Formatting Large Drives in XP

[Tom]

I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
question.

I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to format it
to 111.79 gigabytes.

Why?

I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My Computer), and
I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went wrong,
because I can't partition that drive again.

Any input?

Thanks!

[Chris Lanier]

This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this with all
drives and their is no way around it.

"Tom" > wrote in message
...
> I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
> question.
>
> I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to format
it
> to 111.79 gigabytes.
>
> Why?
>
> I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My Computer),
and
> I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went wrong,
> because I can't partition that drive again.
>
> Any input?
>
> Thanks!
>
>

[Tom]

I've lost a few gig's formatting a 10 gig and then a 40 gig Seagate, but
never this much.

Wow! I'm surprised at that.


"Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
...
> This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this with
all
> drives and their is no way around it.
>
> "Tom" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
> > question.
> >
> > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to format
> it
> > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> >
> > Why?
> >
> > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My Computer),
> and
> > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went wrong,
> > because I can't partition that drive again.
> >
> > Any input?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> >
>
>

[Chris Lanier]

I hate to tell you but u can't change it. i have the same thing. i have a
120GB western digital drive, formatted its 111.78.

"Tom" > wrote in message
...
> I've lost a few gig's formatting a 10 gig and then a 40 gig Seagate, but
> never this much.
>
> Wow! I'm surprised at that.
>
>
> "Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
> ...
> > This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this with
> all
> > drives and their is no way around it.
> >
> > "Tom" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
> > > question.
> > >
> > > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to
format
> > it
> > > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> > >
> > > Why?
> > >
> > > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My
Computer),
> > and
> > > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went wrong,
> > > because I can't partition that drive again.
> > >
> > > Any input?
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[John E. Carty]

No, it's not lost to formatting overhead but rather because the drive
manufactures represent Kilobytes as 1,000 bytes instead of 1,024 bytes, and
so on :-)


"Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
...
> This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this with
all
> drives and their is no way around it.
>
> "Tom" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
> > question.
> >
> > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to format
> it
> > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> >
> > Why?
> >
> > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My Computer),
> and
> > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went wrong,
> > because I can't partition that drive again.
> >
> > Any input?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> >
>
>

[John E. Carty]

Subtract approximately 7.5% of the drive size and you will have the 'real'
capacity :-)


"John E. Carty" > wrote in message
...
> No, it's not lost to formatting overhead but rather because the drive
> manufactures represent Kilobytes as 1,000 bytes instead of 1,024 bytes,
and
> so on :-)
>
>
> "Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
> ...
> > This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this with
> all
> > drives and their is no way around it.
> >
> > "Tom" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
> > > question.
> > >
> > > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to
format
> > it
> > > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> > >
> > > Why?
> > >
> > > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My
Computer),
> > and
> > > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went wrong,
> > > because I can't partition that drive again.
> > >
> > > Any input?
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[William B. Lurie]

Gee, fellers, I hate to be a stickler for simple arithmetic, but
the difference between 1000 and 1024 is 2.4% ......and
2.4% less than 120GB would be 117.12GB.......that's a long
long way from 111.79 GB as reported......

But except for strictly academic reasons, I can't see why, on
a practical basis, it makes any difference.
W B Lurie
--------------------------------------------------

"John E. Carty" wrote:

> No, it's not lost to formatting overhead but rather because the drive
> manufactures represent Kilobytes as 1,000 bytes instead of 1,024 bytes, and
> so on :-)
>
> "Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
> ...
> > This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this with
> all
> > drives and their is no way around it.
> >
> > "Tom" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
> > > question.
> > >
> > > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to format
> > it
> > > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> > >
> > > Why?
> > >
> > > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My Computer),
> > and
> > > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went wrong,
> > > because I can't partition that drive again.
> > >
> > > Any input?
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > >
> >
> >

--

William B. Lurie

[Larry Samuels MS-MVP XP \(Shell/User\)]

source: http://www.cms.com.vn/english/faq/view/138/

Capacity Calculation Formula


Decimal capacity / 1,048,576 = Binary MB capacity

Example: A 40 GB hard drive is approximately 40,000,000,000 bytes (40 x 1,000,000,000).
40,000,000,000 / 1,048,576 = 38,162 megabytes

In the table below are examples of approximate numbers that the drive may report.



