A:
There is not any way to connect the iPad to the Hard drive. However, you are correct in connecting the iPad to the computer, and through iTunes, you can click "back up" and it saves that file on the computer. So if you back up your entire PC to the hard drive, you should be fine. If anything ever happens to the iPad, then you could retrieve the information from the PC, but you will need a PC to "Restore from backup." There are other options to back up your iPad. You can use iCloud, which is free from Apple, and is, honestly, the best way. go to apple.com/icloud for more information. The Last thing i'll say is that when you backup your iPad to iTunes, the backup information is stored in a folder, almost hidden, from you. Depending on which version of windows you are using, here is a list of where you can find the file, and restore the information, if need be.
Windows XP
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
Windows Vista
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\MobileSync\Backup\
Windows 7
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
HOPE THIS HELPS!
(P.S. Buy a Mac, You'll be much happier)