Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Matilda]

Hello - just wondering if you could please offer advice on the following...

I bought a new desktop at the beginning of the year... have now decided to venture over to South Korea. I was going to buy a 2nd hand laptop prior to arriving, however thought it may be cheaper to bring my PC over with me!

Do you recommend the following:

1 -- I was thinking of packing my CPU ('box'?) up and sending it unaccompanied baggage on the plane (with my LCD screen in hand luggage).

2 -- How would you recommend I pack the screen - or is it worth only bringing the 'box' - it is a flatscreen LCD screen.

3 -- Should I also bring my surge protector board - I will still need the converter for the prongs - which I think I may buy over there.

4 -- I have tech support (prepaid) from Dell here in Australia - do I need to change this?

Thanks for helping this lo-tech gal!

[Demophobe]

1. There are a couple of things you should do before shipping a computer "as is". The CPU cooler should be removed as it is heavy and may break away from the mainboard if the package is jolted. It should be well packed inside so no cards (sound, video) have any room to move. Graphics cards are heavy these days and they need support again, in the event of a jolt. Fill it with socks and towels. (heavy though. Styrofoam, but it's not so pliable)

2. Your LCD should be well protected to save scratching. A cover of plastic taped over the screen and then perhaps a thin piece of styrofoam for impact safety. Pack a bunch of clothes around it...just use common sense. Put the whole thing in a plastic bag for moisture protection.

3. Surge protection? Is it good for 220v.? It's always a good idea.

4. I don't know.

[RobinH]

I would call the place where you bought the pc and find out if they can help you pack it for shipping. If they don't help, can the tech support and ask for advice. Also, a lot of shippers will do a very good job for you if you just bring what you want shipped to their office.

One thing to check on is Korean Customs and Australian Customs. When I brought my laptop to Korea from the States a few years ago, I got a special form from US Customs explaining that I brought the laptop out of the country with me. This was to prevent me from having to possible pay import duty upon returning the the US. As for Korean Customs, I believe that if you state the pc is required for your work, you won't have to pay duty. I'm not sure about this, so check with Korean customs.

[ChopChaeJoe]

You may want to just ship the cpu box. It might take awhile to get to you, but probably safer and less trouble than the airlines.

[Matilda]

Cheers - thanks for your help. Am currently looking into a Pack & Send option where a company will also freight my winter clothing/books etc... they specialise in packing fragile goods/PCs/antiques etc for o/s.

[keninseoul]

Your hard-drives could take a beating. i always remove them, and take them along in my hand-carry. I would take out the sound card and video card as a precaution. By all means take your LCD along.

[dogshed]

I would guess having it professionally packaged might give you a better position if you have to make an insurance claim particularly if the packaging company is also the shipping company, e.g. The UPS Store.

The first three rules of computing is backup backup backup. Hardware is easier to replace than data.

I used to ship computers at a job I had a few years ago.

Sometimes customers would ship stuff to us for repair or software installation. I was amazed that some of the stuff worked considering how little packaging they used.

One mistake people make is putting smaller parts like keyboards, power cord, mice, etc. in the area alloted for packing material. For example if you have 3 inches of peanuts and you throw in a two inch thick modem power supply then there is only an inch of packing material protecting the computer.

Modern hard drives park their heads when they are turned off. Make sure they are properly installed with all their screws and they should be fine in the case. If I took the hard drives out of the case I would pack them like I was going to ship them because I would probably drop them.

After buiding a system we would put the case in the box and foam blocks it came to us in and then put that box inside another one with about 4 inches of peanuts all around. I think Fedex recommends 6 inches but if we couldn't find the right box we would send it sometimes with just a couple of inches between the two boxes. If you don't have the original box I still recommend double boxing. It helps spread the force over a larger area and keeps unit from migrating.

If not using the original packing material you can put the computer in a plastic back to keep foam peanuts out of the case and make sure there is a couple of inches of peanuts between the inside box and the bagged case and then again more peanuts around that box.

The blocking of sound cards, coolers and other heavy parts sounds like good advice to me. I suppose we didn't do it because they were lighter weight back then. Removal is an option. On some systems it might be easier to remove the cpu with the cooler attached. Take all static charge precautions of course.

When checking a system as luggage I would take tape with me to make a handle so I could drag in on the carpet at the airport.

-Jeff