Hard drive

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD5000AAKS
$63.99
No brainer installation, but if you need help, WD is there for you on the internet. Item was well protected for shipping.

Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN
$129.99
I was originally going to purchase the Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive (model WDE1UBK10000N). My sister in-law has that model and it truly is built like a tank. Metal case, rubber protectors on each end. It really looks like it could take few bumps. I picked up this particular model because I saw it on sale for $60 at the store that has a red bullseye for a logo. For that price I'd be silly not to snag it up.

As others mentioned it has a plastic case which is ok. Metal would've been nicer. And it is completely silent. Other than seeing the white light in the back blinking when transferring files, I cannot tell that it is actually working. But it is working :). I transferred 149 gb of data from my old external drive to this one in about 3 hours. It's usb so I'm used to relatively slow transfers. The true test will be if it lasts as long as my iomega external hard drive which I've had for over 6 years. Even though it's old, it has a small fan, an on/off switch, a long power cord and it feels like it can take a bump. I just needed a back up in the event the old work horse died on me.

Good:
+ cheap - $60 for "1TB" of storage space
+ plug and play
+ no annoying preloaded software
+ very quiet
+ barely warm after extended use(my old drive would get noticeably warm even with its built-in fan)

Not so good:
- plastic case. probably good idea not to lug this around too much.
- edges are shiny and attracts finger prints (this really didn't matter to me, but I thought I'd mention it
- short power cord ~6'4" (old drive's power cord is over 11'), though usb cord is a bit longer than my old drive (4'3" vs. 3'5"). It would've been better to add length on the power cord and shorten the usb.
- actual storage space is 931 gb. Not sure what the other 69 gb are being used for. For my purposes, this is insignficant, but if WD advertises 1tb it should close to that number.
- no fan

Price was the determining factor in choosing this drive over the "tank". If this can last as long as my old external hard drive then it will be $60 well spent.

Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Dive HDDR500E04XL (Liquid Blue)
$129.99
I love this portable hard drive. I had been looking for some time and at several different brands. I was most impressed with the Toshiba Portable External Hard Drive. It does what it says and more. It was easy to set up and use. It has backup software if that is what is of interest. It was easy as well. I mainly wanted it to backup photos and documents that I could carry with me rather than my whole system. It is nice to have that capability though. It was fast, quiet and lightwieght, everything I wanted in a portable. Very good qualilty. Excellent buy for the money. I am very pleased.Toshiba 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Dive HDDR640E04XR

Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34270
$82.99
I bough this drive September 17, 2009 and have been using it to transfer data between my home and work desktops. I have used it everyday since it arrived and it has run without a hitch (as of Nov. 30, 2009).