external hdd, vista, safely remove

[bkolk]

So i got a rosewill 3.5" external hdd enclosure and my concern is shutting it down in vista. When i go to safely remove hardware and tell it to remove the external drive, the hdd is sitll powered and spinning. The same procedure in windows XP it powers down the drive.
My question is, after i safely remove the drive from windows vista, is switching the power switch off on the external drive now safe?

 

[MindoverMaster]

I turn off my Western Digital MyBook after I shut down. Never had any problem. I accidentially turned it off when my computer running, but it was ok after. But i think the Wd has something to protect failure.