Job Discussion Forums

[Synne]

I am leaving to Japan to teach this August. I am wondering if maybe I can take my computer with me. What I mean is take the parts out and mix them amongst my baggage. (properly packed)

Then once in Japan buy a new computer case and put all the parts in that one. Also I would be buying a new monitor in Japan.

I would like to do this if possible because I have a very good computer which I built myself and I would prefer to take it if possible. I also would like to steer away from the laptops as they are expensive and you cannot play with there insides.

Does this seem do-able?

[J Sensei]

As long as you have a universal power adapter, anything is possible! People suggest you take a computer with you to Japan anyway, because of the Japanese user manuals, keyboards, etc...

A new monitor wouldn't be a HUGE hassle to buy in Japan, so pack up your hard drive and hit the road!

Oh, and you can find some laptops that have removable drives, just FYI because I just bought one for a Nippon trip of my own!

[JimDunlop2]

In a word: sorta. The biggest issue I see with your plan is that if/WHEN your baggage gets X-rayed or examined by the first airport official anywhere, you'll likely be in a lot of kaka -- since the average intelligence of these people is somewhere between a grapefruit and a salad.... They will not recognize your computer parts for what they are and may think it's explosives or something...
"Hey Joe, c'mere! We got us a live one here! It's rigged... And get this, the name on the bag is 'Mohammad.'"
"Yer right. Quick... Let's get bomb disposal in here before this thing blows us to kingdom come!"

Any electronics that you have in your carry-on bag must work... In other words, if an official tells you to "turn it on" for them, it should be operational. Otherwise you may face more difficulty. (I had to do this many times with everything from walkmans to calculators to laptops).

Just to give you an idea, my father packed his scientific HP calculator (he's an engineer) into his suitcase (not carry-on) bound for Europe -- this was well before 9/11 happened -- the suitcase arrived 2 weeks later than him, and they had taken apart his suitcase, left everything intact but removed the batteries to his calculator.... Thereby also erasing all his formulas and stored information... Nice....

Now before the people on this forum get all up in arms about my comments, saying: "I did it xx times and never had a problem before!" Let me just point out, that of course every situation is different -- I'm only pointing out what MAY happen based on personal experiences.

As alternatives let me suggest the following:

1. ship your computer parts over by mail or courrier. OR -- better yet, just the hard drive... The rest you can really buy here.

2. Back up your data and just take discs.... Build your computer from scratch once you arrive... (That's what I did).... I built the whole thing from parts purchased in Akihabara (Tokyo). The whole thing, tax in, flat-screen (used 15" TFT LCD, everything else new) for ￥60,000. That's about $530 USD using the current rate of exchange...

Good luck.... Whatever you decide, I hope it works out for you.

JD

[Synne]

Thanks a lot Jim and J sensei for the advice.

What im worried about is the whole security thing if I take it in my luggage like Jim said.

Having to prove my computer parts work with no power supply or monitor handy would be impossible.

Would sending it by courrier be fairly expensive?

Thanks in advance