How to Make a Portable USB External Hard Drive

Make a portable USB external hard drive for more storage and flexibility.

A portable USB external hard drive can provide a large volume of storage that is not tied to any one computer, making it a perfect idea for those who are on the go. Making your own USB external hard drive is fast and easy, and if you already have a spare hard drive available, it is an inexpensive solution as well.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with USB port

Instructions

1. Acquire a USB hard drive enclosure, and if you are not using a hard drive you already have, acquire the drive itself. When doing this, ensure that the size of the enclosure matches the size of the drive, and that the enclosure uses a USB interface. Both drives and enclosures are usually available from retailers that sell computer components in addition to complete systems.

2. Open the enclosure in preparation for inserting the hard drive. Many enclosures use two or four screws on the front of the device. If the enclosure you chose uses some other kind of fastening, it will likely come with instructions.

3. Connect the hard drive to the enclosure's connectors. If this requires anything other than plugging the drive into connectors on the enclosure, there will likely be instructions for making the connection.

4. Reassemble the enclosure with the drive inside and connect the USB cable to the enclosure if it is not already attached.

5. Connect the cable from the portable USB external hard drive to the computer. If the computer is running a recent version of an operating system, it will recognize the external drive and configure it as a new drive visible to the operating system.

Tips & Warnings

• For maximum portability, choose an enclosure that does not require an external power supply.

• Many enclosures have one or more indicator lights. If the light on the enclosure does not light up when it is connected to the computer, the hard drive inside the enclosure is likely not connected properly. Disconnect the enclosure from the computer, open it up, and check all the connections.