Computer

Hello -

We need to buy a new desktop computer and are concernced about bringing it back to the US.  Our issues are :  the voltage conversion and data transfer from our current US machine to a UK machine then using it in the US again.  Does anyone have any advice?  Our current machine is 5 years old and a Dell bought in America.

Thank you,

Kate 

Hello,
I've been away for a long time and saw that nobody has chirped-up about this yet.

re: data transfer, you should have NO trouble with that.
re: voltage. Most power supplies, on PC's, usually have a little red/orange voltage selector. All that is then required is a mains plug for your country of destination.
IF you don't see a voltage selector on your machine then don't panic. - Either use a suitable step up/down transformer (depending on original power requirements and origen of computer) - OR - once you've make the move, find your local computer shop and purchase a new power supply for your PC. (They're not much more than $35.00 and require 4 screws and 5 minutes to install yourself!) <----or get the shop to do it for you!!

Also with apologies for not noticing this question before.......

Peripherals (printers, scanners, etc.) are often more of a problem, as many come with power supplies which are single-voltage for the intended market.  Many newer monitors will work on 120 or 240V with just a change of power cord, but some are still single voltage. 

If you have quite a lot of devices which aren't dual-voltage, then buying one suitable transformer and feeding everything from that may well work out cheaper than replacing each power supply individually.

A piece of advice, do NOT buy a SONY pc. I bought one in the US, paid tons to have it shipped here and I still can't get it to work. It's power supply and casing only support Sony products. Most any other manufacturers have that voltage switch but as with what Paul says, make sure you check the peripherals as they could be a problem