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Laptop Travel Checlklist

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by exnav29

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Does anyone have a checklist for things to prepare a laptop prior to giving it to someone who is traveling? Or on preparing a laptop that will travel outside the normal operating area?

I am in Hawaii and we are having several people go to the mainland for business trips. As it stands now we are only checking that they have the VPN client installed, their accounts are active and they know how to use it. For the most part this is working out fine. The people who have traveled so far have been able to connect and do their work. But as more people travel though I am trying to be proactive and see if there are other items that need to be checked.

So far I have the following:
- Check for VPN
- Check that virus definitions are up to date.
- Run a full system scan for viruses, spyware and adware.
- Create a batch file for connecting to network shares when they are in VPN.
- Ensure that the icon for accessing our remote assistance is on the desktop of the ?All Users? profile.
- Educate the traveler (took me a while to figure out a name other than 'user') on how to access the VPN.

Can anyone add any additional points that should be covered? I would like to put together a comprehensive listing something similar to things to do when deploying a computer.

3 replies

by jdclyde

Mouse.
Make sure they have an Ethernet cable. I make sure it is at least 12 ft.

Make sure they have WiFi. Either built in or a card added in for older systems.

A phone cable. Some places still only have dial-up, as shocking as that sounds! The further from a big city, the more likely this gets.

Make sure all OS patches/updates are in place.
While I have then in-shop, I make SURE they have the lastest version of all of the corporate software.

Clear temp folders, and run a defrag.

I do NOT give network shares over VPN because of the huge overhead on the network.

If this is a new laptop, the user gets a walk-through by me before they are ALLOWED to take the system, and they know to schedule me 30 minutes. They have learned that I will not compromise the quality of my work just because they left something for the last minute. It is right or it isn't, not "close enough".

After I do the walk through, I disconnect and have THEM walk through connecting and disconnecting the VPN twice, stressing points where people have had problems before to try to head them off with future users.

If this is a new laptop, I make sure it is charged. If an old laptop, I work off the battery until it is dead to know if it has acceptable life left in it. Must get a minimum of one and a half hours for the lowest end users.

by tig2

Your traveller will have to go through airport security. This may mean that they will have difficulty taking the lappie with them.

Have all travellers go to www.tsa.org for the latest rules- they change constantly. Yes, I know that this is not an IT thing- It is a customer service thing and the better prepared they are, the more they will appreciate you.

Test run before they leave- basic but gets forgotten.

Spare charged battery- in the bag. If they are trying to work in flight, they need it.

How to pack the lappie in their checked luggage. Some folks don't know that cargo is a very different place and it may be a requirement.

All electronics in the same bag- easier to round them up and get them into the tub for screening.

Shoes- easy to remove and toss them in a tub. Makes life easier.

As a survivor, I can tell you- and again, not IT but customer service- you are now required to disclose that you wear a prosthetic or use a silicone gel prosthetic. I refuse to fly because of the restriction. Given ADA, you may have folks that need to know this up-front. The TSA website can help here but if anyone who you KNOW is in that situation must fly, please tell them.

Printed step by step instructions on how to connect and some basic troubleshooting.

Remind to have anything that they need on the hard drive with a reminder to copy back to network. This may include mail folders.

Always wish "safe travel".

You are a good guy for caring about your clients.

by exnav29

You included several very good Customer Service tips. Which I will add to my list. One thing I always do when someone is traveling is to call the hotel they will be staying at and ask if there is internet access in their room. If so what kind, wireless or wired. If not I ask if it would be possible to move them to a room with internet access. I also ask where are other places that access can be had (conference room level, business center, etc). And I let my traveler know what to expect when they walk in the room. I have a set up in the lab that has a dsl connection and I explain to them what to look for and how to use it. I don't have wireless in the lab but I still instruct them on how to turn on and off the wireless in case they need to use that.

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