Not Getting Full Capacity On My Hard Disk

[shokhorror]

Hi,

I just bought a Western Digital 320GB Scorpio 2.5" SATA 5400 rpm S150 8MB Hard Drive.

when i boot up, im only able to format 297,077MB which comes out to 297GB .. which is no where near the 350GB I paid for.

Anybody have any suggestions on how I can get the full capacity out of my hard drive?

My Mac:
Processor 2 Ghz Intel Core Duo
Memory 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Mac OS X Version 10.5.6

Thanks....

 

[GGJstudios]

http://www.techimo.com/forum/storag...sizes-why-you-dont-get-all-space-you-pay.html

The discrepancy is the result of having two methods of measuring memory. Computers are binary, or "base two," mathematical systems, and in a binary world a kilobyte is 1024 bytes (2 to the 10th power). When computers were new, the geekerati referred to this as a "kilo." Noncomputer folks, however, understood kilo to mean thousand, and thought that 1000 bytes should equal a kilobyte. So, two different measurements of hard drive space were born. In 1998, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) weighed in, defining 1 "gigabyte" as 1 billion bytes. Hard disk manufacturers agree, marketing their products using the rounder decimal value instead of the binary system. So, your drive is labeled as decimal ("giga") and your PC reads binary (IEC's term, "gibi"). Either way, you're getting the same bunch of bytes.

 

[plinden]

297*1024*1024*1024 = 320*1000*1000*1000

You got what you paid for. You're not losing any space.

... just bought a Western Digital 320GB ... Hard Drive... which is no where near the 350GB I paid for.

By the way, which is the typo ... 320GB or 350GB?

 

[nick9191]

Hard drive manufacturers measure a megabyte as 1000K, when it is 1024K. The OS will report 1024K as a megabyte. It's a complete con, although rest assured it's nothing to do with your Mac, it happens with all computers running any OS. Oh and a couple of GB is lost on the formatting as well.

 

[akm3]

All of the above are true.

The only place where Apple is actually being shady is with their SSD's.

For example, the '64GB SSD' is actually a 60GB SSD...When you format it comes out to 55 something, it should be 57-58.

I assume the drive holds some storage in reserve for 'sectors' that go bad, but....I think it's shady.

 

[shokhorror]

sorry still need help

I'm sorry, but I don't fully understand. my Hard Drive is 320GB and after installing I only have 275.65. I know from previous Hard Drive installations on my pc that you don't ever get the full amount.

But what is puzzling me is that when I go to Partition my Hard Drive before installation the installer sees that the drive is about 328GB but it will only let me make a 299GB partition.

Thanks for you quick reply's

 

[dr. shdw]

I'm sorry, but I don't fully understand. my Hard Drive is 320GB and after installing I only have 275.65. I know from previous Hard Drive installations on my pc that you don't ever get the full amount.

But what is puzzling me is that when I go to Partition my Hard Drive before installation the installer sees that the drive is about 328GB but it will only let me make a 299GB partition.

Thanks for you quick reply's

That is correct. None of the space is "missing".

 

[yellow]

I'm sorry, but I don't fully understand.

http://guides.macrumors.com/Hard_Drive_Size_Discrepancy

your hard drive is sold as 320,000,000,000 bytes.
1024 bytes = 1 kilobyte, 1024 kilobytes = 1 megabyte, etc..

You're assuming that 1000 bytes = 1 kilobyte, which is incorrect, hence the discrepancy in your math and expectations.

 

[shokhorror]

Thanks

Thanks Guys I get it know should of done my homework, but on the bright side I still have 279GB to go..

Thanks again for your quick reply....

 

[plinden]

I'm sorry, but I don't fully understand. my Hard Drive is 320GB and after installing I only have 275.65. I know from previous Hard Drive installations on my pc that you don't ever get the full amount.

But what is puzzling me is that when I go to Partition my Hard Drive before installation the installer sees that the drive is about 328GB but it will only let me make a 299GB partition.

Thanks for you quick reply's

Now you have given multiple figures that don't add up. Where did 275.65GB come from? Is this after you installed the OS and applications? For a 320GB drive, that sounds about right.

But where does 328GB come from? Can you post a screen shot of what you're seeing?

If your drive is rated by the manufacturer as 320GB, you'll have 297GB as measured by the computer.

If your drive is 350GB (but who makes 350GB drives?), you'll see 326GB as measured by the computer.

 

[synth3tik]

I'm sorry, but I don't fully understand. my Hard Drive is 320GB and after installing I only have 275.65. I know from previous Hard Drive installations on my pc that you don't ever get the full amount.

But what is puzzling me is that when I go to Partition my Hard Drive before installation the installer sees that the drive is about 328GB but it will only let me make a 299GB partition.

Thanks for you quick reply's

Is it 297 or 275?

The larger the drive the larger the offset (320 vs. 297) is going to be.