropriate place possible for electrical port 

The in my laptop it's placed in edge of the laptop close to a hinge and on the side of dvd player (yes, it does have that, it's fairly low end laptop)

And in spotty case it seems to rest on top of heatsink exhaust...

[YoungBlade]

9 minutes ago, Justaphysicsnerd said:

I have never seen someone actually use that irl then why do manufacturers still include it ? instead they could just include another say Type-C or USB-A port or maybe a headphone jack if your device already didnt have one

You must not go to a lot of expos or trade shows. Kensington locks show up all over the place, and not just on laptops, but also for cash boxes.

[Mark Kaine]

I see you guys never met the MSI 24 pin connector… kensington lock is childsplay in comparison!

[Quackers101]

3 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

I see you guys never met the MSI 24 pin connector… kensington lock is childsplay in comparison!

outside? oh, oh no.

[WkdPaul]

VGA and DVI cables are getting rare, and if screwed on properly shouldn't be too hard to remove ... BUT, a RJ45 with a tired clip and a boot is the absolute worst !

[WkdPaul]

14 minutes ago, comander said:

SFP+ cables. I had to look up a video on how to do it. 

lol good point, if you don't know it can be frustrating !

[airborne spoon]

On 7/24/2021 at 8:13 PM, Spotty said:

Kensington cable lock.

Those things are a joke, they all use barrel locks and I've never had trouble removing one of them from a device. I mention barrel locks because i can pick a barrel lock in the same amount of time it takes to unlock it with a key. NEVER secure something you care about with a barrel lock.

On 7/25/2021 at 9:17 AM, Giganthrax said:

The dvi/vga cables that you have to unscrew can be time-consuming as well, but its usually pretty straightforward.

I have to say VGA and DVI cables are the worst at removal, those damn things always pulled out one side or the other screw from the card its screwed into. And getting a grip on those tiny knobs to twist was a PITA, I usually would end up having to use a screwdriver to unscrew them.

4 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

You must not go to a lot of expos or trade shows. Kensington locks show up all over the place, and not just on laptops, but also for cash boxes.

See above about how unsecure those things are. Also picking a lock, when done properly doesn't look suspicious and one easily blends in with their surroundings while picking locks.

[YoungBlade]

Just now, airborne spoon said:

See above about how unsecure those things are. Also picking a lock, when done properly doesn't look suspicious and one easily blends in with their surroundings while picking locks.

I didn't say that Kensington locks were secure. I said that a lot of people use them at trade shows. I've actually never used one.

[Justaphysicsnerd]

16 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

You must not go to a lot of expos or trade shows. Kensington locks show up all over the place, and not just on laptops, but also for cash boxes.

I have seen some at a shop that I went to a few months back but other than that nope never seen a normal person use it

[RTX 3070 I7 11800h]

20 hours ago, Justaphysicsnerd said:

I have seen some at a shop that I went to a few months back but other than that nope never seen a normal person use it

Why would you use a Kensington cable?

[RollinLower]

anything that screws/locks. SFP+ transceivers/DAC, external SAS8088, external x8 PCIe for Juniper, etc.

 

also, those damn RJ45's! one of them always gets stuck in the port when you try to remove a switch.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Cheaply made Ethernet cables where the locking/release tab doesn't function properly. Trying to remove those cheap connector housings from an expandable ethernet port is not fun. Took me a few minutes one time....

[WkdPaul]

7 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Cheaply made Ethernet cables where the locking/release tab doesn't function properly. Trying to remove those cheap connector housings plugged from an expandable ethernet ports is not fun. Took me a few minutes one time....

That was my answer too !

 

Ethernet cables with a "tired" clip and a boot are the absolute worst, even when you have enough access, it can be impossible to remove without using a small screw driver to press the clip from under the damn boot !

[Lurick]

1 minute ago, wkdpaul said:

That was my answer too !

 

Ethernet cables with a "tired" clip and a boot are the absolute worst, even when you have enough access, it can be impossible to remove without using a small screw driver to press the clip from under the damn boot !

DAC cables that get stuck are even more "fun"

 

I have figured out an easy solution, push them into the device a bit more, pull the tab, and then remove them slowly. That SEEMS to work even when things get stuck.

[WkdPaul]

2 minutes ago, Lurick said:

DAC cables that get stuck are even more "fun"

 

I have figured out an easy solution, push them into the device a bit more, pull the tab, and then remove them slowly. That SEEMS to work even when things get stuck.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I was taught to remove them ; push them to make sure they're not "jammed", then pull the tab and you SHOULD be good ... though you sometime have to repeat the push and manhandle the thing for the clip to release

 

I still find that less annoying than damn boots over ethernet cables, sometime they're "slip-on" boot (like this) and you just need to slip the boot back to access the clip (I love those ), but most of the time they're part of the cable and that's when you have to jam something in between the boot and the port to push the clip down ... I hate those, though I don't do much network interventions so I don't have to deal with these much anymore.

[drluke]

On 7/24/2021 at 11:11 PM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Any cable with screws, like VGA/DVI/DMS-59/DB9 serial. ESP when there screwed in super tight.

Back when I had a TV tuner card, the stinking RG6 (coax) connector was a thorn in my side whenever I needed to move my rig... besides that, def the screwing videos/serial interfaces.

 

But over the past several years, the amount of IO needed has decreased drastically since the advent of cheap high-speed networking. Now a days I only need power and a USB port or two. All my extra peripherals are attached to my server or network directly.