Travel Emergency - What steps for your Laptop
The USAir jetliner having to ditch into the Hudson River is a sad reminder of our growing dependence on our laptops. Laptops are holding more and more of our important content and though the odds of being in an emergency situation on a plane are incredibility low this event is still a good reminder that we need to have an "emergency plan" for the worst case scenario.
The FAA and airlines require that you leave your personal possessions behind during an emergency landing and evacuation. You laptop is not considered something you have to take with you.
Steps to take before your next trip:
- Before you leave on your trip back-up your entire hard drive or at least all of your data. With USB external hard drives it very easy to do and most drive manufacturers provide backup software.
- Put your data on a flash drive and keep it in your pocket.
- Carry a small screw driver and remove the drive out of your laptop. You may be required to leave your laptop behind but you can easily carry the hard drive in your pocket and that is where all your IP lives. Hard drives are designed to be field replaced and come in special carriers to make it easy for customer to self install them.
- Keep it in the Clouds. Today more and more people are using online office suites and tools. If done correctly you have a built in backup systems. You would only loose the changes you made since your last Internet connection, assuming you where connected at the airport before you left.
Today is the time to plan for what we all hope never happens. Fortunately everyone made it safely through the Hudson River ordeal but how many lost their pictures, music, and work files because they did not think this could ever happen.
