Transferring hard drive question

Hey everyone. I'm transferring my entire hard drive to an external (just the files, I don't want a bootable drive), and I noticed there are only about 177 gigs being transferred, while my hard drive has about 182. Thus, there are 5 gb unaccounted for. Any idea why this is happening? I just don't want to leave any important stuff on here before I clear the drive. Thanks.

To transfer the files, I was simply using command + a on all the files in Macintosh HD and then dragging and dropping the files into a folder on the external drive.

Auzburner said:

The OSX install on your drive occupies the difference in space.

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Forgive my ignorance, but is this different than the systems files? I believe those were transferred along with the rest (but I'll probably delete them, as I have no use for them).

Auzburner said:

So the 182 GB you mention accounts for formatting on the drive? I may have read your post too quickly.

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I'm not entirely sure. I just subtracted the available space from the total space (from the quick look preview) to get the 182 GB. The 177 comes from the size of the folder on the external. Included in the copied files is the system folder.

Auzburner said:

Well either way, selecting the contents of the root of Macintosh HD should have you covered. Try checking Disk Utility and see what is says for the formatting on the drive. Compare this to the advertised hard drive capacity.

Ex - Retina MBP 512GB only displays as 499GB SSD and after formatting is even less.

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Another good thing to try is using Carbon Copy Cloner to make the transfer.

Fast and easy - Also, free.

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Will CCC erase anything currently on my drive?