Shipping a computer (tower) within luggage

Medic · Post by **Medic** » 2005-08-07 06:29am

So yeah, I'm out of this monsoon-plagued peninsula in 4 days so here's a quick question to y'all: can it be done?

Because of the sheer size of the piece of luggage I plan to put my tower in, it will be padded by plenty of socks, underwear, shirts and shorts.

Still, if this isn't adequate or -- this is where I'm more worried -- if you know that the X-rays will cause damage tell me.

My other options are the post office which won't be fast enough for me but free and FedX which should beat me to the USA if I send it on Monday but will cost me an arm, a leg, half my blood and perhaps my soul (the tower, the monitor, AND a sound system).

If I could put the heaviest of the three, the tower, in my own luggage (space isn't an issue) this would save me money and a headache.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2005-08-07 06:58am

I'd be pretty leery, personally. The handlers themselves tend to be none-too-gentle, and then there's the auto-luggage-conveyer-things. But then, that's for civilian transport, I'm not sure if it's the same deal in the military.

sparrowtm · Post by **sparrowtm** » 2005-08-07 06:58am

I'm sure it can be done, but you'll bite your own arse if something happens to it. I'm also sure no luggage insurance will cover any damage done to your computer.

Just use FedEx or the post office. Both offer excellent insurances and even if you'll have to pay a bit, it is worth it. You don't want to lose your lov... eh ... computer, now do you?

sparrowtm · Post by **sparrowtm** » 2005-08-07 06:59am

Oh doh. Mesa didn't see you would be using military transportation. I don't know what insurance options you have in this case, then.

Vohu Manah · Post by **Vohu Manah** » 2005-08-07 08:13am

I would honestly try to ship it FedEx or UPS if you can't take your tower as a carry-on. I only say this because, at least at the airport I work at, the checked baggage x-rays are vastly more powerful than the ones used on the checkpoint. You may get stopped for tests on the checkpoint, but that is much better than risking your hard drive being wiped if you ask me. The airlines even suggest that sensitive electronics don't go into checked baggage.

Medic · Post by **Medic** » 2005-08-07 08:17am

sparrowtm wrote:Just use FedEx or the post office. Both offer excellent insurances and even if you'll have to pay a bit, it is worth it. You don't want to lose your lov... eh ... computer, now do you?

Nope, I wouldn't.

It's the most sensible option. Oh, and actually, I'm flying out of Incheon, not a military charter flight like Osan Air Base would be.

Medic · Post by **Medic** » 2005-08-07 08:20am

Vohu Manah wrote:I would honestly try to ship it FedEx or UPS if you can't take your tower as a carry-on. I only say this because, at least at the airport I work at, the checked baggage x-rays are vastly more powerful than the ones used on the checkpoint. You may get stopped for tests on the checkpoint, but that is much better than risking your hard drive being wiped if you ask me. The airlines even suggest that sensitive electronics don't go into checked baggage.

Eeh, that's the icing on the cake. Thanks for the info!

sparrowtm · Post by **sparrowtm** » 2005-08-07 08:25am

And that, my children - was the story of how PFC Brungardt saved his computer from certain death by x-rays of doom.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2005-08-07 08:22pm

A tower ought to be small enough to fit in your carry-on (or be the carry-on if it comes to that). That's definitely the way to go with electronics that you're transporting, though it may be tough to get it through the baggage screeners.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2005-08-07 08:39pm

Personally, if I had to take my computer long distance, I'd remove the CPU and heatsink (that way, given the mass of a heatsink, a sudden jolt doesn't rip it out of the socket and send it tumbling down onto your vid card or something) and the hard drives, pack those in my carry-on, and ship the rest via FedEx/UPS/whatever.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2005-08-07 09:28pm

Socks aren't going to provide much of any shielding from X-rays. More importantly, you stand a high chance that your bag will be opened up, and that the computer will be opened up and perhaps have an explosives dog set on it by airport security. I'd look into the cost of shipping it via some other means.

Vohu Manah · Post by **Vohu Manah** » 2005-08-07 11:54pm

Master of Ossus wrote:A tower ought to be small enough to fit in your carry-on (or be the carry-on if it comes to that). That's definitely the way to go with electronics that you're transporting, though it may be tough to get it through the baggage screeners.

I don't see computer towers come through the checkpoint very often. When I do, I almost never stop them as long as I (or the screener on the x-ray) can see through it well enough to be certain nothing prohibited is inside. The one time I have had to check a tower computer was to perform a test on the case itself (I didn't have to open the tower, and no bomb-sniffing dogs were summoned).

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2005-08-08 12:13am

I brought a computer assembled inside a black suitcase (looking quite exactly like a suitcase tacnuke to 95% of the population) through airport security twice.

Me: It's a computer.
Them: Alright, if you could take your laptop out of the case....
Me: No, the case is the computer.
Them: Uhh... (opens it)
Me; See, this is the hard drive, this is the CPU....
Them: (to another guy) Alright, full chemical test....
Me: T_T
Them (5min later): Uhh... ok... you can go now....
Me: ^.^'

Pu-239 · Post by **Pu-239** » 2005-08-08 01:40am

X-rays don't do anything to computers. Now metal detectors...

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2005-08-08 01:42am

Sea Skimmer wrote:Socks aren't going to provide much of any shielding from X-rays. More importantly, you stand a high chance that your bag will be opened up, and that the computer will be opened up and perhaps have an explosives dog set on it by airport security. I'd look into the cost of shipping it via some other means.

I don't really think that the X-rays they use in airports are going to do much damage to a well-constructed computer. The metal shouldn't degrade much, if at all, and the electronics shouldn't be sensitive enough to suffer serious damage with a few seconds of low-intensity X-rays.

Grasscutter · Post by **Grasscutter** » 2005-08-08 02:26am

Uraniun235 wrote:Personally, if I had to take my computer long distance, I'd remove the CPU and heatsink (that way, given the mass of a heatsink, a sudden jolt doesn't rip it out of the socket and send it tumbling down onto your vid card or something) and the hard drives, pack those in my carry-on, and ship the rest via FedEx/UPS/whatever.

I second this reccomendation. My buddy brought his tower back home from college in his luggage without disconnecting the CPU and harddrive and both were non-functioning after the trip from getting jostled around so much.

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » 2005-08-08 05:20am

Baggage handlers have been known to break computer equipment including towers, notebooks and LCD monitors that are still in their original packaging. You're better if shipping it.