Hard Disks and Computer Motherboards

[Samoray 165]

Hello

I have 4 desktop computers with 8 hard disk drives, i am planning of taking them apart and putting them in my luggage, i am not sure if it is allowed to take this amount of computer parts but i am immigrating to the US so i have to put my life in my luggage, so what do you think guys will they charge me for them and also i was thinking of taking two hard disks that has my music and stuff in my hand held bag i am not sure if that is allowed either, i checked the Delta airlines website but it doesn't specifically mention the Hard disks or the mother boards.

Thank you very much

[HS2 7]

Hello

I have 4 desktop computers with 8 hard disk drives, i am planning of taking them apart and putting them in my luggage, i am not sure if it is allowed to take this amount of computer parts but i am immigrating to the US so i have to put my life in my luggage, so what do you think guys will they charge me for them and also i was thinking of taking two hard disks that has my music and stuff in my hand held bag i am not sure if that is allowed either, i checked the Delta airlines website but it doesn't specifically mention the Hard disks or the mother boards.

Thank you very much

It is not allowed. If customs catches you (which they will) because they scan 100% of the luggage, you will be fined, your desktops and hard drives will be seized and there will be some legal consequences for not declaring them on your declaration form .No one should have to pack 4+ personal computers intended for personal use. There are plenty of USB flashes out there with plenty of memory space. More than one pc and an extra lithium battery are not allowed unless you claim them and pay duty and taxes. Customs will think that you intend to sell them. For more info check out the customs site and/or call them http://www.cbp.gov/.

[Samoray 165]

It is not allowed. If customs catches you (which they will) because they scan 100% of the luggage, you will be fined, your desktops and hard drives will be seized and there will be some legal consequences for not declaring them on your declaration form .No one should have to pack 4+ personal computers intended for personal use. There are plenty of USB flashes out there with plenty of memory space. More than one pc and an extra lithium battery are not allowed unless you claim them and pay duty and taxes. Customs will think that you intend to sell them. For more info check out the customs site and/or call them http://www.cbp.gov/.

Thanks for the reply i think i will have to declare them then, but how would i know how much i am gonna pay cause if it is too much i might just sell them and not take them with me.

[NY_BX 397]

Thanks for the reply i think i will have to declare them then, but how would i know how much i am gonna pay cause if it is too much i might just sell them and not take them with me.

I suggest you mail them, certified. I wouldn't take the risk.

[Samoray 165]

I suggest you mail them, certified. I wouldn't take the risk.

I just called the Customs people and they said it is not a problem as long as i claim them as personal, and this is what it is, they are mine i have had them for a while and i am not gonna sell them so they will not tax me on them, they assured me that they won't tax me but the customs officer has the authority to investigate what's on the Hard disks if he wants to, which is fine with me as well, so it's all good, thank you for your input.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Why not pack the computers into boxes as-is (rather than disassembling them to MB and CPU) with lots of newspaper for the padding? I've taken in a PC that way without problems.

Edited June 21, 2011 by Saddle Bronc

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Hello

I have 4 desktop computers with 8 hard disk drives, i am planning of taking them apart and putting them in my luggage, i am not sure if it is allowed to take this amount of computer parts but i am immigrating to the US so i have to put my life in my luggage, so what do you think guys will they charge me for them and also i was thinking of taking two hard disks that has my music and stuff in my hand held bag i am not sure if that is allowed either, i checked the Delta airlines website but it doesn't specifically mention the Hard disks or the mother boards.

Thank you very much

Samoray...is all your PC's for work, or do you do any computer gaming ? Just asking because I post builds for work (auto cad, etc,) and gaming pc's on tomshardware.

[Samoray 165]

Why not pack the computers into boxes as-is (rather than disassembling them to MB and CPU) with lots of newspaper for the padding? I've taken in a PC that way without problems.

They will take lots of space but i actually don't need the towers and the power supplies in them since the electricity in the US is 110 volts and in Egypt it is 220 volts so i don't want to screw around with power adapters to make it work in the US, so i think i can find used cheap towers in the US that i can throw all the parts in and i am up and running again.

Samoray...is all your PC's for work, or do you do any computer gaming ? Just asking because I post builds for work (auto cad, etc,) and gaming pc's on tomshardware.

