Dead external hard drive, questions about replacement

[Browser]

Good morning all, our Maxtor external hard drive has been converted into an expensive paperweight, I think by dint of being knocked off the windowsill by the cat. Had said drive to bits this morning and the platters (I looked it up) won't rotate. I've been given to understand from reading other articles on teh web that opening the drive's case is akin to hammering a stake through the drive as I'll have introduced dust to the mechanism and effectively killed it.
So, with that in mind, I'm probably goingto be looking for a new one. Does anybody have any manufacturer/supplier recomendations?
Also, I see we are now onto USB 3.0, is this backwards-compatible with Windows XP SP2 or is there no point and I might as well save my money and get one that's USB 2.0?
The clanky spannerman in me is now secretly glad as he can take this HDD to bits to see how it works
Oh, one final thing, aside from a more secire perch so the cat can't knock the bloody thing onto the floor, are there any tips in how to stop this happening in future eg make sure I operate/access the drive at least once a week?

 

[machew]

USB 3 is backwards compatible to USB 2. If you want USB 3 speeds the you can buy a USB 3 PCI board

 

[Tanis8472]

Why not buy just the HD and put that in the case?

 

[MrJamie]

What do you use it for? In terms of needing fast access, storage space, portability etc.

 

[ian turner]

I'd say go for a portable harddrive that will withstand dropping from a greater height, make sure it's backing up stuff on your computers and not holding anything unique so you always have two copies in case the cat decides to vomit in your pc (a friend lost vhs players to cat vomit). You can't stop harddrives dying you can just avoid dropping them, note put them out of reach of small children too as one person had their drive destroyed when some friends visited with their toddler who picked it up and threw it to the ground, if this ever happens lock the doors and don't let them out until they have used their credit card to buy you a new one online.

 

[Svendo]

Don't forget to get the various rare earth magnets out of the drive before disposal. They make very decent fridge magnets.

 

[PaulSB]

You asked about brands. I have no technical knowledge but own two Iomega and one Seagate. All work perfectly well and just hum along doing their daily backups.

My only advice would be buy a large capacity one a it doesn't take long to fill one if you have videos, films etc.

Expect to pay £60-90 depending on brand and capacity.

 

[Tanis8472]

I've got a Buffalo attached to the TV for Chaseplay etc.
That's plenty quick enough for streaming and recording HD video simultaneously