Does An External Hard Drive Park As Soon A You Unplug The Usb Cable?

[ontodva]

I am only asking about hardware damage, not data loss.

When can I be sure the heads are parked anyway?

My external HDDs are all set for quick removal, so there is no cache to concern me. I don't want to bother with the Windows eject utility as it doesn't work reliably. I pull out the USB plug and then switch off the power.

Will this damage the hardware?

1 - if I can successfully 'eject' the device in Windows the drive's light may stay on. Are the heads parked anyway?
Can I power it off safely though the light is on?

2 - if I just pull out the USB plug without 'ejecting' first the drive's light goes off. Can I be sure the heads are now parked?

 

[Wicked Mystic]

Should not damage hardware.

1. Heads should be parked automatically when power is switched off.

You can power it off while lights are on.

2. Same as above. When power is switched off, heads should be parked automatically.