A computer is a treasure to every one of us and has become an integral part of our life these days. Treasures need extra care, do not they? This is very much true in case of computers, especially when moving it. You have to be carefully careful while preparing your computer for a move; otherwise you may end up losing your important files or damaging the machine. So much said, what really are the precautions to be taken when moving the computer?
Backup
The very first and the foremost task in moving a computer is to backup all important files. Whatever important data and program files you have in your computer, take a backup of everything. For achieving this, DVD burning is the best option. Do not worry if you do not have the facility to burn DVD. You can always buy a flash drive. A 256MB flash drive will normally suffice the purpose. Keep these backup disks and flash drive safe in a separate container along with the instruction manuals and software diskettes.
Remove the Disks
Before switching off the computer, do not forget to remove the diskettes from the various drives. Remove all the floppies from floppy drives and CDs from the CD drive. Park the printer head. Remove the ink cartridges, laser cartridge and the ribbon as the case may be. In older systems hard disk parking should also be done before moving the computer.
Shutdown
After taking the backup, you can shutdown your computer and switch it off. This is very much
necessary before disconnecting it to ensure your safety.
Disconnect
We have taken the backup and switched off the computer after proper shutdown. Now we can disconnect it.
1.First unplug the power cable of the PC, then of the monitor and other periphers like printer.
2.While removing the cables be gentle. Vigorous pulling and additional pressure cause damage to the cables.
3.While taking the cables from PC and its peripherals, make a note of which cable goes to which connector. Present day computers come with color coding and guiding pictures on cables and sockets to help disconnection and reassembly.
Even if this is not available in our PC, we ourselves can clone it. It's easy. Stick a piece of masking tape with appropriate marks (or writings) on cables. Put the removed cables safely in plastic bags.
Pack
Actual packing of the computer needs a vision from you. Remember the boxes in which the computer came to you for the first time? If you have them now it will prove handy. Otherwise you can always approach a box company. Tell them you need boxes for packing a computer. Be specific about the dimensions. Because over tight or loose packing may prove dangerous to your hardware, especially the ones inside the CPU. Now you can start packing.
1. Monitor
Monitor is a fragile part as it has a glass screen. Pack this in its own box.
2. CPU
The CPU, normally called the tower has to be placed upright in its box. Do not ever think of doing the opposite. Then your PC may need a costly technical service before it is operable. If you intend to place it sideways make sure that the motherboard side of the CPU lies flat at the bottom. Refer the manual to identify the motherboards direction.
3. Printer
Place it in its box and pack.
Once the computer and its peripherals are packed in their boxes and sealed, mark them appropriately. Add precaution notes indicating that computer is inside, it is fragile and it needs careful handling.
All said and done, you should have insured your machine perfectly before moving. It is not advisable to go with the customary weight based insurance amount. Bargain for more which would accommodate the incidental damages. Now your computer is ready for the transit safely.