Decimal Binary MB Windows Output
20 GB 19,073 MB 18.6 GB
40 GB 38,610 MB 37.3 GB
60 GB 57,220 MB 55.8 GB
80 GB 76,293 MB 74.5 GB
120 GB 114,440 MB 111.7 GB
160 GB 152,587 MB 149 GB



--
Larry Samuels MS-MVP (Windows-Shell/User)
Associate Expert
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://home.earthlink.net/~larrysamuels/WS2003FAQ.htm
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
"William B. Lurie" > wrote in message ...
> Gee, fellers, I hate to be a stickler for simple arithmetic, but
> the difference between 1000 and 1024 is 2.4% ......and
> 2.4% less than 120GB would be 117.12GB.......that's a long
> long way from 111.79 GB as reported......
>
> But except for strictly academic reasons, I can't see why, on
> a practical basis, it makes any difference.
> W B Lurie
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> "John E. Carty" wrote:
>
> > No, it's not lost to formatting overhead but rather because the drive
> > manufactures represent Kilobytes as 1,000 bytes instead of 1,024 bytes, and
> > so on :-)
> >
> > "Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this with
> > all
> > > drives and their is no way around it.
> > >
> > > "Tom" > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > > > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
> > > > question.
> > > >
> > > > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to format
> > > it
> > > > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> > > >
> > > > Why?
> > > >
> > > > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My Computer),
> > > and
> > > > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went wrong,
> > > > because I can't partition that drive again.
> > > >
> > > > Any input?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks!
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
>
> --
>
> William B. Lurie
>
>

[Tom]

Thanks, all.

Case closed.

I even used Seagate's disk utility, and came up with the same thing.

This isn't new to me, actually, but I was amazed at the loss in capacity
when I formatted this drive.

But I couldn't beat the price - a Labor Day Weekend special of $99.00 for a
Seagate 120 gig, 7200 rpm Barracuda.

Thanks again.


"William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
...
> Gee, fellers, I hate to be a stickler for simple arithmetic, but
> the difference between 1000 and 1024 is 2.4% ......and
> 2.4% less than 120GB would be 117.12GB.......that's a long
> long way from 111.79 GB as reported......
>
> But except for strictly academic reasons, I can't see why, on
> a practical basis, it makes any difference.
> W B Lurie
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> "John E. Carty" wrote:
>
> > No, it's not lost to formatting overhead but rather because the drive
> > manufactures represent Kilobytes as 1,000 bytes instead of 1,024 bytes,
and
> > so on :-)
> >
> > "Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this
with
> > all
> > > drives and their is no way around it.
> > >
> > > "Tom" > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > > > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this dumb
> > > > question.
> > > >
> > > > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to
format
> > > it
> > > > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> > > >
> > > > Why?
> > > >
> > > > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My
Computer),
> > > and
> > > > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went
wrong,
> > > > because I can't partition that drive again.
> > > >
> > > > Any input?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks!
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
>
> --
>
> William B. Lurie
>
>

[Larry Samuels MS-MVP XP \(Shell/User\)]

DiamondMax 120GB, 7200RPM, Internal E-IDE Hard Drive

CompUSA Price: $59.99
after rebate(s)*


starts Sunday 8/31



shows as sold out online--click on Find In-Store and enter your zip code to
find out if the local store has any in-stock.

