Whenever I do a search to see which external hard drives are best, all the consumer reviews tend to provide are complaints. I don't think that means that these drives are bad. Rather, I think people only bother to post when they have a problem. Given that external drives aren't expensive, I'd simply go for one whose feature set suits your needs and provides the best bang for your buck. And given the prices, if you find one down the road that you like better, it's cool to own two or more. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Self-powered drives are the handiest. They're all 5400 RPM and 2.5 inches, but that's fine for backups. Firewire transfers files faster; but it adds to the price. I've noticed that Firewire 400 beats USB 2 hands down for speed, though, and Firewire 800 wallops USB 2. All drives with Firewire also have USB, so compatibility isn't an issue if you want to use it on a machine that isn't equipped with Firewire. Drives that aren't self-powered might be 3.5 inch units, they may offer 7200 RPM, and you get more storage per dollar. I wouldn't go this route for my first backup drive unless it's rarely going to be moved from its "main" computer. I do have one, though, and it's very handy when I need it. My MacBook Pro has all the docking stuff I need built in. I can run it with the lid closed or open. If I open the lid, I can choose whether I want the notebook monitor running or not. When I have it hooked up to an external monitor, I usually leave the notebook monitor turned off unless I need the extra screen real estate. I normally lift the lid, though, as the speakers sound better. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I would think (but can't confirm) that you could get similar docking functionality built into a Windows-based notebook. EDIT: You can add amazon.com to the list that Robin 19 provides.