organizing the wires and cables inside your computer

Check out the author's website, Neatinformation.com, for lots of projects and other interesting articles.

There are lots of power wires and data cables inside a desktop computer and they can be an incredible mess.

Keeping the wires and cables organized makes it easier to maintain your computer, improves air flow, and reduces the amount of dust which collects inside your computer.

Current mass storage devices (hard drives, optical media, etc.) use SATA cables, a fairly stiff plastic coated cable with several wires embedded inside. SATA cables come with a warning not to fold the cable too tightly or they can be damaged.

Step 1: After - a neater setup

A very simple way to put your SATA cables in neatly is to wind them like a "pigtail" spring. It also looks pretty neat if you've got a computer with a clear window.

(This isn't an original idea, a friend showed it to me and many others have done it too.)

Step 2: How to do it

The trick is to wind the SATA cable around the handle of a tool, I used a hammer because it was about the right diameter. Don't force the cable, just wind it and it'll hold its shape (approximately).

The cable won't stay tightly wound and will easily slip off the end of the tool. Then just bend the ends of the cable as needed to plug the connectors into your computer.