Can you imagine being away from your computer for an extended period of time? No internet, email, no joke, there are games to play? Many people have found themselves in this position when the unexpected happens. In terms of events, natural disasters or terrorist bird flu pandemic, has access to your computer can be a lifesaver. Are you one of the many people who have all their personal and financial records stored on their computer without the back and no way to access them in an emergency?

Because we are so wired these days, laptop computers backup should be considered as part of the equipment essential life you just as much as 3 days supply of food and extra water. You can choose to use an existing laptop or buy a used specifically for use in an emergency.

Now you can buy one of these laptops are built to withstand extreme conditions, but that will set you back several thousand and may not be necessary. You can find a number of good used laptop online for a few hundred dollars. Not necessarily the latest and greatest, it just needs to get the job done when you need it to. A good basic laptop with a cd rom and a good battery will do the trick.

You’ll want to add the product will include a wireless card for internet access. While internet access you may fall you may be able to find a hot spot to access. Most laptops will have built-in modem, if not you will want to add a modem card as well. Phone connector so you can access the internet through your phone. You may need to add Internet access to your cell phone plan. Modem and network cables, you should be able to plug and play. Power cable and ac adapter. A 12-volt adapter and converter. You can run your laptop directly from 12 volts or run it through a converter to charge the battery. A battery backup. Any other laptop accessories that you feel need to be like an external mouse or even a solar battery charger. With this setup you should be able to access the internet either through dialup or wireless. You also might want a small external hard drive or flash drive. A portable printer is nice but not absolutely necessary. All necessary software must be taken together with the backup or emergency startup disk. Do not forget to load in your favorite bookmarks.

You will need to decide what files you want to take with you. You must have a backup of your main computer and your personal financial records. Burn it to cd. You can have another cd with your household inventory complete with digital images. If your home is damaged you have a record of the contents. Consider scanning in family photos so you have a backup of them. Do not forget to have copies of all your passwords to access online sites and accounts. Address book and email contacts will also become important. Any other or important documents that will be difficult to replace and very important for recovery after each type of emergency should be supported. Consider scanning a copy, will you birth certificate, marriage certificate, titles and deeds. Because this information is considered personal security software to encrypt it in the event it fell to prying eyes.

You may want to build a cd library reference information that can help you survive and recover disaster. Magazine Home hamlet offers back issues on cd including one specifically for survival. Mother Earth News has also been re-issue on cd. Both will provide a wealth of survival and how to information. You also may include a foreign language cds, learning cds appropriate for your child’s age, the game, if you can not live without them and to spend time. Reference books could include encyclopedias, yellow pages for your area, maps, cookbooks and other things that will help you out.

If you have high speed Internet access at home, get a list of dialup numbers from them for around the country or considering an AOL account or other national providers. If you can not access the internet one way you should be able to access any other way.

Now, the whole idea of ​​this setup is to “bug out” with it. Take it and go in an emergency. You will want to keep it all in a good laptop case with easy access. For extra protection you may want to consider a waterproof case (both in terms of flooding) or hard sided cases such as an aluminum one that photographers are used to protect their equipment. Other family members should know where you save it so if you are not home and they have to leave they can take to you.

Before you pack all of it, test it out. Make sure your connection is working and it started without problems. Test once a month and make sure the battery is still charged. Try to access the Internet via dialup and wireless hot spots. Working out the bugs before you need to use it in an emergency.

Having a backup bug out computer will help you when the unexpected happens and get back on the road to recovery.