500 gig drive only 465 gig. Is this normal?

Yep, I have 465 GB.

I don't think your metaphor works though. You have 500 GB; its just that 35 GB is unavailable to you to use.

Drive manufacturers quote drive capacities using a GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. However, computers count in powers of two so a "real" GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. If you divide 500,000,000,000 by 1,073,741,824 you will get 465.66 GBs. So you haven't "lost" any space, it's just a matter of how you do the arithmetic.

Hi Hugh,

Hugh Anderson1 wrote:
Yes, I just noticed that the ratio of "lost" space is the same from my examples. Why don't they just tell you that though?

Thanks for the input.

Hugh

Just to clarify further the responses you have already received. In brief, when you see HD capacity advertised as 60GB, 80GB, 100GB etc, that's the marketing way where they take "decimal" road and base 1GB as being equal to 1,000,000,000 bytes. This is true for all HD manufacturers and computer manufacturers.

Once upon a time, computer professionals noticed that 1,024 bytes (binary) was very nearly equal to 1,000 (decimal) and started using the prefix "kilo" to mean 1,024. That worked well enough for a decade or two because everybody who talked kilobytes knew that the term implied 1,024 bytes. But, almost overnight a much more numerous "everybody" bought computers, and the trade computer professionals needed to talk to physicists and engineers and even to ordinary people, most of whom know that a kilometer is 1,000 meters and a kilogram is 1,000 grams.

Often when two or more people begin discussing storage capacity, some will refer to binary values and others will refer to decimal values without making distinction between the two. This has caused much confusion in the past (and still does). In an effort to dispatch this confusion, all major disc drive manufacturers use decimal values when discussing storage capacity.

Some simple arithmetic will convert the advertised (decimal) capacity to the actual (binary) capacity:

1KB = 1,024 bytes
1MB = 1,024 x 1,024 bytes = 1,048,576 bytes
1GB = 1,024 x 1,024 x 1,024 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes

Therefore, in your specific case:

500GB (decimal) = 500 ÷ 1.073741824 = 465.66128730774 GB (binary or actual capacity)

Rounded off to two decimal points = 465.66 GB

I hope this clarifies it for you and explains the reasons for the discrepancy.

Kryten

If you read the manufacturer's data sheets you will find that they do tell you that. It's in the fine print that you don't bother to read.

Phew that's clarified that one:)

Hugh Anderson1 wrote:
Why don't they just tell you that though?

Thanks for the input.

Hugh

There's a class action lawsuit against hard drive manufacturers floating around out there over this very issue. The same thing happened over how the size of computer monitors are advertised.

Hello Hugh

Go to *Application / Utilities* and open *Disk Utility,* then select the 465 GB drive icon from the list.

Your 500 should show a *Total Capacity:* of 465 GB (500,000,000,000 and some odd Bytes)

My 160 drive shows a *Total Capacity:* of 149.1 GB (160,041,885,696 Bytes)

Dennis

Hugh Anderson1 wrote:

In other words, sell it to us in a language we understand, not in technical terms
we often don't understand or know.

Any opinions?

Uh, most folks "understand" that a billion = 1,000,000,000 -- at least those
who were paying attention in 5th grade. It's not the disk drive manufacturers
who are guilty of purveying cryptic techno-babble, it's the software weenies
who write operating systems. Maybe you should write your congress-critter
and/or file a formal complaint with the chaplain.

...my main gripe is that a US pint is only 16 ounces,

Looby

*"The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."*
\- Andy Tanenbaum

.

Oh The Looby -

I think I just fell in the love!! N.

I understand how some of you try to explain what's going on with the maths. The point is simple and the original poster's indignation was most correct. Fact is 465GB = 500,000...bytes.
Simply put the manufacturers sell 465GB drives, but they choose to say (for purposes of making it simpler? NOPE, to rip people off, pure and simple) it has 500GB, the main thing to notice being the 'GB'. If it has GB there then it means Gigabytes and can't mean anything else. People are now very much used to the unit Gigabyte so they would have no problem understanding 465GB but that would just wouldn't look so nice on a sticker.
Yes, customers are being ripped off, pure and simple.

Hi moriwenne,

I think I'm getting the math part right in following this thread. What I'm not following is how you are reasoning that the manufacturers are ripping people off. As you seem to have stated, they are actually selling 465 GB drives, which really do have 500 GB capacity (as can also be seen using Disk Utility) but by calling them 500 GB drives they are ripping people off. Sorry but I'm not following you here. What am I missing?

Rick

It's called bloatware. It's Apple not writing the OS tight... (Microsoft is bad for that too) and I feel ya Bro! I was ****** to be charged to the nine for 500 GB only to end up with 450 GB. And don't get me started on the HORRID tech support (only the best India can provide)...lol!