Thanks everyone for the advice. I believe Ken's advice that if it's just for backups and carrying files around then a USB connection is good enough. The guy in the shop pointed out that the 2.5" drives were the USB ones, and they came in 2 or 1 cable versions. So I picked the 500GB Seagate 1-cable for $120, which is now plugged into XP and seems to be found and working okay.
David's comments about the power have me worried. I deliberately picked the 1-cable version because it would be less bother. I didn't think about why anyone would create a 2-cable version (yoiiks! because I might run low on power!!!). Tiang, if the ext HDD is dropped or stolen, then the backup is the desktop machine and vice versa. Sounds logical eh! Encryption not needed, but I'll remind my wife of the security issues that come with portable data. She carries a laptop around every day, so I suppose everyone with portable data should be reminded to watch out for thieves or accidents. The idea of cloud storage is an interesting one which I will file in the back of my mind for possible later consideration. Cheers, Greg
