CST1040 40GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive - High-Speed Portable Storage for Files, Photos, Videos | Perfect for Office, School, Travel & Backup

This is probably the least expensive external drive I could find. I bought it specifically for Ghosting/Imaging laptops, and for large file workspace to use between computers. Inside is a Western Digital Hard drive. The case is aluminum and works well to dissipate heat. It does get warm (some might consider hot) during heavy use, but it does not seem dangerous. I checked it with an IR thermometer - it hits about 105 degrees Fahrenheit and doesn't get any hotter. I consider heavy use writing more than 10 GB of data at once. It has an indicator light that changes color to show reading or writing. The included cable is a standard mini-B to Male A. The cable that comes with it is interesting. It has the small connector on one end for the drive, and on the other a double headed usb connector. You will only need the second connector plugged in if you are using usb 1.0 and it is not able to supply enough power. I also had one laptop (could have been a machine problem) that needed the second plug to power up the drive. So...if you only have one usb port this may be a problem for you. But any newer computer or laptop should be able to supply enough power through the one port to power the drive. The cable is about three feet long, so it's not annoying to pack in any bags. It seems to be just the right length for use with a laptop. It has worked perfectly fine with my Macs, Windows, and Linux boxes - no drivers are needed for anything newer than win98, os 9.2.2, ubuntu 6. I use Fat32 format for it's universal acceptance. For the price - you cannot beat this thing - and it's probably better quality than anything close to it's price point.