Why does empty harddrive show 423 mg used space

[MariaL]

My new external harddrive is 160 Gig. Under properties it shows 423
MB used space and 148 gig free for a total of 149 gig. What could the
used space be? There are no files on the drive, I just reformatted it
to NTFS.

 

[Rock]

My new external harddrive is 160 Gig. Under properties it shows 423
MB used space and 148 gig free for a total of 149 gig. What could the
used space be? There are no files on the drive, I just reformatted it
to NTFS.

There is nothing wrong here. Manufacturers report drive size based on 1 MB
= 1000 bytes, but computes use binary so to them 1 MB is 1024 bytes. So
your 160GB drive (per manufacturer's numbers) is actually 149GB in binary as
the computer sees it. It's a marketing ploy by the manufacturer's that
makes the drive look bigger than it actually is.

Then when you format that drive some space is used, hence what you are
seeing.

 

[MariaL]

There is nothing wrong here. Manufacturers report drive size based on 1 MB
= 1000 bytes, but computes use binary so to them 1 MB is 1024 bytes. So
your 160GB drive (per manufacturer's numbers) is actually 149GB in binary as
the computer sees it. It's a marketing ploy by the manufacturer's that
makes the drive look bigger than it actually is.

Then when you format that drive some space is used, hence what you are
seeing.

Thanks...

 

[Rock]

Thanks...

You're welcome

 

[Jim]

My new external harddrive is 160 Gig. Under properties it shows 423
MB used space and 148 gig free for a total of 149 gig. What could the
used space be? There are no files on the drive, I just reformatted it
to NTFS.

The Master File Table uses some space on a newly formatted drive. One of
the purposes of formatting is to create this table on the disk.
Jim

 

[Steve Shattuck]

My new external harddrive is 160 Gig. Under properties it shows 423
MB used space and 148 gig free for a total of 149 gig. What could the
used space be? There are no files on the drive, I just reformatted it
to NTFS.

Don't thank Rock for his incorrect answer. He just one in a long line of
MVP's who are certified IDIOTS. How they get designated as MVP (Most
valuable people) is beyond me. The used space is to accommodate the
directory structure and Master File Table for managing the disk space.
That's the result of formatting.

 

[Rock]

Don't thank Rock for his incorrect answer. He just one in a long line of
MVP's who are certified IDIOTS. How they get designated as MVP (Most
valuable people) is beyond me. The used space is to accommodate the
directory structure and Master File Table for managing the disk space.
That's the result of formatting.

What is incorrect in my answer? You added more detail as to what takes up
the space when it's formatted but otherwise you didn't say anything that
contradicts what I said. So what is your point, besides having a chip on
your shoulder for some reason?