Operating System Reports the Capacity as much less than the Annotation
Posted in Repair by Manyu Friday, November 27th, 2009
Many people suspect the capacity of their new external hard disk drive as much less than the annotation, in fact this is the correct phenomenon, here is the scientific explanation.
Disc drive manufacturers consider 1 Gbyte to equal 1,000,000,000 bytes. However, your computer operates at a binary level, which considers 1 Gbyte to equal 230, which equals 1,073,741,824 bytes. So, even though a 160-Gbyte drive stores 160 Gbytes of data, when you think in terms of 1 Gbyte = 1,000,000,000 bytes, your system will report a lower capacity due to the operating system’s method of calculating the value of each gigabyte. This means your operating system may report that your 160-Gbyte drive has a capacity of approximately 149 Gbytes, the binary equivalent of 160,000,000,000 bytes.
Windows-specific problems
First, make sure you have the latest Microsoft operating system service packs and other Windows updates installed on your system before you spend time looking for a drive problem. These service packs are issued to fix bugs, add drivers, and enhance the security features of your system. See http://support.microsoft.com for details about how to install service packs and Windows updates in your system. Contact Microsoft Customer Service for information about obtaining these system enhancements if you don’t have Internet access.
