Really odd PC transporting question...

[Mad±Teuton]

Hi guys sorry if this is the wrong part of the forum but after you read this I'm sure you will agree I hadn't a clue wherelse to post it!

I am flying home in a couple of days and need a solution to transport my PC on the airplane.

My wife is really pissed that I want to take my PC home for 6 months but I like my set up and don't want to buy another one.

I can ditch the case but, need some way of transporting the MB, hdd, and gpu safely and I also don't know if xray machines are gonna frag anything. I did lose a 250gb drive on my last flight due to customs not respectfully handling my property so I'll be using LOTS of bubble wrap this time, I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with scanner machines although a tiny chip blew which destroyed even being able to recover the drive (depressed for weeks over that one). I haven't a clue on this one sorry.


What would you do if you had to transport your PC essentials on a flight?

Are hdd's risky with scanner machines?

If worst comes to worst and I really have to buy another set up... (Please God, NOooooo!) what are the basic steps to making an image of my drive with OS etc?



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Any suggestions welcome.

[PoleCat]

Really your best bet is to copy the drive image and load it onto a system wherever you end up. I have no idea how much EM radiation those scanners emit - X-ray shouldn't be a problem but metal detectors could be. If you really must, absolutely NEED to bring your system with you then pack them in electro-static bags and surround them in bubble wrap. If you're passing through US security expect to have them checked - they will be unwrapped and any hard drive will be copied and scanned.

There are a few drive image utilities out there that are freeware but I can't suggest one - I don't play with them that often. You shouldn't have any trouble finding one - the problem is knowing what to do with it. If you can't figure it out come back here and hopefully someone can talk you through it. Good luck!

[Mad±Teuton]

Wow...

Didn't know about that sort of search in the us...

Thanks, yeah I was thinking about electro static bags and bubblewrap too, I'll have to go dig them out of boxes and bubble wrap everything pretty secure. In the meantime I will try and work out how to make an iso image.

Thanks a lot for your advice. Really appreciate it. At least I can show the wife I am not completely paranoid about losing my data now ahhaa.

If I get really stuck I'll pop a question later and see if anyone can help.

[Mad±Teuton]

Ha funnily enough after posting had trouble on my pc...

Well I am totally confused where to start from with ISO's. But at least I have a fair idea this is my only option in lieu of risk. The only decent one I can see so far is this one

Lots of forum support etc, still learning exactly what I need to do though, tons to read and clearly understand.

Someone can give an opinion on this one? Or a really short tutorial?

Ok, I admit, I need someone to hold my hand, then...

searching youtube for vids on doing these things next.