# Do you flick your camera off when setting it down?



## RLPhoto (Nov 12, 2014)

I tend to do this when I put my camera down. Bad habit? Situational dependent? Or just muscle memory? 

Do you do this? And why/ why not?


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## neuroanatomist (Nov 12, 2014)

No, I see no need. I turn it off when storing it (bag or hard case).


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## AcutancePhotography (Nov 12, 2014)

I tend to turn my camera off, probably far too often. :-\ Force of habit. For my type of shooting, it is not adversly affected by turning the camera on.


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## DominoDude (Nov 12, 2014)

RLPhoto said:


> I tend to do this when I put my camera down. Bad habit? Situational dependent? Or just muscle memory?
> 
> Do you do this? And why/ why not?



I usually turn it on before I set out on a shooting session, and I would only turn it off if/when I need to change lens or put in a new CF card. Normally it awakens quickly from its standby state when I need to fire off a burst of shots, and I don't see any other need to turn it off. I want to be as ready as I can be.

I have to add that Magic Lantern seem to fiddle a bit with the body's behaviour, and I notice a delay before it wakes from standby.


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## privatebydesign (Nov 12, 2014)

RLPhoto said:


> I tend to do this when I put my camera down. Bad habit? Situational dependent? Or just muscle memory?
> 
> Do you do this? And why/ why not?



I do, and it grew from the fact that I have always disabled sleep mode, and in older cameras with poorer battery life it was a habit I got into to get more battery time.

Interestingly a lot of my work now is on a tripod and I had stopped switching it off between setups because I was using a Canon WFT and sometimes it wouldn't reconnect without hassle, but now I use a CamRanger that reconnects very well and I am switching the camera off again.


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## zim (Nov 12, 2014)

Nope, leave it on all day (when in use) only switch off to change lens or card

Regards


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## Maximilian (Nov 12, 2014)

RLPhoto said:


> I tend to do this when I put my camera down. Bad habit? Situational dependent? Or just muscle memory?
> 
> Do you do this? And why/ why not?


I always switch my Camera off when I don't expect to shot any photo within the next few minutes. And when I change CF cards.
In any other situation it stays on and standby.


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## FEBS (Nov 12, 2014)

I leave it always on during the day. only for storing I will switch it off. For placing another memory card (CF) I also switch it off. For switching lenses, I mostly don't switch off the camera.

Never had any problem.


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## Twostones (Nov 12, 2014)

Once I turn it on, I leave it on, unless changing lenses or cards. When I am finished shooting for the day, then I will turn it off. I see no need to put wear on the switch when the "wake up" feature works very well.


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## canonball93 (Nov 12, 2014)

Turning the camera off and on uses the battery up much quicker. It takes less energy in "standby" than powering up from the OFF candition.


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## PhotoCat (Nov 12, 2014)

I don't.


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## sanj (Nov 12, 2014)

Never. My camera is at 1 min auto off.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 12, 2014)

I leave mine on unless I'm putting it away for a week or more. It goes to sleep (No auto off) and uses very little power in the sleep mode, so the battery will tale 3 months to discharge.

Those a 6D or 7D MK II with GPS have a big issue, the GPS does not shut off when the power switch is turned off. You must disable GPS or pull the battery, or it will run down relatively quickly. That's a spare battery selling feature


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## Valvebounce (Nov 12, 2014)

Hi Folks. 
I have never turned a camera off, with the exception of storage, then it is as likely to go away without a battery in it. 
I have always used the auto sleep at between 1 and 4 minutes. Sometimes with my 300D I would use a longer time but only because the wake time was quite noticeable. 
I have never even thought to turn it off to change cards or lenses, I looked at the lens contacts and decided they were designed to connect/ disconnect in the correct order to avoid damage. Just don't remove a lens whilst IS is still active, I hear this can cause problems? 
It seems there is not much point in turning off the more recent cameras due to the transmissive LCD viewfinder, it flattens the battery anyway! 

Cheers, Graham.


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## wsmith96 (Nov 12, 2014)

I usually leave it on if I'm going to continue shooting. If I'm done, then I shut it off of course.


