Packing a computer for airline travel

[Vaktathi]

Allrighty, I'm going home for winter break from my dorm, and would like to take my rig(sig) with me instead of leaving it in the dorm where it may get stolen. I called the airline and asked if it was allright to bring it in a box as check-in baggage and they said that was allright.

My question to you guys is, how should I pack it so that it remains as safe as possible? the box is 22"L x 20" H x 20" W, and the computer is 18.5"L x 21"H x 8" W (it will fit if its laid on its side). I have no styrofoam, but I do have a couple large blankerts.

I plan on removing and packing the hard drives and video card seperatley. not bringing monitor.

suggestions?

-thanks in advance!

 

[Seekermeister]

Personally, I would either get some styrofoam, bubble wrap or plastic peanuts. The blankets would be better than nothing, but they would allow the possibility of lint getting somewhere that it shouldn't. Since the box should be packed firmly to prevent any movement, I would wonder if the blankets would provide the shock absorption needed. Whatever you use, be sure to have packing evenly all the way around. I'm a little surprised that the airlines agreed, because I wanted to check a box in with a new dehumidifier and they insisted that the box should not have the original seal broken, as I wanted to repack it. Then all airlines are different.

Be sure to place the HDs and video card in antistatic bags.

 

[crydee]

You should probably take off the Heatsink too. Definetly just want to stop all movement when they throw the box 10 feet or what have you..

 

[MercenaryForHire]

If you absolutely HAVE to have it, ship it via ground transit.

But seriously, how long is your winter break? And do you really need your computer?

- M4H

 

[nchavie]

I have shipped my computer back and forth from Arizona to Alaska many times. This is what I do. I remove the hard drives and hand carry them. Make sure everything in the case is screwed down properly. For the box I use the shipping box that my case came in. It has an exact styrofoam cut out that fits the case. If you don't have your original box then I suggest going to a BestBuy or COMPUSA and ask them if they have any extra boxes and styrofoam laying around that you can use. Short of that take it to a UPS store and have them pack it in a box for you. They generally to a decent job.

What has gone wrong in the shipping? The PSU died on one transit and the video card came complete unscrewed and out of its PCI express slot. It was fine but I was lucky. Only ship the computer if you absolutely have to and if you can, purchase insurance for it.

 

[Matthias99]

If you really, really have to ship it, I would strongly recommend removing all expansion cards and drives, as well as the CPU and heatsink (definitely remove the heatsink -- the mounting clips are not built for that kind of abuse and may break... and then you have a half-pound chunk of metal rattling around against your motherboard/CPU). Basically, assume it will be abused by baggage handlers. You should be able to take the hard drives/video card, etc. in your carryon baggage (in antistatic bags, of course). Then just pray that the motherboard and PSU come through in one piece.

Ideally, as mentioned above, you should use the original box the case came in, with the shipping styrofoam. If you don't have that stuff, wrapping it in bubble wrap and filling in any extra space in the box with wadded newspaper or other packing material would probably work fine.

 

[corkyg]

I've never seen a better justification for a laptop.

Seriously, I have shipped systems cross country, and like was said above: Remove HDDs, pack separately. Remove the CPU cooler assembly - pack separately. Remove video card and others, and pack separately. By the time you do all this round trip, you really might like to sell it and get a laptop.