Basically i use them for studying and experimenting, three of them are Ubuntu server , Windows server 2003, Linux Centos, the one i use personally is a windows 7 and it has a 512 Nvidia video adapter, 2.5 Dual core Intel processor, 4 gigs of ram, motherboard Asus, just thinking now how many computers me and my wife are gonna have in the house, she has 1 laptop and two desktops lol

You post about auto cad, you must be an architecture or a designer right ?, i have never used it but i have seen it, it is mainly used for construction engineering and stuff i think, where you can see how the house or what ever you're building will look like from all directions

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

They will take lots of space but i actually don't need the towers and the power supplies in them since the electricity in the US is 110 volts and in Egypt it is 220 volts so i don't want to screw around with power adapters to make it work in the US, so i think i can find used cheap towers in the US that i can throw all the parts in and i am up and running again.

Basically i use them for studying and experimenting, three of them are Ubuntu server , Windows server 2003, Linux Centos, the one i use personally is a windows 7 and it has a 512 Nvidia video adapter, 2.5 Dual core Intel processor, 4 gigs of ram, motherboard Asus, just thinking now how many computers me and my wife are gonna have in the house, she has 1 laptop and two desktops lol

You post about auto cad, you must be an architecture or a designer right ?, i have never used it but i have seen it, it is mainly used for construction engineering and stuff i think, where you can see how the house or what ever you're building will look like from all directions

Iv'e done a few builds for peeps in Egypt and you are going to think you have died and went to heaven when you see the prices for PC hardware over here. Newegg.com and Amazon.com are just two sites to have a look at. Also if you get the chance, take a look at the new Intel Sandy Bridge cpu line up...duals and quads w/hyper threading. Your going to love it Samoray.

[Samoray 165]

Iv'e done a few builds for peeps in Egypt and you are going to think you have died and went to heaven when you see the prices for PC hardware over here. Newegg.com and Amazon.com are just two sites to have a look at. Also if you get the chance, take a look at the new Intel Sandy Bridge cpu line up...duals and quads w/hyper threading. Your going to love it Samoray.

Yeah i know, I think it is double or triple the price in some cases

[Darnell 8,478]

as long as you declare them, the most you'll have done is any import tax, but

since they be personal gear, IMO you won't be hassled.

Packing motherboards for checkin luggage is a pita, security screeners NEVER put things back together properly, unless you can make 'form fit foam'.

I schlep gear often, only did motherboards twice, always pack 2 to 3 hard drives each trip, but my stuff is for remote work when I'm in China. When I go for two weeks or more, I take 3 shuttle xpc's, have special travel pack for them that I made.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Darnell

[Armenia 18]

I just called the Customs people and they said it is not a problem as long as i claim them as personal, and this is what it is, they are mine i have had them for a while and i am not gonna sell them so they will not tax me on them, they assured me that they won't tax me but the customs officer has the authority to investigate what's on the Hard disks if he wants to, which is fine with me as well, so it's all good, thank you for your input.

I did almost the same thing you plan on doing. I did discard the PCs and laptop though. I only took out the hard drive of one, merged data from all the rest and brought 3 more hard drives (external/portable) with me + lots of cables, accessories, thing-a-majigs. My PH-to-USA trip went smoothly (except in Japan where the security guy kept looking and looking and looking for something he never found) although my Canada-USA/USA-Canada trips from previous years frequently included a security gate employee opening my carry-on looking for something in my pile of thing-a-majigs.They always never find what they're looking for (that they "saw" in the x-ray) but they never cared to tell what it was they're looking for.

[Samoray 165]

Thank you guys for the input

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Yeah i know, I think it is double or triple the price in some cases

One solution--buy an external hard-drive (commonly used for backup), and backup your other hard-drives to it. Then carry only that backup drive (they're about the size of a desk-phone) into the US, buy "new" equipment (store, Overstock.com, e-bay) and copy the files to the new equipment from the external drive.

[Darnell 8,478]

i can see the bit about 'licensed software installed on the computer' being an issue,

so if have motherboard and the hard drive(s ) , can recreate the machine without breaking licensing.

Licensing is important.