Seagate 7200.10 probl: 320G-->300G after partitioning

genan · 15 Dec 2006 at 23:33

hi,

Q1: just bought a Seagate 7200.10 (320G). when I partition the disk the new size is 300G instead of 320.. where did that 20G go? :confused:

Q2:also what cluster size should i use? i know 4k is the default, but heard that 32k would be better for larger files. would that cause problems with programs other than XP?

.thx.

squiffy · 15 Dec 2006 at 23:52

1) That's normal. 300GB is after partition/format space.
2) Leave it at 4k. FAT used 32K, what that means every file will take up 32K of FAT irrespective if it's 1K. So NTFS gives you more file space!

genan · 16 Dec 2006 at 02:10

thanks buddy i leave it at 4k then.

jbloggs · 16 Dec 2006 at 11:01

genan wrote:

where did that 20G go?

Nowhere...it is simply the difference between the binary (1024MB) and decimal (1000MB) GB used in the measurement of HDDs.

Manufacturers use the decimal GB (in the specs of their HDDs), so they say your Seagate is 320GB (decimal), which is correct, but Windows in its detection of it, uses the binary GB, ie 300GB ish (mine shows 298GBs in Windows XP).

genan · 16 Dec 2006 at 12:37

oookaaay, is that thing even legal? lol

so that 20G didnt go anywhere because there was no 20G in the first place

how come these things arent standardized? not that i care too much, 300G is still plenty

semi-pro waster · 16 Dec 2006 at 12:52

It is perfectly legal, unethical possibly but definitely legal, it is rather like the old measuring of CRT screens as having 16" viewable with a nominal 17" screen. It is just one of those conventions that has always existed, it wasn't so noticeable back in the days of smaller hard drives where a difference of a couple of mb could be put down to the file system but with hard drive sizes into the hundreds of gb it becomes more obvious.