I guess it depends on what you need.
The fans on those cases aren't really geared towards silent-running, so you'll definitely hear them.
On the other hand, if your device tends to run hot, or you're just paranoid, you'll probably...
Basically, buy the internal version of the drive, and then go and buy something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-316&depa=0
Then put the drive into the case (takes like 4 screws and 2 cables), then plug...
Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Startup and Recovery -> Automatically Restart.
Uncheck that, and the next time it happens, you'll see (hopefully) where it crashes.
If you're buying an external device, I don't really think general availability of USB or Firewire is actually going to matter - what's available on the laptop is more important.
For storage devices, Firewire is generally accepted as...
Unplug your laptop from the network, then start disabling system level applications like anti-virus, firewalls, and the likes until standby works again. Once you figure out which one, then see if that piece of software has an...
Hmmmm - ColecoVision, then the original Apple ][ with the Plus card, a 386SX-16 (woot, 4 MB RAM!), a 486DX4-100 w/ 24 MB, Pentium II 266 w/ 128 MB, then a Pentium III 600EB w/ 384 MB, and now a Pentium 4 HT 2.6 w/ 1024 MB and a Pentium 4...
