Portable drive enclosures

Q. I remember reading about a device into which you can plug a removed internal hard drive. Do you have any information and the names of the manufacturer/ distributor and cost? Thanks.
A. You describe an ever-more-popular hardware product with applications far wider than just letting a computer owner plug a hard drive taken from one computer into a new computer.
A happy feature of the Windows XP/2000 and Macintosh OS X operating systems is so-called plug-and-play connections that work with standard FireWire IEEE 1394 ports or the much more common USB 2.0 cables.
Plug and play means that the hardware is recognized and operated by computers without needing to be loaded with special driver software for each device.
In addition to permitting users to do stuff like plug digital cameras and scanners into computers for instant recognition and use, this plug-and-play feature works with devices that essentially are empty boxes with power supplies and electronic gear that get recognized when plugged in to a computer.
Usually called portable drive enclosures, these devices generally come with the data cables and power connectors used for the IDE drive interfaces built in to computer towers since Day One.
So you can acquire new or used internal hard drives and connect them in the enclosure, and then use the USB or FireWire ports on the outside of a computer to operate them. This keeps screwdriver work at a joyful minimum for techies with 10 thumbs, like this writer.
In addition to working with hard drives, these enclosures can be used with devices such as internal DVD-R/RW drives, CD-ROM drives, floppy drives and some exotic gadgets such as scientific sensors that normally get connected to IDE cables.
Perhaps the single most useful thing about these gadgets is that they can be used to read a data-filled hard drive that has been removed from an old machine when a new one is acquired. And that means, of course, that they are a particular godsend for people whose computers break down.
The enclosure boxes cost in the sub-$100 range.
Portable drive enclosures have become one of the hottest hardware add-ons on the market, and you can get an idea of who makes them with a Google search or a trip to shopping sites such as http://shopper.cnet.com or www.amazon.com. Use the search term "USB drive enclosure."
I can tell you that I routinely use an enclosure from ADS Technologies and have had good results using it for hard drives and DVD burners alike.
Q. Whether I am on the Internet or not, there is a noise that comes out like a cat crying. I have shut off my speakers, so I know the sound is coming from the computer.
There is no regular time that it comes on, but it sure is annoying.
A. That's not a cat. It's supposed to be Beethoven.
You are experiencing a rare phenomenon in which a part of your computer called the BIOS (basic input output system) has triggered a warning that your main microprocessor and/or other chips are giving off heat above the recommended level. BIOS uses a tiny and tinny speaker built onto the chipboards, and the warning signal is a rendition of Beethoven's "Fur Elise" classic.
Usually the cause of the overheating is a failing fan, but another cause can be a lack of ventilation, so move the computer away from any obstructions covering the air vents on the case.
Sometimes the warning gets triggered because one of the circuit boards plugged in to the expansion slots has become loose. So if you're comfortable removing the cover, you might try pushing each of these boards to make sure they fit into the slots as far as they can go.
Replacing a fan is probably a job for a computer repair shop, so let's hope getting better ventilation or pressing down on the expansion boards will fix things.
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