All very kind with your answers.

Are there any specific features I should look out for when purchasing an external drive? At the moment I own a WD Elements 2TB that powers itself via an adapter and a USB of course but of course I don't keep it on for 8-10 hours.

On a similar note, can an external drive be partitioned just like an internal one?

Also, I believe I should also purchase a laptop stand/cooler to keep the machine cool? Earlier I watched a review of the Zalman ZM-NC2000, would something like that suit my needs?

Thanks a lot again for the replies.