--
Larry Samuels MS-MVP (Windows-Shell/User)
Associate Expert
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://home.earthlink.net/~larrysamuels/WS2003FAQ.htm
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
"Tom" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks, all.
>
> Case closed.
>
> I even used Seagate's disk utility, and came up with the same thing.
>
> This isn't new to me, actually, but I was amazed at the loss in capacity
> when I formatted this drive.
>
> But I couldn't beat the price - a Labor Day Weekend special of $99.00 for
a
> Seagate 120 gig, 7200 rpm Barracuda.
>
> Thanks again.
>
>
> "William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Gee, fellers, I hate to be a stickler for simple arithmetic, but
> > the difference between 1000 and 1024 is 2.4% ......and
> > 2.4% less than 120GB would be 117.12GB.......that's a long
> > long way from 111.79 GB as reported......
> >
> > But except for strictly academic reasons, I can't see why, on
> > a practical basis, it makes any difference.
> > W B Lurie
> > --------------------------------------------------
> >
> > "John E. Carty" wrote:
> >
> > > No, it's not lost to formatting overhead but rather because the drive
> > > manufactures represent Kilobytes as 1,000 bytes instead of 1,024
bytes,
> and
> > > so on :-)
> > >
> > > "Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > > > This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this
> with
> > > all
> > > > drives and their is no way around it.
> > > >
> > > > "Tom" > wrote in message
> > > > ...
> > > > > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this
dumb
> > > > > question.
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to
> format
> > > > it
> > > > > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> > > > >
> > > > > Why?
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My
> Computer),
> > > > and
> > > > > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went
> wrong,
> > > > > because I can't partition that drive again.
> > > > >
> > > > > Any input?
> > > > >
> > > > > Thanks!
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> >
> > --
> >
> > William B. Lurie
> >
> >
>
>

[Larry Maietta]

Shoot:
I just paid $100 for a Maxtor 160G at Office depot. Guess I should have
waited :o)

--
Sincerely
Larry Maietta

"Larry Samuels MS-MVP XP (Shell/User)" > wrote in message
...
> DiamondMax 120GB, 7200RPM, Internal E-IDE Hard Drive
>
> CompUSA Price: $59.99
> after rebate(s)*
>
>
> starts Sunday 8/31
>
>

>
> shows as sold out online--click on Find In-Store and enter your zip code
to
> find out if the local store has any in-stock.
>
> --
> Larry Samuels MS-MVP (Windows-Shell/User)
> Associate Expert
> Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
> http://home.earthlink.net/~larrysamuels/WS2003FAQ.htm
> Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
> "Tom" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Thanks, all.
> >
> > Case closed.
> >
> > I even used Seagate's disk utility, and came up with the same thing.
> >
> > This isn't new to me, actually, but I was amazed at the loss in capacity
> > when I formatted this drive.
> >
> > But I couldn't beat the price - a Labor Day Weekend special of $99.00
for
> a
> > Seagate 120 gig, 7200 rpm Barracuda.
> >
> > Thanks again.
> >
> >
> > "William B. Lurie" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Gee, fellers, I hate to be a stickler for simple arithmetic, but
> > > the difference between 1000 and 1024 is 2.4% ......and
> > > 2.4% less than 120GB would be 117.12GB.......that's a long
> > > long way from 111.79 GB as reported......
> > >
> > > But except for strictly academic reasons, I can't see why, on
> > > a practical basis, it makes any difference.
> > > W B Lurie
> > > --------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > "John E. Carty" wrote:
> > >
> > > > No, it's not lost to formatting overhead but rather because the
drive
> > > > manufactures represent Kilobytes as 1,000 bytes instead of 1,024
> bytes,
> > and
> > > > so on :-)
> > > >
> > > > "Chris Lanier" > wrote in message
> > > > ...
> > > > > This space is taken up in the formatting process. it is like this
> > with
> > > > all
> > > > > drives and their is no way around it.
> > > > >
> > > > > "Tom" > wrote in message
> > > > > ...
> > > > > > I'm still searching for my answer, but I thought I'd post this
> dumb
> > > > > > question.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants
to
> > format
> > > > > it
> > > > > > to 111.79 gigabytes.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Why?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I'm using the Computer Management service (right click on My
> > Computer),
> > > > > and
> > > > > > I've already initialized the drive. Maybe that's where I went
> > wrong,
> > > > > > because I can't partition that drive again.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Any input?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thanks!
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > --
> > >
> > > William B. Lurie
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[Alex Nichol]

Tom wrote:

>
>I'm installing a Seagate 120 gig hard drive, and it only wants to format=
it
>to 111.79 gigabytes.

Makers use 1GB (correctly) as 1 decimal billion

Software and systems, based in binary, use for convenience
1K =3D 1024
1 M =3D 1024 K
1G =3D 1024 M =3D 1.0737 odd billion.

120 / 1.073 =3D 111.7

--=20
Alex Nichol MS MVP (Windows Technologies)
Bournemouth, U.K.