In a [german ubuntu guide](http://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/hddtemp) for the hddtemp program is claimed that every S.M.A.R.T. request wakes up the drive although no data is read. Because some harddrives that can park their head into a parking position can do so only a certain number of times and will wear off earlier. I never heard or read about this before.

I wonder if the claim is true at all and why the head has to be put out of its parking position when only SMART is requested. The statement that only certain drives can actually park their head confuses me more, how do I confirm that my drives do or not? And will the once per minute request that hddtemp does really have a noticable effect on my drives? I mean they will die sooner or later anyway.

I'd also appreciate more sources on this topic than just a statement written to some wiki.