I'm about to literally have umpteen-million external hard drives. Ok, maybe the exact opposite of literally. But I have a quite a few at this point and less and less desk space. Is there some kind of rack/shelf system I can use to stack some of them (at least the ones that lay flat as opposed to the upright kind)? Would any kind of simple would rack/shelf system do?

I'm using a dozen stackable plastic hard drive storage cases by a company called ineo Tech. Then just put them on the book shelf.

The translucent plastic case says that it is anti-shock (probably meant to say anti-static), dust free, splash-proof, and stackable. They have a nice latching system, and labels.

They were a couple of bucks each. Maybe search amazon or google to find them.

Thanks for the tip,Roger -- looks like that company offers an inexpensive USB3 drive enclosure:

Amazon.com: Ineo Technology 2.5-Inch SATA External Hard Drive Module to USB 3.0 with Protection Case I-NA216U Plus


And this storage case for two drives, well under $10:

Amazon.com: Ineo Technology Dual Bay SATA/IDE Hard Drive Protection Case I-NC07

.....at least the ones that lay flat as opposed to the upright kind....

Just curious about this (as I'm currently storing my many spare HDDs upright). Is there a reason that they should be stored flat???

May not be what you are looking for, but here is a shot of one of my racks.

backplane cages work. i leave all my externals in em.

Is cooling a problem when you get lots of drives stacked together? I'm thinking they would probably be unlikely to be under heavy load all at the same time, but if you had a PSU in the enclosure...

Sorry, shouldve mentioned i wasnt looking to store them/retire them, but a place to put them for active use. I read that they can "vibrate themselves to an early death" if not sitting on something that absorbs the vibrations caused by their use. Is this BS?

Re: upright vs flat --- some drives simply seem to be designed to lay flat (like my dark blue lacie) while others come with a stand and seem to be made to sit upright (like my other lacie).

So yeah, looking to consolidate them into a small area while keeping them useable. Am worried about heat, any other possible issues. Though i have quite a few drives at this point, can only realistically see having two on simultaneously most of the time, occasionally 3 or 4.