Have you noticed that the actual volume of a USB flash drive or hard disk drive is much less than what is stated on the package? Do not rush to scold the seller for selling a fake. And marketers for their quickness.
The answer to the question "Why is the hard disk space smaller?" lies on the surface. Computers work in a binary (binary) number system. All data is stored in the format of ones and zeros. And people are accustomed to counting in the decimal system. The difference is not due to the fact that someone is deceiving someone, but because other systems of calculation are used - binary on the computer side and decimal on the manufacturer's side.
Do you know how many bytes are in KILobytes? We bet you say 1000? Nope.
1 kilobyte contains 1024 bytes. This is why the hard drive is smaller than you thought.
An accessible example from real life:
- 1 minute is 60 seconds, not 100.
- 300 seconds is 5 minutes, not 3.
Joke: The user thinks that there are 1000 bytes in a kilobyte, but the Programmer thinks that there are 1024 meters in a kilometer.
Here is a table for the future:
- 1 megabyte = 1024 kilobytes,
- 1 gigabyte = 1024 megabytes,
- 1 terabyte = 1024 gigabytes,
- 1 petabyte = 1024 terabytes.
In a 32-gig drive, in fact, 32,000,000,000 bytes, and in terms of volume = 29.8 GB !!!
How to determine the actual parameters of the media: 2 ways
There are two ways to calculate the size:
Plain. Multiply volume by 0.931
32x0.931 = 29.792 gigabytes
Accurate. Transfer the declared amount into bytes and divide 3 times by 1024
32x1000x1000x1000 / 1024/1024/1024 = 29.802 gigabytes of actual volume.
Important!!! All hard drives and flash drives have additional space for server data and spare clusters. Consider this.
Save this table for yourself! It will help you not to be mistaken about the real parameters of the flash drive!
Share a cheat sheet with your friends. So that there will never be any misunderstandings with sellers about the size again.
Read: "5 Reasons Why Your Hard Drive Heats Up"
Watch the video of what happens when the flash drive is "wrong"