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## Crapking (Nov 12, 2014)

Funny, I left both my gripped 7dMII and 5dIII on last night by mistake - I was a little excited - see attached photo in next post.

My 7dII had 24 / 30 % left in each battery, and the 5dIII did a little better at 34/38 %, so I guess the drain is not too bad. Don't remember how much was left at the end of my day, but I didn't shoot the CAMERAs too much - was too busy with my crossbow....


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## rado98 (Nov 12, 2014)

Hmm, I think your were shooting with the wrong piece of gear or aiming the wrong way.


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## Marsu42 (Nov 12, 2014)

RLPhoto said:


> Do you do this? And why/ why not?



I'm using Magic Lantern, and one of the few drawbacks is the longer startup time (+ ~2 seconds). As I put down my camera a *lot*, it's not "worth it". 

In addition, I'm uneasy about the lifetime of the switch. I think it was Mt Spokane who wrote in a recent "IS on or off" thread that switches only last so long, even good ones. As I don't own top-notch gear, I guess that switching on/off my 6d 5x a day or 50x a day might result in ~300€ service cost or not on the long run.



Crapking said:


> NAVBPhotos


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## lintoni (Nov 12, 2014)

^^^

On topic - no, I don't, unless I'm changing a lens, etc.


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## DanoPhoto (Nov 12, 2014)

I keep it on whole time it is out of the bag. You never know when a quick trigger is needed.


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## distant.star (Nov 13, 2014)

.
No, but I do "Flick my Bic."


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## ray5 (Nov 13, 2014)

only when I change lenses, cards or putting it back in the bag. DOn't know if I should and why but I do.


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## TexPhoto (Nov 13, 2014)

Mine is always on. I do with the camera would automatically shake the dust off every time I change lenses, and one per day / 1000 shots. Seems silly I have to do this manually by turning off and on again.


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## Click (Nov 13, 2014)

I leave it always on, except for storage and when I have to change/remove the CF card.


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## FTb-n (Nov 13, 2014)

I always (ok, almost always) power down before removing the card. I never power down to change a lens. I most often power down before storing it -- I try to do so every time, but have forgotten.


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## Hillsilly (Nov 13, 2014)

Largely the same as above. I'll turn it off to remove the card at the end of the day and it will then stay turned off until I need to use it again.

I try to remember to turn it off when changing lenses as I've heard the the sensor is more likely to attract dust with the camera on due to "static electricity" and "charged particles". Might be an old wives' tale, but sounds feasible.


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## privatebydesign (Nov 13, 2014)

Hillsilly said:


> I try to remember to turn it off when changing lenses as I've heard the the sensor is more likely to attract dust with the camera on due to "static electricity" and "charged particles". Might be an old wives' tale, but sounds feasible.



Interesting the differences in peoples methodology. For instance that makes no sense to me because any dust would have to go through the closed shutter.

Although I previously said I regularly switch my camera off, I never switch it off to remove the card or change lens if I am shooting, I find it interesting that so many people do, not saying I am right, just that I find it interesting.


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## dppaskewitz (Nov 13, 2014)

6d: on in the morning, power up the GPS, then leave on all day (except if I have to change the card or battery or 50% of the time if I change lenses - that is turn off if I remember and have time). Turn GPS off and power down when done for the day.
M: turn off when I'm done shooting at any point during the day, then turn back on when ready to shoot again (this because the touch screen changes my settings as it bounces along if I don't turn off the camera).


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## AcutancePhotography (Nov 13, 2014)

distant.star said:


> .
> No, but I do "Flick my Bic."



If you keep flicking your Bic like that, you will end up having to adjust the diopter on the camera's eyepiece. ;D


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## 2n10 (Nov 13, 2014)

I only turn it off to switch lenses. The card doesn't come out except for rare instances. I don't think I turned the camera off to do this. Any issues from switching cards without turning the camera off?


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## Jane (Nov 13, 2014)

2n10 said:


> I only turn it off to switch lenses. The card doesn't come out except for rare instances. I don't think I turned the camera off to do this. Any issues from switching cards without turning the camera off?



