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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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 Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:20 pm Post subject: Treveling with hard drive |
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I am going to the U.S. in a couple of months, and plan to take my external hard drive with me. How do they deal with this at security?
I posted this also on the travel board, but I figured you folks might have a good idea about this. |
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ejmlab
Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Location: Pohang
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| Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:36 pm Post subject: harddrive customs |
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I've travelled with portable harddrives many times and never had an issue. Then again I always carry it in my carry-on luggage with my notebook computer so the contents are accessible if customs wanted to check. I can't see why they'd treat a harddrive differently than a computer unless you were carrying a bunch of them or you couldn't show them the contents of the drive.
Cheers |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:39 pm Post subject: Re: harddrive customs |
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| ejmlab wrote: |
I've travelled with portable harddrives many times and never had an issue. Then again I always carry it in my carry-on luggage with my notebook computer so the contents are accessible if customs wanted to check. I can't see why they'd treat a harddrive differently than a computer unless you were carrying a bunch of them or you couldn't show them the contents of the drive.
Cheers |
I will just have a hard drive, no computer, so I can't show them the contents- that is the problem. |
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ejmlab
Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Location: Pohang
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| Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:46 pm Post subject: harddrive |
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Right, I see the problem.
I've never thought about it much before but you have a good point. I'd be most wary if the material on my external harddrive was irreplaceable (ie. docs that I'd created etc. without backups). I'd probably just take it and maybe generate a file list and place it on a floppy. Then you could be forthcoming and say "It's my personal files. Here's a list. Feel free to access the drive with your own system." Just an idea but it would be nice to know US Customs stance on the issue.
Cheers |
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Giant
Joined: 14 May 2003
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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| If it's carry on I doubt they will look twice. |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:57 am Post subject: |
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| Giant wrote: |
| If it's carry on I doubt they will look twice. |
Well, a part of me thinks that they damn well ought to!
has no one had this experience? |
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ladyandthetramp
Joined: 21 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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| desultude wrote: |
| Giant wrote: |
| If it's carry on I doubt they will look twice. |
Well, a part of me thinks that they damn well ought to!
has no one had this experience? |
I have traveled with external hard drives (or internal hard drives without the computer, for that matter) and have never had a problem. You aren't the first person with a hard drive, and they know what they look like. Besides, they put it through the scanner, anyway. |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 5:15 pm Post subject: |
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| ladyandthetramp wrote: |
| desultude wrote: |
| Giant wrote: |
| If it's carry on I doubt they will look twice. |
Well, a part of me thinks that they damn well ought to!
has no one had this experience? |
I have traveled with external hard drives (or internal hard drives without the computer, for that matter) and have never had a problem. You aren't the first person with a hard drive, and they know what they look like. Besides, they put it through the scanner, anyway. |
Yeah, I do know that I am not the first person to have one, and having one is new to me, so I am deferring to those with experience. That is why I am asking the question.
I guess implied in my question is whether having it scanned would cause damage to the files.
My question "has no one had this experience?" was simply asking for a definitive, experienced answer. As you have given me this, I thank you. |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject: Re: Treveling with hard drive |
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| desultude wrote: |
I am going to the U.S. in a couple of months, and plan to take my external hard drive with me. How do they deal with this at security?
I posted this also on the travel board, but I figured you folks might have a good idea about this. |
And a long time ago I answered in the travel forum .....
| Quote: |
| Same here: computer too - much too much of a pain to keep having to boot it, and less to carry. |
Precis: chuck it in yah sootcase. |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:38 pm Post subject: Re: Treveling with hard drive |
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| Wangja wrote: |
| desultude wrote: |
I am going to the U.S. in a couple of months, and plan to take my external hard drive with me. How do they deal with this at security?
I posted this also on the travel board, but I figured you folks might have a good idea about this. |
And a long time ago I answered in the travel forum .....
| Quote: |
| Same here: computer too - much too much of a pain to keep having to boot it, and less to carry. |
Precis: chuck it in yah sootcase. |
Thanks, good advice.
And I will have everything backed up, just in case. |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| And I will have everything backed up, just in case. |
That's perhaps the wisest thing I have read on Dave's.  |
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skconqueror
Joined: 31 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:48 am Post subject: |
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| Is double posting aloud? I think it makes things cluttered. |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 1:17 am Post subject: |
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| skconqueror wrote: |
| Is double posting aloud? I think it makes things cluttered. |
Only quiet double posting is allowed. If you do it aloud, you may disturb somebody. 
By the way, I thought I had been smelling a sock with you postings. Thanks for the confirmation. |
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ladyandthetramp
Joined: 21 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| desultude wrote: |
| ladyandthetramp wrote: |
I have traveled with external hard drives (or internal hard drives without the computer, for that matter) and have never had a problem. You aren't the first person with a hard drive, and they know what they look like. Besides, they put it through the scanner, anyway. |
Yeah, I do know that I am not the first person to have one, and having one is new to me, so I am deferring to those with experience. That is why I am asking the question.
I guess implied in my question is whether having it scanned would cause damage to the files.
My question "has no one had this experience?" was simply asking for a definitive, experienced answer. As you have given me this, I thank you. |
I think you misunderstood my answer. Rather than being aggressive, I was commenting on:
| desultude wrote: |
| I will just have a hard drive, no computer, so I can't show them the contents- that is the problem. |
| desultude wrote: |
| Giant wrote: |
| If it's carry on I doubt they will look twice. |
Well, a part of me thinks that they damn well ought to!
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You were thinking they might want to check it out for security reasons to make sure it's not a bomb or something. While you aren't alone wondering this (everyone has a first time), I was saying that the security screeners, on the other hand, are used to seeing hard drives, thus you don't have to worry about setting off any alarms.
As far as backing up your hard drive on CD's, that's always a good idea. I've never lost information on computers / hard drives when putting them through the scanner, but it's better to be safe. |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 3:13 pm Post subject: |
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| ladyandthetramp wrote: |
| desultude wrote: |
| ladyandthetramp wrote: |
I have traveled with external hard drives (or internal hard drives without the computer, for that matter) and have never had a problem. You aren't the first person with a hard drive, and they know what they look like. Besides, they put it through the scanner, anyway. |
Yeah, I do know that I am not the first person to have one, and having one is new to me, so I am deferring to those with experience. That is why I am asking the question.
I guess implied in my question is whether having it scanned would cause damage to the files.
My question "has no one had this experience?" was simply asking for a definitive, experienced answer. As you have given me this, I thank you. |
I think you misunderstood my answer. Rather than being aggressive, I was commenting on:
| desultude wrote: |
| I will just have a hard drive, no computer, so I can't show them the contents- that is the problem. |
| desultude wrote: |
| Giant wrote: |
| If it's carry on I doubt they will look twice. |
Well, a part of me thinks that they damn well ought to!
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You were thinking they might want to check it out for security reasons to make sure it's not a bomb or something. While you aren't alone wondering this (everyone has a first time), I was saying that the security screeners, on the other hand, are used to seeing hard drives, thus you don't have to worry about setting off any alarms.
As far as backing up your hard drive on CD's, that's always a good idea. I've never lost information on computers / hard drives when putting them through the scanner, but it's better to be safe. |
Sorry I misread you post. Sometimes I just expect sarcasm here. 
I will back everything up on CD's. I'm glad to hear you have not had a problem with the scanner. I'm quite reassured now. I'll just pack the hard drive in my suit case. |
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