First huge lan partaaay!!

[Bizkitkid2001]

Ok, I am going to a lan party here in about 2-3weeks. The company, www.sanlan.org expects there to be about 200 people. Right now 81 people have signed up, and there is still 2-3weeks to go.(More people show up at the doors, instead of signing up at the website) I've been to lan parties before, but none this big. I will be carrying a lot more equipment with me this trip. My last lan party about a little over a year and a half ago, I only brought my comptuer(mid tower, very small), monitor, keyboard, mice, and headphones. I was able to just put things int he back seat of the car. Now I will be bringing a lot more stuff. My new computer(Which is a big server case now), all the extra stuff for it, my laptop with rolling case(game server I will be setting up), drinks(bawlz anyone ), and maybe my 500mhz machine to play movies as well.

What would be the best thing to use to transport these things around?

People at school say that if I don't have the money to buy one of those comptuer strap holders, that i should just put everything in a wagon. Which sounds like a good idea, but the only wagon I have is one of those huge ass garden wagons, that I don't even think will fit int he trunk of my moms car(And we can't take the truck, as my mom doesn't want my step-dad to know I am going to this lan party, she will tell his I am over at a friends house.)

I am also trying to setup a seperate user account to use at the party that I can set to restrict access to folders and admin tools, but I can't seem to figure out how to set it up right, so I think I am just going to do the windows lock thing when I walk away from my computer.

Is there anything else that you could recommend to me about huge lan parties? ANy people I should look out for, what NOT to drink or eat(don't wanna go home early do we? ) etc....


Thanks,
-Biz

[The Real Bingo]

Take some pep pills. Dont wanna drink too much coffee or soda, as that will make you pee more often, making you less effective playing.

[Kc2iLq]

Many larger lan parties have dollies or wagons set up to assist you in transporting your stuff. If not, have your grandparents find the Radio Flyer they bought you for your third birthday. As for getting your stuff there, you're on your own. You will probably not want to sit in front of your computer and watch a movie, so leave the 500MHz machine at home. It's not going to impress anyone anyway. They'll probably have refreshments there for you, so you can leave the bawlz at home too. Never take nodoze or other caffeine pills as they will leave you dehydrated. If you don't know how something will affect you, don't try it (i.e. don't eat the brown acid). You should bring some type of snack food (with protein) to sustain you, but nothing too salty. It's always good practice to lock your computer when you leave it, even just for a minute. You never want to get back and find your hard drive repartitioned. Most of all, make sure you have fun and don't do anything too stupid.

-Kc2iLq

[davidamarkley]

Disable all shared folders.

Update any Anti-Virus programs definitions.

Update all games to latest versions(actually, to whichever version they will be playing).

Update all sound/video/mobo drivers to latest versions.

Bring your Windows cds, anything that would be necessary in case you have to wipe and format your box at the party.(Trust me, it's happened before)

Don't overdo it on the Bawls! Plenty of Vitamin P

Don't let others onto your machine.

I use GearGrip, and love their straps. It's really up to you though how you transport them. I like to seatbelt my Monitors face backward into the seats in the vehicle. I normally put the computers in the back and pile them in. Just bring lots of blankets and use to pad in between of all your hardware.

Why do you have to lie to your stepdad?

Make sure you check the SanLAN's checklist for stuff that you need to bring and make sure to bring anything you might need. You can always leave stuff out in the car, but it's always a bad thing to have to go back home because you forgot something.

PACK UP STUFF THE NIGHT BEFORE!

And then in the morning, MAKE SURE you got everything. DOUBLE-CHECK to really make sure you have everything.

I've been to lots of LAN parties(actually, I run a LAN Party business) and these are the most important things I can think of.

There are probably other good things, if I think of more I'll let you know...

Hope that helps!

Dave

[originel]

my advice (coming from somone who regulary goes to quakecon with over 3,000 lanners), is to do a fresh install of windows before the lan and another fresh install of windows after. definitely install antivirus (i would recommend AVG because it is just as good as norton IMO and is very resource friendly). only install what is necessary for games and nothing else.

and most importantly have fun!

[Bizkitkid2001]

I just recently did a fresh install of windows last week, so I'm covered there. Also, since it is a fresh install of windows, there shouldn't be any shared folders right? I would have to activate shared folders before I would need to deactivate.

I'll make sure to stay from the caffiene pills, I have enough stamina to keep me up. ANd I will stay away from the brown acid

I checked out gear grip, and I do admit they are nice, a little to much $$ that I don't have right now.

Anti-virus I've been enjoying how much faster my comp has been performing without one. But I guess its better to be safe than sorry.

All games are updated(Actually, since I will be running my own server, I can set it to whatever version I want, plus I will setup an http server program on it as well so that people can download the patches themselves)

All other drivers updated

Windows CD Check

I have to lie to my step dad cause he knows that I will get in trouble when I am around a lot of people my age

I checked there sanlan list, I am bringing everything I need accept the speakers.

I always pack the night before,a nd then double check

I checked with my grandparents, and THEY DO have a radio flyer wagon, how come they never let me play with it? And I got two dollies in my garage.

ANother thing I thought of would be to make the first boot device int he bios the hard drive, and then put a password on the bios so that no one can boot my comp with a boot disk or boot cd.

Thanks everyone for your input, I got back a lot mroe than I expected

[originel]

speakers are a good thing to leave behind anyways, they really don't work well in lan parties. headphones are much better.

a bios password is an excellent idea.

a default XP install has "Shared Folders" shared by default, but nothing else.

[phenious]

If you need to access files on your computer do it using an FTP server that uses a port other then 21 and make sure a firewall is on that PC to keep everyone else out and you can hand out IP, Port, User info to those who need it. Get all game updates and save em on your FTP server, you will be the hero if people need it and the Lan Party People havent already done this (most do).

-: phenious :-

[tony_j15]

Bring some sort of hand sanitizer! Computers are a natural breeding place for germs, and being in an enviroment where everyone will be messing with everyone's stuff, its only can get worse. I've managed to pick up pink eye once and a cold twice from LAN parties.

[electric]

don't forget the basics cords,surge protectors,batteries,cables


and bottle water

i never been to a lan party but i think a cover over your gear
wouldn't hurt, when you are away from your computer

have fun