Airport security - what if you have a dead laptop ?

[wearetheborg]

Sometime airport security people ask to turn the laptop on.
What if the laptop is dead ?
Say I go to a friends place, and he donates a dead thinkpad to me. Can I take it with me on planes ?

[tom lightbody]

my recent air travels include Germany, Netherlands, USA, Tahiti, Singapore,NZ and Australia: always with (at least one) laptop: security usually wants the machine(s) out of case, however I've never been asked to turn one on.

so I think you shouldn't worry about it

tom

[wearetheborg]

I've been having fantasis of my friends donating old thinkpads to me because they have fan errors, and they think its not worth anything, and I end up carrying multiple thinkpads with me back home, and this might raise some eyebrows at the airports

[Harryc]

I've been having fantasis of my friends donating old thinkpads to me because they have fan errors, and they think its not worth anything, and I end up carrying multiple thinkpads with me back home, and this might raise some eyebrows at the airports

If you take such a machine from a 'friend' without telling them the truth, you're not much of a 'friend' are you? In fact your status as a decent human being could be debatable.

[wearetheborg]

If you take such a machine from a 'friend' without telling them the truth, you're not much of a 'friend' are you? In fact your status as a decent human being could be debatable.

Or course I'll tell them, but you'd be surprised at how reluctant people are to open up and fix computers.

[Robbyrobot]

Or course I'll tell them, but you'd be surprised at how reluctant people are to open up and fix computers.

Got any friends like that in Germany? I'd be more than happy to look them up

[syedj]

All my travels (originating from the States at least) almost every checkpoint tried to power on the laptop I was carrying. I am sure some eyebrows will be raised and surely the traveler and the laptop will be scrutinized much more closely. I do personally dread such a situation though.

[compnerd4]

i think you should be fine!!

they MOST OF THE TIME just check the outside! Most of the time when i go through the don't even touch it they just leave it on the table and do there thing!

[syedj]

They do the swab test to check for any traces of explosives or any other funny business but at least in my experience they do also power on the machine and see at least the POST or the logo displayed on the screen.

[qviri]

Well the idea behind powering it up is to make sure it's really a laptop inside and not a bomb stuffed into a laptop casing. If you can't power it up just suggest that they fetch you a Philips screwdriver (because you probably would be crucified for bringing your own), and remove the keyboard to show that there's a laptop inside.

... Or just take a train and don't deal with the bulls@!t.

MOD EDIT: Foul language censored.

[spuddog]

Why bother with carrying on a dead laptop? Stick it in your checked luggage or put it in a box and mail it to yourself.

Scott

[eddy eddy]

The x-ray machine can't detect what's inside the laptop making unnecessary to turn it on?

As for the checked luggage, they don't tell you to hold all your valuables?

[BillMorrow]

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