I have an umbrella with a bendable post. To alow the new cord to go past this bending mechanism I unscrewed and removed it using a bit that came with my power drill until I found one that worked. Almost every umbrella maker uses different and/or various screws and bolts. (It helps to take this bending mechanism off to see how to thread the cord through it.) I then ran the cord down past where the winding mechanism was (I had to remove it also to unhook and remove the frayed and broken cord.) I first threaded the rope/cord through the winding mechanism, tying a knot into it; then I replaced the bending mechanism after I threaded the cord through it; then I threaded the cord to run over the top pulley usually at the top of the post. Then I pulled the cord over the pulley and tied it to the part that raised and lowered the umbrella spokes. I turned the handle a bit to check if it worked (raising and lowering). Read the other answers on how to remove and thread the cord up over the pulley and down to where the cord raises and lowers the umbrella spokes. I usually take digital pictures of all the parts before I unscrew them so that I replace them just like they looked like when they were working even with the bad cord.