[SOLVED] Travel question - 2 hard drives in one larger sized anti-static bag?

[Big Swifty]

So we're about to move which entails taking a couple of international flights. I'm removing my HDD and reusing an anti-static bag that I kept from a motherboard and placing it in my carry-on. Someone else in the family now wants to bring their computer and upon checking out the specs I told them it wasn't worth it to bring a PC with weak components from 2009; it's better to just take out the HDD and bring that.

Our problem is that we're in a third world country and so far I'm not able to find any place near us that sells anti-static bags. We're leaving a week from today and I'm not sure if anything I ordered from the capital city would get here in time, no matter what promises or guarantees are made. The bag I have now seems big enough to hold two HDD's, but I'm concerned about them being together and potentially damaging each other.

Is there a good way to put the two drives in the same bag, or is this just a bad idea? If the latter, I'm thinking of wrapping one in a plain brown paper bag and then surrounding it with bubble-wrap (like I will for the one in the anti-static bag).

 

[USAFRet]

OK, not shipping the PC.

A couple of small boxes, bubble wrap around the drives inside, and taped closed would work.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, how much data are you actually moving, and what is it?

 

[Big Swifty]

I thought direct contact between the drives and bubble wrap was a no no - plastic and static electricity.

Since space is super tight, I was thinking anti-static bag wrapped in bubble wrap and surrounded by clothes in a carry-on so I can ensure it doesn't get knocked around.

I'll be bringing two drives. A nearly full 2 TB HDD and a 4 TB external drive (which I forgot to mention). Since the external drive is already in it's own plastic case I'm assuming I can just wrap it in bubble wrap and surround it with clothes.

The other drive is 1 TB with only a little more than a 100GB being used. It's from an old office computer and pretty much only has Word/Excel and similar types of files. I suggested a 128GB USB stick and/or temporary cloud storage, but the relative wants to take the drive and put it in a new computer.

 

[USAFRet]

Drive, wrapped in a shirt, wrapped in bubblewrap, in a box.

"in a carry on"
Be prepared to answer questions of "What is that?"

 

[Big Swifty]

So 100% cotton should be okay to have direct contact with the drive?

I'll just wrap that with bubble wrap, loosely taped so that it can easily be opened for inspection.

As far as questions, the honest answer would seem to be the best. 'They're hard disk drives, removed from the PC to make sure they didn't get knocked around during the two flights. The rest of the PC is in that other suitcase that went as checked luggage.'

I'd imagine it's not the first time airport security/customs has dealt with this kind of situation.

 

[USAFRet]

If you're also shipping an actual PC, these drives would be better served if they were installed in that case.

PC's are shipped all over the world, every day all day. HDD already installed.

 

[Big Swifty]

First time for me sending a PC by checked baggage, so I'm not experienced. Thought I read that it's best to remove any HDD's and GPU's. It's a simple build with a motherboard, one stick of RAM, and a low profile stock CPU cooling fan. It'll be going on two different flights.

So is the best advice to just leave the existing HDD in the case and add the second HDD to another drive bay?

 

[USAFRet]

First time for me sending a PC by checked baggage, so I'm not experienced. Thought I read that it's best to remove any HDD's and GPU's. It's a simple build with a motherboard, one stick of RAM, and a low profile stock CPU cooling fan. It'll be going on two different flights.

So is the best advice to just leave the existing HDD in the case and add the second HDD to another drive bay?

I would absolutely mount them in the case. As mentioned, PCs are shipped all over the world, every day, hard drives installed.

And of course, a backup of any critical data is a must.

 

[Big Swifty]

Thanks for the advice.

The backups are backed up.

The PC will be packed in the case's original cardboard box with the original styrofoam inserts and any empty space will be filled with cotton t-shirts, etc, and will be packed in a large hard shell suitcase surrounded by more soft stuff.

 

[MJS WARLORD]

i think i would be inclined to tell the check in desk that you have a pc wrapped inside clothes in your case , if the x-ray machine sees it , and i am sure it will , the staff may not fully recognised it as a pc and may want to pull your bag off the belt and you could miss your flight. if you got back ups keep them with you as hand luggage

 

[geofelt]

I have transported a full pc packed inside a suitcase with no problem.
If the unit can fit in an overhead carry on, you would have no problems.

Ask for a fragile sticker. Who knows, it might help.
Yes, the inspectors will ask what is in there, and you should be prepared, if necessary to remove a case cover for inspection.
One thing to check after arrival is that your cooler has not been dislodged during the process. Take materials to remount if necessary.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Thought I read that it's best to remove any HDD's and GPU's. It's a simple build with a motherboard, one stick of RAM, and a low profile stock CPU cooling fan.
So is the best advice to just leave the existing HDD in the case and add the second HDD to another drive bay?

Leave HDD in the pc. Normally it's pretty secure.

Remove heavy components like graphics card with heavy cooler and heavy cpu cooler.
If any of those heavy parts break loose, they will cause serious damage.