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Why do network cards without all of the wires work?

Fresh7 days ago
Mar 15, 2026276 views
Confidence Score0%
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Problem

I recently acquired an older model of PC, and the network card in it did not work. A friend of mine had a spare laying around for me to use as a replacement, but I noticed that it only had 4 of the 8 pins to connect to the cable. He said this wasn't a problem and that it would work, but couldn't ex…

Error Output

Conductors required
10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX Ethernet connections require two cable pairs. 
1000BASE-T Ethernet connections require four cable pairs.

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1 Fix

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Fix for: Why do network cards without all of the wires work?

Low Risk

For 10 and 100 base T cable, only 2 pairs of wires are used. Some cable manufacturers save money by not including all the wires. 1000 base T requires all 4 pairs of wires. Take a look at a standard land based telephone cord. Some have 2 wires, some …

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Environment