Thank you very much. I got just the advice that I needed. Thanks again!the most compatible external hard drive to share accross wide range of computers would be an IDE / ATA drive then buy an external enclosure to put it in
have a look at IDE drives on newegg.com pcik a size and price range you like
then look into external storage enclosures (dont pick the super cheapies and avoid the high end as well)
I will try to give you a median example (there are cheaper enclosures)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145657
here is a cheaper enclosure with fan