do they make....

[slurmsmackenzie]

so that i can hook it up with a usb cable, or firewire cable to transfer files to a laptop?

 

[Doh!]

Yes. They have been widely available for a long time. Look for hard drive enclosures at newegg. Starts around $20 and up.

 

[f1sh3r]

you can also get something like this... no enclosure, but you can use it for 2.5/3.5 IDE and SATA hard drives.
if you arent looking to have a long term external hard drive, these are nice. I have one to test hard drives get info off of fresh pulls.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812156102