Steve, that is so sad to hear. Most of these malwares are removable, with a dedicated effort. Even the worst ones, you can buy enough time to back up your files. Yes, an external usb drive will work with USB 1.0, but the transfer speed of files will be considerably slower. Most USB 2.0 devices are 1.0 backwards-compatible.
so you all look at the same 'naughty sites'?? yes...back up your 'naughty stuff' ....hmm....maybe i should do that too....thanx Steph