Packing PC for a move

Samurai Jack said:

Hi
I have done a move from overseas, the most important thing was to put my C drive in my carry on.
You never know what could go wrong.

Good point but, since I keep several drives with images of the C:/ drive (and clones of the data drives), it would be simpler for me to ship each set of drives separately in hopes at least one set would make it. Carrying multiple drives in carry on can get pretty heavy pretty fast, depending on how many one has.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

cimage said:

Layback Bear said:

1. Remove after market cpu cooler.
2. Remove video card
3. Remove ram.
4. Wrap the above with news paper.
5. Install 1/2/3 back in the tower with balled up news paper keep them separated and snug in the tower.
6. Get a box with enough room for 2 or 3 inches of room on each side and top and bottom.
7. After putting balled up news paper on the bottom of the box insert the tower and pack all the space with balled up news paper. This should give some degree on shock resistance and add little weight.
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As Lady Fitzgerald posted Do Not use packing peanuts.

Lady Bear, thanks again for point wise packing suggestion. Can you please clarify what is 1/2/3 back? Also I am thinking of packing StyroFoam between the tower and the box instead of balled news print for better stability.

"1/2/3 back" refers to items 1. CPU cooler, 2. Video card, and 3. RAM being removed from the motherboard, wrapped separately in newspaper, then placed back inside the tower (aka computer case) for shipping. I personally would prefer packaging those items separately to ensure they are properly padded. Putting them back inside the tower could allow them to bounce or otherwise put pressure on other components and cause damage.

The reason for removing the CPU cooler (I had forgotten to mention that one; the directions that came with my cooler specifically warn to remove it before moving the computer) and the video card is to avoid having them bounce around, damaging themselves and the motherboard. I don't see why the RAM should be removed but I'm outnumbered on that one and it can't hurt anyway. Just make sure the sticks go into an antistatic sleeve or is sandwiched in antistatic foam if you don't have the original packaging.

I agree, Cooler, Vcard & Ram should be removed and packed and housed outside the tower in a separate box.

Also Samurai Jack’s suggestion to carry system drive in person seems a good one.

Samurai Jack said:

Hi
I have done a move from overseas, the most important thing was to put my C drive in my carry on.
You never know what could go wrong.

Thanks for great suggestion.

Layback Bear said:

Install your wrapped components back into the computer tower will not cause a problem if they are padded correctly with news paper. They will not move around.
The reason for removing items like cpu cooler, video card, ram from your motherboard is to not allow them to move back and forth and damage the motherboard.
If your hard drives have secure information on them I would consider having them with your carry on baggage.
If a hard drive is jarred hard enough they can be damaged mechanically. I chose wadded up news paper around your computer tower because in my opinion wadded up news paper is a better shock absorber than StyroFoam. Of course it your choice.
People use news paper to ship Fine China all over the world years ago without problems.

Thanks for taking time to get back, I appreciate. Frankly I don't have any experience and I thought StyroFoam is a better option. Since you have experience I would take your advise and go with news print.

I have 5 hard disks, I plan to remove just system disk and carry with me. The other disks do have data. I am skeptical of taking all disks with me as in the past I had a issues after I reconnected them back. Is their a particular sequence with which hard disk need to be reconnected. I do understand the safest option would be to carry all the hard disks in my personal baggage.