I don't think so, unless the camera is writing to the card. I try to remember to turn off the camera before removing/inserting cards and batteries but I forget from time to time.


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## canon1dxman (Nov 13, 2014)

I normally leave it on but took the 7D2 out recently on a tripod with Hahnel remote to do a firework shoot. 

Got there a little late and took lots of long exposure shots..........only to find out I had switched it off in the dark! First time for everything


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## ejenner (Nov 14, 2014)

If I might take a shot in the next 5-10 minutes I leave it on including for changing lenses and cards.

Once I figure I'm definitely out of photo-ops I'll turn it off. I don't like auto sleep because I also use ML, plus doing landscapes I can easily have the camera on for 5-10 minutes or longer while waiting for the light. If I'm in a 'C' mode and have changed exposure for the scene, I don't want to revert back to my saved settings. This happened a few times years ago and I have turned off the auto power down ever since.

I prefer to carry a lot of battery power (I do sometimes switch off between battery changes, but not always either).

I never turned off my film camera for changing lenses or film.


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## Sabaki (Nov 14, 2014)

Gents, guide me a little here.

I noticed at least 5 of you put your cameras off when changing lenses. Is this critical for all lenses or just those with IS?

If one doesn't switch off the camera when swapping out lenses, can you damage your kit?

Thanks peeps


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## DominoDude (Nov 14, 2014)

Sabaki said:


> Gents, guide me a little here.
> 
> I noticed at least 5 of you put your cameras off when changing lenses. Is this critical for all lenses or just those with IS?
> If one doesn't switch off the camera when swapping out lenses, can you damage your kit?
> ...



I don't think it's critical, but for me it's part of a good routine to switch off all electronic or electric equipment before any exposure of contacts or circuitry. Any well behaved routine is there, at least, for the purpose of lessening the risk of forgetting something important or damaging behaviour.
I also imagine that if I power down in a controlled manner, then I make sure that the camera is able to finish all ongoing operations. When it comes back up I would also believe that the camera has done all necessary POST routines to identify what is attached or inserted and how to treat and present it.
Fully possible to do all this without flicking power on/off, but through this routine you make certain you have control, and you lessen risk for sloppiness (inserting a card turned 90°, for example).


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## Sabaki (Nov 14, 2014)

DominoDude said:


> Sabaki said:
> 
> 
> > Gents, guide me a little here.
> ...


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## RustyTheGeek (Nov 14, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> No, I see no need. I turn it off when storing it (bag or hard case).



Ditto. No. I go for weeks without touching the power switch. Only use it when I want to be sure the camera won't power on, like when it's in a bag, case, etc. IMO, it's just another step that might cause me to miss a shot. Plus, it puts needless wear on another component.

But meh, everyone does what makes them comfortable. I know others that do this too. (And they miss shots sometimes too.)

Maybe you should have made this a poll!


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## RustyTheGeek (Nov 14, 2014)

zim said:


> Nope, leave it on all day (when in use) only switch off to change lens or card
> 
> Regards



Everyone does realize that there is a switch built in to the card and battery doors that automatically switches the camera off when the door is opened, correct? Hence, no need to manually switch it off to change a card.

Not so sure about the lens change. It might be prudent to power off for that but I've never had a problem.


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## RustyTheGeek (Nov 14, 2014)

ejenner said:


> If I might take a shot in the next 5-10 minutes I leave it on including for changing lenses and cards.
> 
> Once I figure I'm definitely out of photo-ops I'll turn it off. I don't like auto sleep because I also use ML, plus doing landscapes I can easily have the camera on for 5-10 minutes or longer while waiting for the light. If I'm in a 'C' mode and have changed exposure for the scene, I don't want to revert back to my saved settings. This happened a few times years ago and I have turned off the auto power down ever since.
> 
> ...



One might just opt to go the Iron Man route and have an Arc Reactor fitted into their chest. That would power a billion cameras for a billion lifetimes! ;D


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## meywd (Nov 14, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> zim said:
> 
> 
> > Nope, leave it on all day (when in use) only switch off to change lens or card
> ...



true, but if you are using ML it is advised to wait 5 secs before removing the card because there might be some operations left that might corrupt the data/card, so i guess turning it off then removing the card is safer as a habit


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## zim (Nov 14, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> zim said:
> 
> 
> > Nope, leave it on all day (when in use) only switch off to change lens or card
> ...



