If it's not designed to be an "enclosure," (reusable shell for external hds), I think you're much better off simply buying a new external hd, especially if you want better reliability. Also, you could buy a new enclosure (these can be quite cheap) and then swap in and out drives freely, but I wouldn't recommend trying to force in a drive into a unit that wasn't meant for it. I've had good experience with Lacie external drives, but there are plenty of good models at low prices right now.