I'm reviving this thread b/c I've had two instances of broken cable ends in the past few years and I did a search on "shimano inspect shifter cable" and came up with nothing. Someone says here above, "shift up to largest cog, then without pedaling, downshift to slack the cable, pop out the cable to inspect." They meant upshift, not downshift, but I figured that out. The problem is, I can't get the cable end to pop out. So here's my question:

Do I have to release the rear derailleur cable completely in order to slacken it enough to pop it out?

I'd rather not do that b/c then I'd have to adjust it all over again. (I don't have room in my apartment for a repair stand so it's a bother). I have Shimano Flight Deck Ultegra shifters, don't know specifically what vintage they are. The bike was hand built by a local mechanic using spare parts sometime around 2007, so the shifters may be older than 2007.

As always, thoughtful, well informed replies are most appreciated!...