Inaccurate File and Byte Count in File Explorer: a bug?

[Shawnews]

I wonder if I've discovered a bug in File Explorer in Windows XP Home
Edition SP2. When I click on the folder name on the left in the file tree I
see a TOTAL different number of files and bytes (sic) than is reflected in
reality. Indeed, the status bar as the bottom of the file window indicates a
different number and byte count. Is this a known issue? Or is something else
going on for me?

 

[db]

try running a chkdsk and
see if the results change...

I wonder if I've discovered a bug in File Explorer in Windows XP Home
Edition SP2. When I click on the folder name on the left in the file tree I
see a TOTAL different number of files and bytes (sic) than is reflected in
reality. Indeed, the status bar as the bottom of the file window indicates a
different number and byte count. Is this a known issue? Or is something else
going on for me?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I wonder if I've discovered a bug in File Explorer in Windows XP Home
Edition SP2. When I click on the folder name on the left in the file tree I
see a TOTAL different number of files and bytes (sic) than is reflected in
reality. Indeed, the status bar as the bottom of the file window indicates a
different number and byte count. Is this a known issue? Or is something else
going on for me?

The number of files shown depends on the presence of hidden
files and if you configured Explorer to show or to hide them.

Explorer calculates the amount of space used by taking the
number of bytes per file, then dividing that number by 1024
(to show kBytes) or by 1024x1024 (to show MBytes), then
adding up all the numbers. This is based on a long standing
discrepancy in computing: Whether 1 MByte is 1,000,000
bytes or 1,048,576. It causes some people to complain that
their new hard disk does not have the stated capacity.

 

[Augustus]

:try running a chkdsk and

see if the results change...

Why do insist in repeated posting in HTML format?

 

[Shawnews]

Nope. Thanks for the suggestion. But I have hidden files enabled. So that
isn't an issue. I wonder if it could be a shell extension that's distorting
the stats....

 

[db]

i like to see big letters and
see posting from others with
bolded or italics or gifs....

it's a good feature that i like
and available to everyone using
outlook....

- db

:try running a chkdsk and
see if the results change...

Why do insist in repeated posting in HTML format?

 

[GO]

I think what you are referring to is the actual file size differing from the
storage space used on your computer. When formatted, your hard drive is
divided into clusters and the size of the cluster is dependent on the file
system used (the default cluster size for NTFS is 512 bytes). Think of a
cluster as a container, and each container can hold one file or a piece of a
larger file. If you create a 10 byte text file, it will actually be taking
up 512 bytes of space (using the default size in NTFS). If you have a 600
byte file, it will actually be taking up 1k (1024 bytes) of hard drive
space, or two clusters. It seems wasteful, and it is if you have a large
number of small files, but with large files it is mostly irrelevant. If
you right-click on your folder in question and select properties you will
see "size" and "size on disk". The former showing the actual size of your
file(s) and the latter showing how much disk space is actually being used.

 

[Shawnews]

Thank you for this! Most helpful. Now I know the difference between those
two numbers I'm seeing....despite the momentary diversion with large
characters in another reply.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thank you for this! Most helpful. Now I know the difference between
those two numbers I'm seeing....despite the momentary diversion with
large characters in another reply.

But be aware that the message below is not accurate. The default NTFS
cluster size is 4K-bytes, not 512 bytes.

 

[GO]

Your welcome.

Thank you for this! Most helpful. Now I know the difference between
those two numbers I'm seeing....despite the momentary diversion with
large characters in another reply.

 

[GO]

My bad! You're right, not sure what I was thinking.