Gaming 16 gig USB pen only has 15 gig data space

[fartos32]

Today I bought a 16 gig USB pen, but for some reason my computer says it's only 15 gig. Why is that? Is there any way to get the other gig back or should I take it back to the store under warranty?

It's a HP USB and is formatted as FAT32.

Thanks in advance.

 

[prowler]

It's normal, I got a 8 gig flash pen and it only has 7-somethingGB
I forgot why it does this but I'm someone else will tell you.

Also, check for partitions, mine had one.
It was quite rude.

 

[Clookster]

lol.

Please write your age in the thread title. Thanks! lol.

 

[ddetkowski]

Any device with internal HD memory and this includes computers will always have slightly less space available than the capacity advertised. Some space is used for the OS and native applications. If you look at a computer and you thought you got a 320GB HD, you will see that some of the gigs have been already taken up and you can never free that space up.

 

[FireGrey]

That's is because the companies that make them are [Beep!]
They use some of that data as part of the USB system.
Kinda like how Flashcart Firmware takes up some space.

 

[qlum]

the problem is that Microsoft doesn't use the official Si standard for data size.
By there standards a gigabyte is 1073741824 byte while a gigabyte is actually 1000000000 byte. so this means 16GB is 14,90116119384766GB in microsoft's system.
Microsoft just uses the old system for data size.

 

[legendofphil]

I've never seen so many people wrong before.

Its because it is actually 16GB but in Windows (and other OS) use the other type of GB (the GiB or gibibyte) to measure data.

For example 1KB = 1000B but 1KiB = 1024B.
At 1GB its already 73,741,824 bytes different, so at 16GB the difference is 1,179,869,184 bytes.

Remember storage is measured in proper GB or 1,000,000,000 bytes and the OS measures it in GiB or 1,073,741,824 bytes.

It's confusing but remember your OS is using the wrong standard of measurement. Saying that you do loose "some" space with formatting but nothing much.

 

[Blake1710]

qlum is the only one close.

the reason is because companies think that 1 gb = 1,000,000,000 bytes, but it doesn't. it is 1,073,741,824 bytes. so for every gig, the amount that your losing adds up. around 100mb/gb.

EDIT: sniped, but i though the correct measurements were the other way around...

 

[Frozen_Fish]

That's because the manufacturer treats a gigabyte as 1000000000 bytes when in actuality it is 1073741824 bytes, resulting in a rounding error and the true space of your drive being less than stated on the box. You'd probably be laughed out of the shop if you tried to claim the warranty

EDIT: Ninja'd, took too long to type my post

 

[fartos32]

Thanks guys that answers that one

lol.

Please write your age in the thread title. Thanks! lol.

Get fucked.

 

[antwill]

Thanks guys that answers that one

lol.

Please write your age in the thread title. Thanks! lol.

Get fucked.

12?

 

[qwertymodo]

They do this so they can put a bigger number on the packaging without *technically* lying. As was said above, the drive is ACTUALLY 16,000,000,000 bytes. If you use the drive manufacturer's math (1,000 bytes = 1 kb) you get 16,000,000,000 / 1,000 / 1,000 / 1,000 = 16GB. Using the actually correct math (1024 bytes = 1 kb) you get 16,000,000,000 / 1,024 / 1,024 / 1,024 = 14.9GB. It's all about advertising.

 

[FireGrey]

I wish they would change their manufacturing ways.
For some reason i feel weird about stuff not being exact...

 

[TheTwoR's]

My 32 GB iPhone shows as 28 GB.
Chill it's happens all the time.
Also it happens alot that like when u get a 2GB stick or something it shows up as 1.78 or like 1.56 gb.
Whatever.

 

[fartos32]

Thanks guys that answers that one

lol.

Please write your age in the thread title. Thanks! lol.

Get fucked.

12?

fuck off

 

[Am0s]

I read on the net somewhere cant remember where now, 160gb hdd for example is classed as a perfect drive before bad sectors are accounted for so although manufacturers will sell you a 160gb hdd bad sectors might be at the end of the drive so they block off the bad sectors and your end up with the lower capacity, if the drive was perfect then it would of been 160gb etc ect