External Hard Drives are a pretty popular method of storage outside the PC. They are often used for backup and for exhanging files between PCs. You can buy external hard drives with no problem, but you can also make your own out of an internal hard drive if you happen to have some sitting around. Simply buy yourself a USB drive enclosure. They include a USB interface to your PC and their own power supply. You can usually pick them up for anywhere from $25 to $50 online, and they will cost more if you buy from a retail store. Slip the hard drive into the eclosure, secure it with four screws into the enclosure and attach the power and signal cables. Close up the drive enclosure and plug it into your PC and an electric outlet. Your PC should recognize the new storage device immediately.

Drive enclosures are also a convenient way to access data you might have on hard drives sitting around your home or office without having to take the case off your desktop and plug it into the IDE cables.

Check out our price comparison for drive enclosures.