need recommendation for reliable external hard drive for backups

[LongTimePCUser]

I want to get an inexpensive reliable external hard drive to back up files from a notebook computer.

I looked at the user feedback at NewEgg for the major brands. Maxtor, Seagate, etc.
All of the reviews I saw had 10%-20% one star ratings because the drives failed after a few months. Typically they say something like " I dropped it once and its dead".

I don't think that this is an acceptable failure rate for backed up files.

I suspect that there are design errors. Most of the drives offered stand upright on a table. I bet they fall over. Very few advertise shock mounting.

Can you recommend an inexpensive ( <$100) reliable backup drive?
Fast is not necessary. 5400 rpm is OK.

I was looking at this one as a possibility. It claims shock mounting but there are relatively few customer feedbacks.
BUFFALO MiniStation HD-PHS120U2/UC 120GB 5400 RPM USB 2.0 External Hard Drive
Are there others that you can recommend?

 

[Chosonman]

Buy an internal hard drive and a case seperately

 

[Chosonman]

The prepackaged drives are junk

 

[LongTimePCUser]

Which case would you recommend?

 

[Chosonman]

The problem with choosing the right case is there are so many to choose from and not enough reliable sources to verify if they're good or not. I usually check newegg.com to see which one's have the best reviews and go from there. Any less than 4 stars and it's probably not very good.

I've had problems with HD cases in the past so I think it's important to pick the right case. For instance, one case I have can only read up to 130GB hard drive, so if I stick a 500GB drive in it won't read 370 of space. Another one I had has issues freezing when connected to my PC for a long time. Both are older models and I have since bought other cases that work fine. But those are some things to consider when choosing the right case. I don't think you should run into too many problems now a days since external cases have matured since the days I first bought mine.

 

[Soundmanred]

Originally posted by: Chosonman
The prepackaged drives are junk

Can you back that one up? I've been using them for years and never had one fail. I've also built my own, and other than not being able to use larger drives, they've been fine too.
Did you have one go bad, or just hear stuff on the 'net?

 

[tpg0007]

I've 3 WD MyBook things, 2 500G and 1 1T (the old 500x2 kind). The 1T has something loose inside...but otherwise all 3 have seen daily use for more than a year. If you keep access to a minimal, as should be for backup devices, drive failures should be much lower than daily-use drives, right?