Have you ever unplugged your computer to move it, and then not been able to sort out all the wires to plug it in again?  Well, here’s a guide to the standard wires and connectors in computers that should help you sort out the madness.

• Power Cord – these plug into both monitors and computer towers, one end will have a standard 3 prong plug and is intended for a power socket, the other end will look like a flattened 3 prong plug insert for the matching socket on the computer.
• Cat5e Patch Cable – this is the cable which hooks up to the internet through a router or modem, and looks like a larger, thicker version of a phone cable.  The standard color is blue, but it comes in different colors often.
• USB Cable – this cable is used for hundreds of different devices including external hard drives, digital cameras, IPods and IPhones, keyboards, and mice.  It has a flat socket about half an inch wide and a sixteenth of an inch thick.
• Monitor Cable – this cable travels from the monitor (screen) to the computer tower, and will have a trapezoid shaped socket with several pins in the middle.  It also often has hand screws on the side, and tends to be the largest cable.