Flying with HDs

[Dan0512]

Hey Folks;

I'll be flying over the Atlantic to the States very soon, and I was planning on taking my internal 500GB HD with me.

Now on to my questions - where should I put the HD in? Should I take it with my in my hand luggage, or just put it in the suitcase?

I fear that if I put it in my suitcase, the HD might be treated too violently, and I really wouldn't like to risk losing the data in it.

On the other hand, I think that if I take it my carry on luggage, it could eventually get troublesome in the customs, if they start searching my files for anything illegal and the likes in my encrypted data.

Does anyone have any tips?

dan

[Malpine Walis]

Well Dan, if you have ever been in an airport that had a glassed lobby where you could see planes being loaded, you would know that cargo handlers are not the most careful bunch of guys in the world. Basically, never check in anything that cannot be thrown a couple of meters by some guy who works too hard for what they are paying him.

And yes, customs can check your hard drive. However, it would be far too expensive to pull everyone for a full screening. So dress nicely and don't behave like a jerk (not that you would but as far as general advice...). As long as you don't get pulled by a random number generator, you stand a good chance of just passing through.

Another tip: when you fly, wear comfortable shoes that can be easily removed. I have had the metal in the soles set off the detector. Minor hassle though it may be, I slip them off along with anything else that may have metal and I run them through the xray machine. Then you can just walk through the metal detector and not get pulled into the glass booth for a detailed check.

[Dan0512]

Ok, I'll guess I'll take it in my carry on bag. Thanks for teh advice!

dab