posted by Travel Cat on Aug 1
Whether it’s home or abroad – you need to consider the needs of your laptop!
We take them a bit for granted now, but they are still valuable things. For example, I save all my pictures on my laptop and all my contacts for email, etc – as well as spreadsheets about all sorts of things – so what happens to it all if your laptop is stolen or gets broken?
It’s enough to worry about at home – but what about when traveling with it for days or months at a time?
Well, I have put together a few great tips – things to think about before you head off that could save you a lot of time and money in the future! Simple planning tools for a plain-sailing vacation!
Ultimate Power:
All laptops have their battery within them and a power lead to charge them up – so have you got both for starters?
But lets start with the battery first. You can calibrate your battery to make sure that it is charging itself up fully every time. If they are not fully charged as per the manufacturers instructions the first time – they may never charge properly ever again!
But – thank goodness – you can follow a set of simple steps at home before you go to make sure that you ‘reset’ the battery to take a full charge (following the manufacturers instructions of course!) – and at least it if won’t calibrate properly – or it is running out of juice due to age anyway – then at least you know this in advance of travelling anyway and can buy a replacement on home ground!
You also need to be sure that your laptop will charge fully on alternative power supplies in the countries that you are visiting – as they are not all the same.
Check that you have the correct shape and size adapter as well – and that it can power up your laptop properly – otherwise you have carried it all the way there for nothing!
Also – will you need to reserve a seat on the train, boat or plane that has a power supply next to it? Not all companies cater for powering laptops or other electrical goods on the move – so make sure that you check for yourself, or upgrade to a seat that does!
Your Important Files:
Make sure that you back up all your important files before you go – either onto an external hard drive or online storage.
And, make sure that you keep them separate at all times – otherwise they will both get damaged at the same time!
Needless to say you should hide all your sensitive data as well – as you might need to be checked by security – and you don’t want them trawling though your company spreadsheets or personal files! You can easily partition all you files so that the private ones needs a separate access code.
Also by using different passwords to get into your system in the first place; you are preventing data theft and rendering the laptop useless to anyone that steal it. They can still take it from your of course – but they probably won’t be able to get into any of your files or even the software itself.
Never assume that you are the only one who will use your laptop – so log out of everything while travelling – as some laptops save your log-ins or open automatically on typing in the web address – a total disaster if someone else gets their hands on your computer!
Airport Security:
Make sure that you can get your laptop through customs as quickly and as safely as possible, by thinking and planning ahead.
Use the right laptop bag to transport it around the airport in the first place, to allow instant access but also to prevent it getting damaged as you move other luggage around or bustle through crowds.
You will also need to send your laptop through the security device separately to your other hand luggage, so make sure that it is out of the laptop bag before you get to the front so as to limit your need to rush and fuss about the thing – and to prevent slowing down the queue!
Maybe even have the laptop powered up – but on sleep mode. This way, if the staff ask you to turn it on for checking, you can just ‘wake it up’ rather than boot it up! Not only does this save you time – but you will be less stressed through it and there is likely to be less damage to the laptop through all these checks.
If you have allowed your laptop to run out of battery on the journey to the airport – then you could have a problem if they want to see it working – so make sure that the power cable is packed in the same bag – otherwise you are going to get very stressed at the customs desk!
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