Skip to content

TechRepublic

  • Top Products
  • AI
  • Developer
  • Payroll
  • Security
  • Project Management
  • Accounting
  • CRM
  • Academy
Resources
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • Newsletters
  • Resource Library
  • Forums
  • Sponsored
Go Premium
Popular Topics
  • Top Products
  • AI
  • Developer
  • Payroll
  • Security
  • Project Management
  • Accounting
  • CRM
  • Academy
  • Project Management
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Big Data
  • Tech Jobs
View All Topics
Go Premium
Hardware

How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

By Greg Shultz January 16, 2008, 9:55 AM PST

Image
1
of 8

External_00.jpg
External_00.jpg
How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

Choose an enclosure

Choose an enclosure

Are you in need of a large external hard drive to use for storing your music collection or backing up your data? As you know, you can go to just about any retail outlet that carries computer components and purchase a large external hard drive. However, if you’re the kind of person who prefers the do it yourself approach, you can easily put together your own external hard drive.

In this gallery, I’ll show you how to build an external hard drive.

How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

Choosing

Choosing

Once you begin looking, you’ll quickly discover that there are a bewildering number of external enclosures to choose from and each one comes with a variety of features. Of course, there are lots of different enclosure case designs — some are boxy, some are curvy, some are colored, and some are plain aluminum. Some enclosures are designed to house 2.5-inch drives but most are designed to house 3.5-inch drives. Most enclosures are designed to accommodate IDE drives although some are designed to accommodate SATA drives. The majority of enclosures come with a USB 2.0 connection interface, while some come with both USB 2.0 and FireWire. If the enclosure supports SATA drives, it will have a SATA connection interface and may even have a USB 2.0 or FireWire as well.

Almost all external enclosures are made of aluminum and the entire unit is designed to act as a big heat sink. However, other enclosures are made of composite plastic and come with their own fan to ensure that the hard drive stays cool.

Stick with a reputable merchandiser, seek out reviews, and look for the features that you need, and you should be OK.

How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

Assembly

Assembly

While looking for hard disks, I came across this 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE at NewEgg.com for $89.99. Because I’ve had good experiences with Western Digital Caviar drives in the past, the 320 GB size fit my needs, and it was a good price, I decided that this drive would fit the bill. (The total cost of the parts for my custom built external drive came to $127.98 plus shipping.)

How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

Hard drive configuration

Hard drive configuration

Like most hard drive manufacturers these days, Western Digital puts a diagram on the drive that shows the jumper settings for the various drive configurations. As you can see, by default the drive comes configured for the Cable Select setting with the jumper on pins 1 and 2. However, the manual for the Venus enclosure recommends using the Master or Single setting as you can see from the diagram, to configure this drive to the Master or Single setting, you need to remove the jumper.

How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

Hard drive configuration

Hard drive configuration

Here you can see the jumper on pins 1 and 2 for the Cable Select setting.

How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

Hard drive configuration

Hard drive configuration

Using a pair of tweezers, you can easily remove the jumper.

How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

Hard drive configuration

Hard drive configuration

Here you can see all the pins without any jumpers. The drive is now configured to the Master or Single setting.

How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

Mounting

Mounting

With the tray in place, you can secure it to the enclosure by tightening the two screws on the rear.

  • Hardware
  • Account Information

    Share with Your Friends

    How do I… Build your own external hard drive enclosure?

    Your email has been sent

Share: How do I... Build your own external hard drive enclosure?
Image of Greg Shultz
By Greg Shultz
My first computer was a Kaypro 16 \"luggable\" running MS-DOS 2.11 which I obtained while studying computer science in 1986. After two years, I discovered that I had a knack for writing documentation and shifted my focus over to technical writing.
  • Account Information

    Contact Greg Shultz

    Your message has been sent

  • |
  • See all of Greg's content

Daily Tech Insider

If you can only read one tech story a day, this is it.

TechRepublic TechRepublic
  • TechRepublic on Facebook
  • TechRepublic on X
  • TechRepublic on LinkedIn
  • TechRepublic on YouTube
  • TechRepublic on Pinterest
  • TechRepublic RSS
Services
  • About Us
  • Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
  • Site Map
  • Site Help & Feedback
  • FAQ
  • Advertise
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • Careers
Explore
  • Downloads
  • TechRepublic Forums
  • Meet the Team
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Resource Library
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Editorial Policy
  • Legal Terms
  • Privacy Policy
© 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All rights reserved.
CLOSE

Create a TechRepublic Account

Get the web's best business technology news, tutorials, reviews, trends, and analysis—in your inbox. Let's start with the basics.

Already registered? Sign In
Use Facebook
Use Linkedin

* - indicates required fields

CLOSE

Sign in to TechRepublic

Not a member? Create an account
Use Facebook
Use Linkedin

Lost your password? Request a new password

CLOSE

Reset Password

Please enter your email adress. You will receive an email message with instructions on how to reset your password.

Check your email for a password reset link. If you didn't receive an email don't forgot to check your spam folder, otherwise contact support.

Back to login
1 Finish Profile
2 Newsletter Preferences
CLOSE

Welcome. Tell us a little bit about you.

This will help us provide you with customized content.

No thanks, continue without
1 Finish Profile
2 Newsletter Preferences
CLOSE

Want to receive more TechRepublic news?

Newsletter Name
Subscribe
Daily Tech Insider
Daily Tech Insider AU
TechRepublic UK
TechRepublic News and Special Offers
TechRepublic News and Special Offers International
Executive Briefing
Innovation Insider
Project Management Insider
Microsoft Weekly
Cloud Insider
Data Insider
Developer Insider
TechRepublic Premium
Apple Weekly
Cybersecurity Insider
Google Weekly
Toggle All
No thanks, continue without

You're All Set

Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye out for a confirmation email from our team. To ensure any newsletters you subscribed to hit your inbox, make sure to add [email protected] to your contacts list.

Back to Home Page
×