Hi Rusty,

No, I had no idea that was the case, thanks for the tip!!

I do seem to recall the manual saying to switch off though something about getting lens settings mixed up causing possibl connection failures, must have a re-read maybe I just read an urban myth somewhere ;D

Regards


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## AcutancePhotography (Nov 14, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> Everyone does realize that there is a switch built in to the card and battery doors that automatically switches the camera off when the door is opened, correct?



No I didn't know that. Thanks for posting it. I guess one of the disadvantages of manually turning my camera's off is that I never can find out if the camera automatically turns itself off.


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## FEBS (Nov 14, 2014)

dilbert said:


> ... I don't get why there's any need to pose like this.



+1 Dilbert
love to shoot nature. But don't like this at all !!!


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## Marsu42 (Nov 14, 2014)

dilbert said:


> Crapking said:
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> > ...
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Unfortunately, in a photography forum posting trophy shots might be considered on-topic, while advising the hunter to _[censored]_ could be considered political. But rejoice, at least the animal didn't have to see the quality of the shot like we're forced to :-\


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## Joe M (Nov 14, 2014)

RLPhoto said:


> Do you do this? And why/ why not?


If I put it down, I'll likely be picking it up again to continue shooting. By that point, it'll either have not yet gone to sleep so I can resume shooting, or it'll be asleep and I'll just tap the shutter button. Turning the camera off is only for when it goes into the bag, changing a lens or I want the sensor cleaned. I don't even turn it off traveling from one spot to another for a day's event (e.g. church to park to reception). I guess it doesn't seem like a big difference, tapping the shutter button or flipping a switch but it just seems to be a more natural thing to do and less interruption to a day's shoot.


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## Tsuru (Nov 14, 2014)

I almost never turn mine off, even when I should (ie: when changing lenses)
The only time I consistently turn it off is when I pull the battery tray out of the grip.
My wife can't stand this which may partly explain my obstinacy towards turning it off. My wife turns her SLR off and on so much that I worry about the switch wearing out.


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## risc32 (Nov 14, 2014)

I turn it off when i set it on the shelf when i'm done for the day, and when changing lenses. it's just what i do.
As for opening the battery door and letting the camera switch off, it used to be that you would lose your images doing that with canon cameras. I bet you still would if the camera ram isn't flushed. It was something that some reviewers harped on for years. 

were you on top of that deer when you gave him a lower back shot. with a crossbow? damn dude.


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## Crapking (Nov 15, 2014)

dilbert said:


> Crapking said:
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> > ...
> ...



I apologize to those taking offense- the deer died immediately-and will not be hit by a car, & it is already being used as food. The pose was a chance for me to try my new Gary Fong flash modifier. In my excitement, I left the batteries/camera on all night-hence posting to this topic.


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## Click (Nov 15, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> Everyone does realize that there is a switch built in to the card and battery doors that automatically switches the camera off when the door is opened, correct? Hence, no need to manually switch it off to change a card.



No, I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.


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## DominoDude (Nov 15, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> zim said:
> 
> 
> > Nope, leave it on all day (when in use) only switch off to change lens or card
> ...



Thanks for the info!
It's not like I didn't trust you, Rusty, but I had to check battery & card doors. *Confirmed* on my old 50D, no reason to continue checking on the 7D. I had noticed earlier that a camera, with Magic Lantern loaded, did flicker the LED light when the card door and the battery door was opened - even when the body was turned off. So it was quite obvious that there were some kind of sensor or micro switch present. You don't install those just for fun.


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## TAF (Nov 16, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> zim said:
> 
> 
> > Nope, leave it on all day (when in use) only switch off to change lens or card
> ...




The 5D3 manual specifically states on pg 33 to power off the camera before opening the door. I am inclined to stick with the manufacturers instructions.

