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So I'm taking a plane this Sunday and need to bring my laptop as I am working on an extended project and need to be able to finish it up.
Never have taken a laptop with me on a flight - should I take it in my personal carry on luggage? Will being scanned by the x-ray machine erase its files?
That said, happy new year! Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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NEVER put anything expensive or fragile in your checked luggage. Occasionally your luggage will not get on your plane or it might get badly handled by the people who get your bags on the train. This mostly happens if you have a tight connection or a delayed flight, but I've had to have my luggage delivered twice. One time it arrived that night, the other time it took three days.
If you do not have a sleeve-like laptop case, you will have to remove your laptop, and place it in its own bin on the conveyor belt, separate from everything else. If you do have this kind of case you can leave the laptop in the sleeve, but you still have to put it in a bin on the conveyor belt, separate from everything else.
Whether you can work with your laptop on the plane depends on the size of the laptop itself. My 13" (widescreen) macbook is small enough. It should be riding with you whether you use it on the plane or not.
Posts: 1757 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Just a note, my laptop case is supposed to be one you don't have to remove the laptop from for the scan, but I was made to remove it and put it in it's own bin.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Yeah, it varies from airport to airport. I was also once lectured because I had a single sheet of notepaper in my sleeve-case along with my laptop; the security guard claimed that was sufficient to block X-rays. (I am dubious, but oh well.)
Posts: 650 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Thanks for sharing this really helpful info with me, guys. Despite backing things up obsessively, it would totally suck to lose/damage/have erased by evil x-rays my laptop.
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I fly with my laptop regularly, and never put it in my checked luggage. Instead, I invested in a backpack with a laptop slot. It prevents my laptop from getting damaged or lost, and as a bonus gives me the option of watching a movie or two of my own choosing on the plane. Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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