my ethernet cable?

Margot,

If you are worried about the installation of the cable you can hire a certified cable company to test the cable with a cable scanner. There are cable installers and then there are trained certified cable installers. A trained certified cable installer would have tested the cable and supplied you with a copy of the test results.

If the installer installed CAT6 cable and terminated it on CAT5e RG45 jacks then you basically have a CAT5e Ethernet cable.

Do's and don'ts of installing CAT5e and CAT6, CAT6a cables.

Here is a video on testing cables. Note there is a lot more to testing a cable than just checking for continuity.

With a good tester the test scan will fail, if during the installation of the cable the cable was kinked. Even if the installer caught the kink and straightened it out the cable can fail the test or pass but only marginally.

If the termination of the cable to the RG45 jack was not done properly, that will show up on the test. The wire twist of each pair must be maintained right up to the point of connection to the punch down connection on the jack. No more than a 1/2" of the twisted pairs of the finished termination should extend beyond the outer jacket. Improper termination of the cable to the jack can make a big difference on how the cable will test and preform.

So you can hire somebody to test the cable for you or first just try the cable and see how it performs. It may work just fine for your application.
Jim

Jim and Al,

You guys are the best. Thanks so much. So it sounds like my first step is just to go ahead and as long as I don't hear drop outs, don't worry about it. If I do hear drop outs, then maybe I want to get some shielded cat6 from blue jeans cable, if possible. If I end up there, Jim, will most electricians know about how to terminate correctly etc, or should I try to track down a certified cable installer? with enormous thanks to you both,

Margot

Oh, one other follow up:

If I do end up having drop outs and needing to replace the cable, I assume I only have to replace the line that goes to my stereo? (ie: I can leave the line that runs to the computer and the line that runs to the TV as is.) Or will this affect the performance of the new cable I have installed as well?
Thanks! M.

Thanks for the nice words, Margot. Regarding your last question, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm envisioning that the cable in question goes between the stereo and a router or network switch or something comparable. If so, the other lines will not affect the performance of the new cable. Also, if I understand correctly those other lines can be presumed to be functioning in a reliable manner, or you would have already noticed problems with them. That being relevant, for example, if you were to play music from the computer to the stereo via the ethernet connections.

Best regards,
-- Al

Margot,

IF, you have problems and the problem turns out to be the Ethernet data cable, you do not need to hire an electrician. You need to find a good low voltage cable company in your area that has trained certified data cable installers. You also need to make sure the company has/uses the proper test equipment to certify the cable after the data cable has been installed and terminated with RJ45 jacks and or RJ45 plug ends. The company should be able to furnish you with a copy of the test certification.

LOL, I noticed in my earlier response to your posted message I typed RG45 jacks instead of RJ45 jacks. It should read RJ45, So much for proofreading, my bad.
Jim