Turning a hard drive into an external storage option

I have a hard drive gifted to me by a friend, who has no use for it anymore; it came out of her "old" desktop computer (about 4 years old.) Anyway, I'd like to actually use it as an external hard drive. But all I have is the drive itself. Just....well, like I said: just the drive. I don't have any cables or wires or anything. I also don't have any kind of enclosure for it (although from what I've seen by Googling, they're easy to find.)

My question, then, to anyone who might be more knowledgeable than I in this department: How difficult would it be to turn this hard drive into an external hard drive? Would I need a certain *type* of enclosure, or would any type do? And would I need any cables or wires or whathaveyou?

Sorry if this is a very broad question, but this is a 1 TB drive and I would dearly LOVE to use it for my media files, so I'm drooling to get at it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Newegg has over 100 external enclosures for 3.5" ATA, PATA, SATA type hdds. Prices range between $14.99 and $100.00. All connect via USB. Almost all of these come with AC adapters.

Edited by dc3, 30 December 2010 - 11:17 PM.

Can I tack on a question here? I read in another post that setting up an external drive this way (internal drive with a case) is very easy and pretty cost efficient. This may sound silly, but I really have no experience with backing up my data or cloning a drive-if you do it this way, how do you set up the drive as a backup drive? I understand that if you purchase a retail external, a lot of them have push button backups and setup an automatic backup schedule for you.

Can I tack on a question here?

Normally considered bad etiquette. But as this post seem`s resolved....why not.

Many ready made external drives do come with automated back-up software. If it is included with the drive then it should be listed in it`s description from where ever you purchase it.

If you choose to build your own, usually more cost effective. Then a self powered, draws power from wall outlet, not USB\firewire PC connection, is the preferred type. Also a built in fan is a nice option. Heat\poor ventilation is usually the number on killer of most externally enclosed hard drives and the data on them.

If you do build your own then you will either need to do manual back-ups (my preference) or purchase, find free automated back-up software.
Perhaps other Members can make some suggestions.

Edited by ThunderZ, 04 January 2011 - 05:04 PM.

Thank you for your suggestion ThunderZ and sorry for the poor posting etiquette!

No problem.

The reason we ask not to tack on additional questions and to create your own post is really more for your benefit. It is easy to overlook a new question if it is added to an already existing thread by another Member.