What to Do When You Arrive Home Safely But Your Electronics Haven't

Reprinted with permission from DriveSavers

These days, a vacation isn’t complete without a trusty technology sidekick. From iPhones to e-readers to digital cameras – vacationers use technology to stay in touch with loved ones or capture memories from the trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, technology isn’t always built for the variety of elements and situations we put them through when traveling. So what do you do when you’ve made it home safely from your white-water rafting trip, but your iPhone didn’t?

DriveSavers Data Recovery, the industry leader in data recovery, helps recover lost data from digital cameras, cell phones, music players, laptops and iPads every day. DriveSavers offers customers free shipping so customers may ship their damaged device to the their facility from anywhere in the world, at no cost. The company has recovered critical data and digital images for travelers whose technology didn’t survive their journey for over twenty years. To help travellers protect their important data, DriveSavers has compiled a list of tips to help prevent a technology disaster while on the road.

1. Traveling Near Water? Waterproof Your Electronics!
DriveSavers recovered data from a Macintosh PowerBook that sank (along with the cruise ship that carried it) in the Amazon River! To protect your electronics from the possibility of water damage, be sure to enclose any valuable devices in Ziploc bags, or place them in a watertight plastic bin or custom waterproof housing while traveling.

2. Flood-Prone Zone? Keep Electronic Devices off the Floor.
If your computer hardware is stored near the ground of your location, be sure to move them away from the floor to protect them from possible water damage that could be caused by a flood. It’s easy to neglect electronics stored in your purse or travel bag that you’ve left lying on the floor. Take a moment, and safely store your personal belongings off the ground.

3. Protect Your Devices From Extreme Climates
If traveling to a location with extreme temperatures, it is best to leave your digital devices safe in a place of mild temperature. Heat, cold and humidity can wreck havoc with digital equipment, especially hard drives and flash memory devices. Pay special attention to the climate of each location you travel. Don’t forget to consider where you are leaving your devices, such as an extremely hot or cold vehicle.

4. Protect Your Flash Memory Card When Being Active
Always store digital camera cards in their original plastic cases when carrying them around on your trip. Simple static buildup can zap the card and make it unreadable. There are other dangers as well, such as breaking a card in your pocket or putting it in the wash along with your clothing.

5. Transfer Your Files From Your Portable Device
Always transfer or sync your data to a computer on backup drives as soon as possible. We recommend doing this regularly throughout your trip. It’s also important that you never delete images or reformat your digital camera’s memory card while it is still in the camera. Always verify that your photos have been transferred and verified before erasing and reusing a camera card.

6. Backup Your Images and Important Data
Sometimes it’s inevitable that your portable electronic devices will be damaged (especially while traveling). Always back up your data and back up often! This will prevent data loss even if the device itself is destroyed. Although data security and privacy should always be a concern when using an online backup service, they do make sense for people traveling to remote locations.