There are a few items that you will need for proper External Hard Drive Care: Small Fan, Optical Cloth, Canned Air, and a Surge Protector.

1. Make sure your External drive is on a flat, stable, clean surface.
2. Try to keep your External Drive away from heaters, air conditioners, humidifiers and drafts.
3. When your External Drive is in use try to avoid moving it.  Moving it while in use can result in physical damage.
4. If you drive is getting really hot you can plug a small fan by it to keep it cool.
5. Dust your External Drive every so often with a soft optical cloth, and spray the opening of the drive with canned air to remove any dust build up.
6. Instead of plugging your External Drive into a direct outlet use a surge protector. This can help protect the drive against voltage spikes.