[technomage]

As you can see, I am coming out of the woods and flying again! But, it is necessary. Any suggestions and opinions on taking a laptop with you would be appreciated.

[hole_n_one]

No problem.......as long as you're not logged in.

[DainBramage]

I hope the feds don't burn down your home page.

[I got the rope]

I've been doing it for 4 years now...no problems.

[bcoffey]

Never had a single problem in several years... be prepared to take it out of the case... and watch out if they want to wand you in one area while your laptop is in another area!

[DefCon]

Carry it on. Do not put it in checked luggage.
"Mark" it somehow so it is easily distinguishable from others.
Keep your eyes on it at all times.
Security screening devices, xray, or otherwise, will not hurt it.

[Be Free]

I have had the same Dell C400 laptop for 2+ years. Since then I've logged some 150 flights on business throughout the US and Europe, including UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Czech Republic. Have had absolutely no issues with having it scanned. Prior to 9/11 and the introduction of the TSA to the security process, there were reports of theft teams working to separate people from their valuable possessions while going through security. I still keep a very watchful eye on my things, even though I'm fairly sure the TSA presence, including full-time video recording, would be enough to scare them off.

[Kirkwood]

If you haven't flown for a while, be aware that now TSA check most laptops twice. Once in the regular x-ray where you have to send it on a separate tray and then they check it again on another system. If you have extra packed laptop batteries, they scan those twice as well. You don't have to turn it on though, but I haven't flown since level orange was reached.

[Norman Conquest]

I manage loaner laptops for my company, so I get this a lot. My opinion is that the actual imaging rays pose no problem, but I'm convinced the belt motor magnets fried a hard drive on me one time. I've found that if I ask politely, they'll hand inspect it without running it through the scanner. Whatever you do, don't get drawn into a debate over whether the machine is safe, just indicate your preference for hand inspection. Unfortunately, this guarantees you're singled out for the full-frisk treatment.

They may ask you to fire it up if their suspicions are aroused, so make sure your battery is charged or your transformer is at hand.

Personally, I've gone back to putting it in my checked baggage, nestled inside several sweaters.

[fourhorsemen]

Nope, but make sure you clearly tape your business card to it. Lots of laptops look the same, and believe it or not, with all the confusion you just might forget yours. Ask the TSA folks, it happens all the time.

I travel frequently and have my name, address, phone # and e-mail taped to the outside of my cell phone & laptop.

[Blue Jays]

Good Evening All-

Technomage, the security devices at the airport won't harm your laptop. Mine has been through about a zillion times with no loss in performance or stored data.

If you'll have access to a computer at your destination, you could always save files and projects to a portable storage device and work on things when you land. These devices are tiny, literally the size of a keychain. A Blackberry can be used to handle e-mail.

My other rule-of-thumb is to NEVER check luggage when traveling domestically. If you're traveling on business for a week or less, you should be able to shoehorn everything into a rollaway and carry-on bag. If not, you're simply carrying too much stuff. Wean yourself from overpacking by packing normally and ask someone to join you and remove 25% of your garments.

~ Blue Jays ~

[BlazingArizona]

As you can see, I am coming out of the woods and flying again! But, it is necessary. Any suggestions and opinions on taking a laptop with you would be appreciated.

Always carry it on with you, and make sure it's a rugged machine. Travelers should be aware of the three classes of laptop:

1. IBM ThinkPads
2. Apple PowerBooks
3. Crap

[July 4th]

Ok, here's the deal. The X-Ray machines will not harm your laptop. It doesn't use any magnets in its operation except perhaps on the belt motor - think of the X-Ray as a very high powered form of light.

BUT, the wand sensors and the metal detectors have the potential to harm data, so do keep your machine well clear of those. For instance, don't walk up to the metal detector with disks in your pockets, or ask your laptop to be hand-checked. Just put it in a tray and put it on the belt, and all will be fine.

For the general security of the laptop, put all of your other stuff through first, and then hold the laptop until the last possible moment. Don't put it through until you're asked to walk through the metal detector. If you're hung up by a beeping machine, you want as little distance between you and your valuables as possible.

[DTA]

Make sure that your laptop battery is charged so if inspection is needed it can be booted up. Dead laptop can be suspicious of a vehicle to carry Semtex. Not all airports have sniffer dogs or air analyzers. Ditto for all battery powered devices. Recharge before going to the airport.

[I_dmc]

In addition to other good suggestions, don't carry it in a laptop case. There are some available that look like briefcases or backpacks. Laptops are extremely popular targets for theft, especially if you have one of those nice laptop bags with your company's logo on it.

[WaterDragon]

I was recently told at the airport that I should take my puter out of the laptop bag, lay it on the bag before sending it through, that that would make unnecessary further wanding of it. The inspector said they are very leery of zipped up laptop bags.