# Moving with a computer **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264 "2013-03-29T15:11:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/1 "2013-03-29T15:11:57Z")
I guess I should’ve asked this sooner than moving day, but I’m moving today. When my computer is taken down and then set up at the new place, will all the stuff that’s on the computer come back again automatically? I have a pocket media drive, but I’ve forgotten how to use it. Any advice? Thanks. (I hate computers.) ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/2 "2013-03-29T15:15:06Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I guess I should’ve asked this sooner than moving day, but I’m moving today. When my computer is taken down and then set up at the new place, will all the stuff that’s on the computer come back again automatically? I have a pocket media drive, but I’ve forgotten how to use it. > > Any advice? Thanks. > (I hate computers.) I’m not sure if I quite understand what you’re asking…but I’ve moved my computers tons of times and never had any trouble losing any information. It shouldn’t be any different than powering it down and back up without moving it. Unless you are asking more about your internet connections and setup… ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/3 "2013-03-29T15:18:40Z")
To answer your question, yes, all your stuff will comeback. In fact, it would not have gone anywhere. Everything that makes your computer run is stored in the hard drive. As long as that’s ok, you’re ok. Not to be rude, but to be asking this question shows an extreme lack of computer skills, which is where I’d wager, your hatred of PC’s stems from. Get yourself a PC for dummy’s book, or some other introduction and you’ll feel much better about interacting with them. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/4 "2013-03-29T15:21:29Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I’m not sure if I quite understand what you’re asking…but I’ve moved my computers tons of times and never had any trouble losing any information. It shouldn’t be any different than powering it down and back up without moving it. > > Unless you are asking more about your internet connections and setup… Thank you for reassuring me. I have a lot of documents and stuff and I’ve never moved the computer before. So I was worried. I can track down internet stuff, I’m sure. By the way, I meant to post this in General Questions. I’m just so flustered with everything that’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/5 "2013-03-29T15:25:54Z")
after you move and your computer doesn’t work then how are you going to read this? if you are moving away from the service area of who provides your internet connection (phone, cable) then you will need to change that. depends on your computer make and operating system for the changes needed on your computer. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/6 "2013-03-29T15:30:46Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > after you move and your computer doesn’t work then how are you going to read this? Because I knew Dopers would come to my aid before the movers got here. Thank you everyone for your help. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/7 "2013-03-29T15:36:03Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Because I knew Dopers would come to my aid before the movers got here. > Thank you everyone for your help. Good lucks and congratulations on your new place. I hate moving. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/8 "2013-03-29T15:36:36Z")
Just to make it clear, computer information is not relative to geographic location. Your local info will remain right where you put it, and all your browser bookmarks will still point to the same net locations. Assuming you have power and an internet connection, your computer will never know or care that it’s been moved to a new physical location. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/9 "2013-03-29T15:43:47Z")
If you still have time, I recommend backing up the computer prior to the move, just in case it’s dropped and the hard drive crashes or it’s stolen or lost in the process of moving. I’m paranoid, so I back up my computer to multiple external drives, and the critical stuff (about 50GB) to an online backup service. But I recommend at least one backup to an external drive that you keep with you. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/10 "2013-03-29T16:44:38Z")
It should be pointed out that everything may _not_ work exactly the same at your new location. For example, if you are forced to change Internet Service Providers, you may need to change your email address. You may also have to re-configure your Internet settings. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/11 "2013-03-29T16:44:39Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > after you move and your computer doesn’t work then how are you going to read this? > > if you are moving away from the service area of who provides your internet connection (phone, cable) then you will need to change that. depends on your computer make and operating system for the changes needed on your computer. First, **Two Many Cats** will have access to all the documents he or she is worried about even if there is no internet connection. **Two Many Cats** , how do you connect to the Internet? I very much doubt you will have to update anything in most cases. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/12 "2013-03-29T16:46:48Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Because I knew Dopers would come to my aid before the movers got here. > Thank you everyone for your help. I assume you don’t own a laptop. 🙂 Really, except for hooking up to the internet, your computer doesn’t care where it is. My laptop went from California to Copenhagen and didn’t lose anything. I do agree that backing up your files is an excellent idea, though. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/13 "2013-03-29T16:53:31Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Because I knew Dopers would come to my aid before the movers got here. > Thank you everyone for your help. … and **Two Many Cats** was never seen online again … ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/14 "2013-03-29T18:37:04Z")
Also, don’t worry about having to buy new books when you get to your new home. All your old ones will still be the same, and won’t have blanked their pages out. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/15 "2013-03-29T18:55:25Z")
This thread is \*not \*from 1999? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-with-a-computer/654264/16 "2013-03-29T19:15:56Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > This thread is \*not \*from 1999? Eh - she uses it as an appliance. It’s a bit (OK, quite a bit) of a silly question, assuming you know anything more about computers than where the power switch is and how to double-click on an icon. But if it’s always ‘just worked’ for her, then there is no reason that she needed to spend any time knowing any of the why’s. And you can make a decent argument that someone shouldn’t need to know anything more than on/off - double click. Not that we’re there yet, of course.