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    1 GB USB Key showing 700 MB with no files...what gives?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Czaralekzander, Aug 24, 2008.

  1. Czaralekzander

    Czaralekzander Notebook Consultant

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    I have just noticed that my 1 GB USB key shows only 700 MB or so with no files at all. Two questions I have are 1) is there a way to get back that 700 MB and 2) can/should I use it for the readyboost feature in Vista given that I currently have 4 GB of RAM (3.25 GB usable) on 64 bit Vista Ult?
     
    Czaralekzander, Aug 24, 2008
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  2. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    ??? 64bit vista can use ALL 4GB, and I think using readyboost with 4GB ram is pointless
     
    yuio, Aug 24, 2008
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  3. Czaralekzander

    Czaralekzander Notebook Consultant

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    Alright. So I won't bother with readyboost. The thing about my notebook is that it was one of the pre-santa rosa platforms. As such, even though windows reports 4 GB, there are only about 3.25 GB visible in the task manager. Some say the other .75 GB can and is still used by Vista; I am not sure this is happening. I often get over 2 - 2.5 GB in use (as reported by the task manager) and I notice a major slow down and 0 MB free (with the rest cached for something...I cant explain it).
     
    Czaralekzander, Aug 24, 2008
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  4. purplegreendave

    purplegreendave Has a notebook.

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    Amount sold to you by manufacturer:
    1 x 1000 x 1000 x 1000 bytes
    = 1000000000 bytes (1GB)

    Computer reads in binary however, so closest counter to 1000 = 1024:
    1x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
    = 1073741824 bytes (1Gib)

    Amount of space on your memory stick (as seen by your pc):
    =1000000000/1073741824
     
    purplegreendave, Aug 25, 2008
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  5. powerpack

    powerpack Notebook Prophet

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    purplegreendave I think you are wrong on this. USB sticks are more like RAM and SSD than HDD when talking of size. RAM when labeled 1GB is referring to 1024^3 which the computer does see as 1GB. USB sticks are the same.

    Notice HDD is mechanical the others are not. HDD is filled with bits. The operating system creates the logic of how those are arranged and seen as usable units. On the non mechanical it's organization is physical so the arbitrary nature of base ten numbers are problematic why I would guess they use what I consider the "correct" numbers.
     
    powerpack, Aug 25, 2008
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  6. purplegreendave

    purplegreendave Has a notebook.

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    Stand corrected I do *end Yoda*
    Just based it off an old mp3 player my Dad had - which was flash based - I assumed they were all the same...
     
    purplegreendave, Aug 25, 2008
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  7. Budding

    Budding Notebook Virtuoso

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    700MB does sound a little bit low. Can you post a screenshot of the properties window of your pen drive?
     
    Budding, Aug 25, 2008
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