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Traveling With Your Computer: Dell™ Latitude™ CPx H-Series/J-Series User's Guide

	Identifying Your Computer
	Preparing Your Computer for Travel
	Travel Tips

Identifying Your Computer

As an antitheft measure, assign a primary password and a hard-disk drive password to prohibit unauthorized access to the computer.

Dell recommends that you follow these precautions before you travel with your computer:

• Write down your service tag number, and put it in a safe place separate from the computer or carrying case. If the computer is lost or stolen, use the service tag number when reporting to law enforcement officials and to Dell.
  
  
• Use a text editor (such as Microsoft® Windows® Notepad) to create a file called if_found in your root directory. Place information such as your name, address, and telephone number in this file. (For instructions on using the appropriate text editor, see the documentation that came with your operating system.)
  
  
• Attach your business card or other name tag to the computer.
  
  
• Contact your credit-card company and ask if it offers coded identification tags that allow your property to be returned to you without the risk of revealing your name, address, or telephone number.
  
  
• Use a permanent marking or stenciling device to write your driver’s license number or some other unique identifying mark on the computer. If a lost or stolen computer is recovered, such marking identifies the computer as your property.

Service Tag Number

The service tag number is an alphanumeric code on a bar code label located on the bottom of the computer. The number is unique to your computer and allows Dell technical assistance personnel to identify the computer and its configuration quickly if you call for assistance.

If Your Computer Is Lost or Stolen

If your computer is lost or stolen, Dell suggests that you perform the following steps:

1. Call a law enforcement agency to report the lost or stolen computer.

Include the service tag number in your description of the computer. Ask that a case number be assigned, and write it down. Also write down the name, address, and telephone number of the law enforcement agency. If possible, obtain the name of the investigating officer.

If you know where the computer was lost or stolen, call a law enforcement agency in that area. If you do not know, call a law enforcement agency where you live.

2. If the computer belongs to a company, notify the security office of the firm.
   
   
3. Call Dell technical assistance to report the missing computer.

Provide the computer’s service tag number, the case number, and the name, address, and telephone number of the law enforcement agency to which you reported the missing computer. If possible, give the name of the investigating officer.

The Dell support technician will log your report under the computer’s service tag number and flag the computer as missing or stolen. If someone calls Dell for technical assistance and gives your service tag number, the computer is identified automatically as missing or stolen. The technician will attempt to get the phone number and address of the caller. Dell will then contact the law enforcement agency to which you made the report of the missing or stolen computer.

Preparing Your Computer for Travel

To prepare your computer for travel, perform the following steps:

1. Remove any external devices attached to the computer, and store them in a safe place. If a diskette is in the diskette drive, remove it. Remove any cables attached to installed PC Cards (you do not have to remove the PC Cards themselves).
   
   
2. To make the computer as light as possible, remove the storage drive from the modular bay and install the travel module.

3. To maximize battery life, check the charge on your battery. Then fully charge the battery and any spares you plan to carry with you.
   
   
4. Turn off the computer or press <Fn><a> to enter suspend-to-disk mode. (On a French keyboard, press <Fn><q>.)

5. Disconnect the AC adapter.

6. Make sure that there is nothing on the keyboard and palmrest that can damage the display when you close it. Then close the display.
   

7. Pack all your computing accessories.

With the optional Dell carrying case, you can pack the computer and its accessories together.

NOTE: Follow the travel tips and take special precautions if you are planning to travel by air.

Accessories

You may want to take some of the following accessories with you when you travel:

• Spare batteries
  
  
• AC adapter and AC power cable
  
  
• Backup diskettes
  
  
• Appropriate printer driver files if you will be using a printer
  
  
• Cables for PC Cards (such as modem and network cards)
  
  
• Power adapters for foreign electrical outlets and modem cable adapters
  for foreign telephone networks
  
  
• CD-ROM drive
  
  
• DVD-ROM drive
  
  
• LS-120 drive
• CD-RW drive
  
  
• Diskette drive and parallel cable for using the drive as an external device
  
  
• Travel module

Traveling by Air

You may want to take the following precautions when you are traveling by air with your computer: 

• Notify airport security in advance that you are bringing a portable computer.
  
  
• Be sure to have a charged battery or the AC adapter and power cable available in case you are asked to turn on the computer.
  
  
• Do not check the computer as baggage.
  

• Do not put the computer through a metal detector.
  
  

• The computer can go through an airport X-ray security machine.
  
  
• Before you use the computer on an airplane, check the in-flight magazine or ask the flight crew to verify that such use is permitted. Some airlines forbid the use of electronic devices during the flight. All airlines forbid the use of electronic devices during takeoff and landing.
  
  
• Dell has several carrying cases that protect the computer and accessories during travel.
  
  
• If you pack the computer in a suitcase, do not pack so tightly that the computer display breaks or so loosely that the computer slides around.
  
  
• Avoid packing the computer with items such as shaving cream, colognes, perfumes, or food.
  
  
• Protect the computer, the battery, and the hard-disk drive from hazards such as extreme temperatures; overexposure to sunlight; and exposure to dirt, dust, or liquids.
  
  
• Pack the computer so that it does not slide around in the trunk of your car or in an overhead storage compartment.
  
  
• If you are carrying a second hard-disk drive separately, protect the drive from exposure to static electricity by placing the drive in an antistatic bag or wrapping it in a nonconductive fabric.

Travel Tips

• Consider changing the settings of your power management options to maximize battery life if you will be using battery power for extended periods.
  
  
• If you are traveling internationally, carry proof of ownership to speed your passage through customs. If the computer is provided by your employer, carry documentation of your right to use the computer. Investigate the customs regulations of the countries you plan to visit, and consider acquiring an international carnet from your government if you travel through many different countries.
  
  
• Power interruptions can occur frequently in some countries. Always have a charged battery available if traveling abroad.
  
  
• Credit card holders should check with their credit card companies for information about the kinds of emergency travel assistance they offer to users of portable computers. Many companies provide services that help you solve problems, such as quickly locating 3.5-inch diskettes or providing a direct-dial telephone line for your modem connection.

Carnet

A carnet is an international customs document (also known as a merchandise passport) that facilitates temporary imports into foreign countries and is valid for up to 1 year.

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