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Look around you. In practically every direction you stare, that person has a computer. It’s something like 80% of everyone in the U.S. has one of these high-tech pieces of possessions. Laptops are easy to move. The bigger units need some special care.

Hopefully you had the presence of mind to keep the original packing materials. But if you’re cramped for space and had to pitch the box and all the Styrofoam, read on. We’ll help you put the whole lot in a container so when it arrives at the new location it’s not an ex-computer.

Pre-Prep

There’s a bunch of stuff that you need to commandeer before anything gets set in the almighty cardboard box.

Forget about bagging-up using a bunch of packing peanuts. Zappables don’t mix with these materials. The reason being is that they are loaded with static electricity. Not very electronic-parts friendly.

That Great American Novel you’ve given the last three-years of your life to create, all of your financial records, those pictures you took when you visited Tibet and every piece of data you’ve got on the magic box needs to be backed-up. Go to one of the Big Box paper stores and get an external drive. Purchase one that’s at least capable of holding “1 Gig” of the “can’t live without” belongings. Copy the materials onto that new storage device before unconnecting your computer.

Before you begin to unplug the cables, purchase some multi-colored tape strips. You want to be able to know where every gizmo gets connected after relocation.

Pack It Up

What should you do with all of the cables and junk? Focus on this:

Taking this path should give you a good reboot at your new location and not force you to see the Blue Screen of Death once everything’s powered-up.