I couldn't find anything about changing lenses with the power on (or off), but prudence suggests powering off is a good idea before breaking or making electrical connections. As you twist the lens, you can bet that the contacts short across each other.

Personally, I alway switch the camera off if there is a lull in the action, because inevitably if I don't, I end up bumping the shutter and getting the ground etc...


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## RustyTheGeek (Nov 16, 2014)

DominoDude said:


> RustyTheGeek said:
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> 
> > zim said:
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Whew! That's a relief! Thanks for checking that out and confirming it *DominoDude* because I really just made it up off the top of my head!  

LOL! Na, Just Kidding! ;D I always knew. I think. Bwaah Ha Ha Haaa!  (I guess I'm in another one of those moods....)


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## RustyTheGeek (Nov 16, 2014)

TAF said:


> RustyTheGeek said:
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> 
> > zim said:
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Thanks *TAF*. I will admit that I haven't even broken the plastic on the manual. It takes great pictures just using that pretty little green square setting! That's why I didn't waste my money on a 1D-X. It doesn't have the green square setting! ;D (OK, yeah, I'm definitely in a little stinker mood tonight.)

No seriously, I've never had a problem with any Canon camera at any time ever not powering off the switch before card, battery or lens changes. I won't presume to tell others they should ignore the manual but I can say with complete confidence that it has never been a problem for me. And I've never heard of or read where anyone has had a problem either. But if the manual states that the switch should be turned off for a card change, it's not like it takes much longer. And I don't have ML installed but I can see how that could be an issue since ML runs off of the memory card. It also makes sense that if the camera is still writing to the card from the buffer when the door is popped open, it might cause a corrupted file. But then, I'm an IT guy so I'm already hard wired to never mess with something if the disk activity light is still flickering.


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## Bennymiata (Nov 16, 2014)

I normally leave the camera on, unless I know that I won't be using it for a while or I need to change lenses etc.

Mind you, our DSLRs turn on so quickly, it doesn't really matter.


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## RustyTheGeek (Nov 16, 2014)

The 7D Mark II has a *DeFlicker* feature so I'm not sure if it will respond to _*flicking*_ like the other EOS cameras! It might just *'flick'* right back on!!


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## DominoDude (Nov 16, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> DominoDude said:
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> > RustyTheGeek said:
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Haha I saw the following comments also. I've also been hanging around in various data centers and learned that the Blue SmokeTM is what makes all electronics and tiny IC's work - as soon as you see electronic circuitry releasing that blue smoke into the thin air, then you know you'll have a bad day. 
RAID systems in a state of rebuilding, and you remove the wrong disk and not a spare - also a seriously long and bad day.
Checking redundancy in the main cooling system on the same day as they are working on the redundant cooling system - Yupp, bad bad day.

Things can go wrong in far more ways than they can go right. It's live and learn in this industry.


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## Tsuru (Nov 17, 2014)

DominoDude said:


> RAID systems in a state of rebuilding, and you remove the wrong disk and not a spare - also a seriously long and bad day.
> Checking redundancy in the main cooling system on the same day as they are working on the redundant cooling system - Yupp, bad bad day.
> 
> Things can go wrong in far more ways than they can go right. It's live and learn in this industry.


Off-topic but I've got to ask: What type of RAID array did you pull the wrong disk out of?


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## RustyTheGeek (Nov 17, 2014)

Tsuru said:


> DominoDude said:
> 
> 
> > RAID systems in a state of rebuilding, and you remove the wrong disk and not a spare - also a seriously long and bad day.
> ...


Yeah, I wouldn't mind knowing too although almost any RAID will fail if you yank a drive at the wrong time.


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## DominoDude (Nov 17, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> Tsuru said:
> 
> 
> > DominoDude said:
> ...


Putting the response here: It was a RAID 5 system, and everything was lit up like a bloody Xmas tree down at that disk system. The one who responded to the alert, pulled out the spare thinking it should go into the slot where the faulty was seated, and *then* the rebuild would start. Surprise! The rebuild had already started and it had begun to create the lost data from all parity bits on that no-longer-a-spare disk, That work didn't progress well when he had that disk in his hand...

</detoured topic>


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