Taking a Computer to USA

[cheeky^Wolf 0]

Hi

Will my computer work in the USA? I guess I'll have to get a new mains lead for the monitor and tower, but do I have to do anything else?

Thanks

Helen

[mwfaith1971 0]

check to see what voltage the tower and monitor use. (can't remember what voltage you use in the UK) you may find that you will have to buy a new monitor and a new power supply for the tower.

if the voltages are the same then new leads is all you will need.

matt

[Kez/JWolf 6]

your computer will work fine in the States... I brought mine over and I have had no problems with it... but do check the power supply.. mine has a switch to change from 220 to 110.. if your dont have that then bring all the components from inside and buy a new tower when you get here...

Kezzie

Edited February 8, 2006 by Kezzie

[Keigwyn 1]

If the power supply does not have a 110v-240v switch on it check to see if it says it is auto-sensing across that range. If not, then you could easily just replace the Power supply unit inside the PC when you get there.

The alternative is to buy a 110-240v converter which will enable you to power this without altering the PC. This would go betwen the PC and the wall socket.

If you have a modem or ADSL card then you will need to replace it. All other components will work fine!

[britbird 4]

No worries here.

If i were you though I'd leave the monitor in the UK and buy a new one over here, they aren't very expensive and will certainly save you the bother of shipping.

[rebeccajo 14]

Yeah, what Kezzie said.

Wes pulled his PC apart and brought all the hardware over in his carryon. True they looked it over at airport security, but such is post-911 travel. He wrapped everything in bubble wrap, and also brought his UK keyboard. New case, monitor and mouse stateside.

[philj05 0]

I brought over my Laptop from the UK. All I did was change out the mains cable from the power pack to the outlet for one with a US plug on the end. You can find them through lots of online retailers.

Most laptops Ive seen use a clover leaf cable and I bought my US replacement while still in the UK. It cost me less than £10 and works fine.

Actually I'm writing this post on it now after 6 months of fine usage

Also, The ethernet port works fine. I think its a Universal standard. But be warned, The 56k Modem is a whole other story - US phone ports are totally different from the UK equivalent.

[dmd01708 3]

I used my laptop when I am in the states both when I visit my husband and when I had to go there for work.

It worked no probs

Donna

[Estella76 0]

I think for the modem you can just buy a converter to change a UK phone jack into a US one. I bought one on http://www.magellans.com but still have to test it out.

[munchkins 0]

I bought a power pack that converts from 240 -110 and the support engineer where I work has installed it for me. All I do when it arrives in the states is make sure that the switch on it is at 110 and away I will go.

You can buy these in Maplins which I believe are all over the country.

[stzas 0]

The most frustrating thing for my husband was the fact that he couldn't play DVDs from U.S. on his UK laptop and vice versa. The only other differenc eon his laptop is the " and @ are switched on the keyboard. But the jacks work just fine.

We keep getting nice Pink Panther and Yes Minister etc. BBC DVDs from his family in the UK and we can't watch them on our DVD player. How frustrating!

Z

[british83 0]

i used my laptop in the US for over months with no problems. i just used a standard travel adaptor to plug it in - didnt either have a current converter thing on and it was all fine

[FormerBrit 0]

I brought over my Toshiba Satellite laptop, HP scanner and two HP color photo printers. Once in the US, I just bought new power cables for them which will plug in the sockets here, as they work on 100 - 240V.

My scanner was a bit more complicated. For that, I bought a new power cable and small adapter which converts the 110V here to the 240V required to use it. I got all the cables from Radio Shack.

I have used everything numerous times and it all works great

My stereo system, CD interchanger, flat screen Panasonic TV and VCR/DVD players also all work on 100-240V, so we just changed the plugs. My DVD player is multi-regional so will play anything I think you can change this at home, but I'm not sure, as I bought it like that.

I can watch the UK videos and DVDs I brought with me here, which is great. Also, to watch US DVDs/videos my husband also has a DVD/video player so we are just about set.

To use the internet, I just use wireless routed from my husband's computer. It's brilliant!

Hope this helps,

Kiki