Question Ethernet cable works when connected to PC, but doesn't work with the switch ?

[mrcaptainamazing]

So I know there are a few similar posts to this, but none of the solutions are relevant to me.

I have made my own length of ethernet cable to connect to my switch to be able to hardwire all my devices in my office and make it neater. The cable has been tested and works. However, it doesn't work when connected to my switch. I had a pre-made length of cable connected to my switch before, and it worked fine. The cable works when connected directly to my PC, so I'm certain it's not the cable.

Does anyone have any ideas to try? I appreciate any help you can provide.

 

[kanewolf]

So I know there are a few similar posts to this, but none of the solutions are relevant to me.

I have made my own length of ethernet cable to connect to my switch to be able to hardwire all my devices in my office and make it neater. The cable has been tested and works. However, it doesn't work when connected to my switch. I had a pre-made length of cable connected to my switch before, and it worked fine. The cable works when connected directly to my PC, so I'm certain it's not the cable.

Does anyone have any ideas to try? I appreciate any help you can provide.

How was it "tested"? Is your homemade cable a round, cat5e or cat6a, 100% copper cable?

 

[mrcaptainamazing]

How was it "tested"? Is your homemade cable a round, cat5e or cat6a, 100% copper cable?

I plugged it into my router and then my PC before I tacked it around my door frames. It still works if I connect it to my PC directly. If I connect my old pre-made cable to my switch, it works. So as far as I can tell, nothing is faulty.
It's cat6 solid copper.

 

[kanewolf]

I plugged it into my router and then my PC before I tacked it around my door frames. It still works if I connect it to my PC directly. If I connect my old pre-made cable to my switch, it works. So as far as I can tell, nothing is faulty.
It's cat6 solid copper.

You could have damaged it by "tacking" it.
Different ethernet ports have different tolerances for non-optimal cables. Functioning with one port is no guarantee of functioning with another. Without a $2500 Fluke tester, you didn't "test" it.

 

[mrcaptainamazing]

You could have damaged it by "tacking" it.
Different ethernet ports have different tolerances for non-optimal cables. Functioning with one port is no guarantee of functioning with another. Without a $2500 Fluke tester, you didn't "test" it.

I doubt the Amazon cable I used before was tested with a $2500 machine. There is no damage from the staples. I specifically used a CT-60 cable stapler and staples and checked that it hadn't snagged any part.
I have never known, in all my years of buying cables, for a functioning cable to not work on a specific piece of hardware.
For a moderator, you come across as quite snarky, using quotation marks, as if to belittle my actions.

 

[kanewolf]

I doubt the Amazon cable I used before was tested with a $2500 machine. There is no damage from the staples. I specifically used a CT-60 cable stapler and staples and checked that it hadn't snagged any part.
I have never known, in all my years of buying cables, for a functioning cable to not work on a specific piece of hardware.
For a moderator, you come across as quite snarky, using quotation marks, as if to belittle my actions.

You used the word test. That word means to compare to a standard. You did not do that. That is why "test" is in quotes. Quality commercial cables are tested with expensive test equipment. But the cost is spread over thousands of cables.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

By the laws of deduction it HAS to be the cable. There is no other explanation.

 

[mrcaptainamazing]

By the laws of deduction it HAS to be the cable. There is no other explanation.

Yeah, I suppose. Not sure why it would work when connected to the PC though but not to the switch.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Some ports are more sensitive to marginal connections than others. It's just the way of the world.

If you're crimping your own connectors there is a definite feel to it. Too tight or too loose and you get very inconsistent results. Not inserting the wires far enough into the connector and you get one or more loose or missing connections. Don't be surprised if it take most of a bag of connectors, and many cuts to the cable (do not attempt to reuse a cut) to get a good installation.

 

[mrcaptainamazing]

Some ports are more sensitive to marginal connections than others. It's just the way of the world.

If you're crimping your own connectors there is a definite feel to it. Too tight or too loose and you get very inconsistent results. Not inserting the wires far enough into the connector and you get one or more loose or missing connections. Don't be surprised if it take most of a bag of connectors, and many cuts to the cable (do not attempt to reuse a cut) to get a good installation.

Thanks. I've bought another brand of connectors as quite a few reviews on my current brand mentioned they didn't make a connection. Had a look at them under my microscope and wasn't convinced they made a solid connection either.

 

[Ralston18]

@mrcaptainamazing

And remember that there are two types of connectors: stranded vs solid.

The connectors use different teeth.

Google "RJ45 connector solid vs stranded images"

 

[hornirl]

Buy yourself a cheap cable tester, takes out (some of) the guesswork, and having to find another piece of equipment to test a cable on.

You've obviously got 2 Cat6 cables here- one to connect router to switch, the other to connect switch to PC. So an alternative test- maybe you've already tried this- is test both lengths of cable on the router to PC leg, run fast.com to check you're getting in and out to the internet. If they both work/pass the test, the cables ARE NOT the problem.

Then you've got to look at the switch standalone OR the switch-PC connection as the problem (the PC can't be the problem as it connects without issue to the internet with no switch). If the switch looks like the problem, maybe post make/model of the pieces here for extra help (that'd be router, switch, PC motherboard)?

Looking at the above, it should be obvious that having an inexpensive cable tester is a big help. After getting tired of testing cables moving lots of equipment around in tight places, that's why I bought one. Yes, the tester itself can be a point of failure, but easy to test if that's the case on another cat6 cable you know is good, and a hell of a lot lighter to move around.