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There are many circumstances where one may need to move a computer. Whether changing homes or just going to a LAN party with friends, proper moving procedure is essential to avoid damage to your computer.

There are several key steps to take to avoid damage. If you have a notebook computer, little is required to keep your computer safe. If you are shipping the notebook, you can place it in a box with tightly packed foam linings to prevent the computer from shifting or jarring in transit, which could dislodge components or damage the hard drive.

A desktop computer, however, is considerably more difficult to move. To best avoid damage, you should back up all critical information before moving the computer. Using Windows XP or Vista's System Restore tool and saving your My Documents folder on a CD-ROM or USB flash drive are the best steps to preserve data. To prepare the computer for its move, you should remove its side panel (typically there are two or three screws at the back of the tower) and identify the different cards within the computer. In order to ensure that your computer can be reconfigured when it arrives at its destination, either have someone familiar with computer hardware on hand or take careful pictures of the configuration before disassembly.

The two components most easily damaged in transit are peripheral cards and hard drives. To avoid damage to peripheral cards, each horizontally aligned card (especially the video card[s] - the cards typically closest to the top of the case) should be detached from the motherboard (the circuit board all components are plugged into) and packed separately in anti-static bags and in a box with packing material that prevents the cards from shifting in transit. Anti-static bags prevent static discharge that can prove fatal to electronics, and can be find online at sites like www.all-spec.com.

As for protecting hard drives, there are different levels of safety measures. Personally, I make sure that the hard drive is firmly bolted to the case before I move it, and then pack the whole case into a container with enough foam that ensures that the case will not violently jar against any hard surfaces. To be absolutely certain of preserving your data's integrity, you could also disconnect the hard drive and place it in an anti-static bag as well, again ensuring that it does not shift in transit.

Any monitors you transport should be placed display screen-down on a seat, to prevent some sort of weight shift mid-transit, but a soft cloth should be placed over the screen to ensure that the screen is not scratched.

The most difficult part of moving a computer is putting the pieces back together upon arrival. This is where it helps to have either pictures, computer hardware experience, or some friends with similar experience. I have moved my computer ten or twenty times on trips of varying length, following these procedures, and I have never had any problems after reassembling the machine and restarting it.

Computers are expensive devices that are fairly fragile. The steps above may seem like a lot of work, but the dangers of improper transportation for computers are significant. A few simple steps, although fairly time-consuming, will prove more than adequate for keeping your computer safe when moving it, and save you hours of frustration or hundreds of dollars toward replacement.

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