HDD sizes do not match

[Guest]

System is XP pro. HDD 40GB under disk management shows as 37.27. 200GB shows
as 186.31. Formatted NTFS and partitioned.
This significant loss 13.7 GB on 200 seems wrong.
Are the figures correct and if not what have I done wrong?
regards Bunny

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

You've done nothing wrong and the sizes are correct. It's in the way a GB is
defined. A drive manufacturer states a drive is 1GB as 1,000,000,000 bytes,
or 200GB as 200,000,000,000 bytes. This is due to them using the standard
decimal base-10 system that most people are familiar with.

Windows, like any computer, sees 1GB as 1,073,741,824 bytes, so
200/1.0737=186.25GB. This is because it uses a base-2, or binary, system.
The total number of bytes is the same as the manufacturer's method.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Tom Fahey]

Actually, you've done nothing wrong.

Hard drive manufacturers define 1 gigabyte as 1,000,000,000 bytes. It works
out better for them in many ways, such as marketing drives with nice round
numbers. Windows, on the other hand considers things in a more binary
fashion (1KB= 1024 bytes, 1MB= 1024KB, etc), resulting in a gigabyte being
1,073,741,824 bytes. So, your sizes are correct in both cases. It's just one
of those little quirks (or annoyances, depending on one's outlook) we all
learn, then completely overlook as time passes.

 

[Kelly]

Oh Rick......don't do this to me. I am not most people and should not have
read this! <w>

--
In memory of our dear friend, MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com

 

[Rock]

Oh Rick......don't do this to me. I am not most people and should not have
read this! <w>

I have nine toes so I use a nine bit system.

 

[Kelly]

So that is the trick! Thanks for sharing.

--
In memory of our dear friend, MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com

 

[Lil' Dave]

40GB X 5 = 200GB
40GB - 37.27GB = 2.73GB
2.73GB X 5 = 13.65GB
200GB - 13.65GB = 186.35GB

Comparing the two, I don't see a problem. What makes you make the
conclusion you've made? IE - "This significant loss 13.7 GB on 200 seems
wrong".

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

<lol> So, you wouldn't be interested on a lecture on the merits of one vs
the other? Or on how the manufacturer's size claims are just like a guy,
they do whatever they can to inflate it.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org