Even an has enough cables to drive you crazy. You have a power cord for the PC itself, plus another for the , and yet another for a printer. Then you need to connect the printer to the PC. You have a cord for the keyboard, and another for the mouse. The speakers require a connection to the audio jack; and if they're decent speakers, they'll also have a power cord. That's at least eight different cables, and we haven't even gotten into external USB drives, , headsets, and other gadgets.

It doesn't have to be that way. With only a few simple steps--and perhaps a cable-management aid or two--you can tame the rat's nest and make your web of cables look pristine.

First, you need to untangle the jumble of cables. Start by completely powering down the computer, the monitor, and all attached peripherals. You're going to be disconnecting and unplugging everything anyway.

Sifting through the mess can be frustrating, and you might be tempted to use the brute-force method and just start yanking. To avoid damaging any cables or breaking any devices, however, I recommend first disconnecting the cables--at least from the PC side, but preferably from both ends if possible.