New HP Laptop Question- 297GB = 320GB???

Just got a


HP Pavilion Entertainment dv5t customizable Notebook PC

* Onyx
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T5800 (2.0GHz)
* 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
* FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
* FREE Upgrade to 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* Webcam Only
* HP Color Matching Keyboard
* Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
* No Modem
* SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* No TV Tuner w/remote control
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

despite the fact I waited and week and just got it, and am probably going to send it back due to the screen being all marked up, I had a question about the HD it came with.

It states free upgrade to 320 GB however when I check my HD on the laptop it states.... C: = 286GB TOTAL RECOVERY = 11 GB TOTAL

Uhh I may not be the best at complex math but I am pretty sure
286 + 11 = 297 GB.

Where did the 23 GB go?????
Huh?

Am I missing something here?

Is this normal?

 

It is 286+11 = 297GiB.

Anyway, have a look at this guide.

 

taken from COMPUSA webpage:
Why Do I Have Less Drive Space?
Your hard drive may show less space than the published specifications due to a number of reasons.

1. The way size is calculated and displayed.
2. Any "Partitions" on the disk will change the total in a specific partition.
3. Hidden files and folders decrease available space.
4. Compression increases the apparent size, but not the physical size.
5. Drives larger than the OS or Drivers natively supports.

First, the definition of a megabytes (or gigabytes) is a unit of data storage capacity measured in 1,048,576 bytes (or 1024KB). The larger the numbers, the more apparent the size difference will be when listing the size as megabytes (or gigabytes) versus bytes. Actually, both numbers are correct. The noticeable difference is due to the 1024KB definition of a megabyte. This is why a 95.3GB hard drive can also be listed as having 102 billion bytes of total space. Just think of it as "round off" In the screen shot at right: The first number is the total number of bytes, the second number is based on the number of megabytes or gigabytes.

Second, some computers have a non-DOS hard drive partition that is used for features such as Save to Disk, Hibernation, or Recovery. This partition is not normally reported by the operating system, although it can be viewed using a disk partition utility. This is very common on desktops and laptops. NOTE: Partition information will be created or formatted automatically during initial system setup and a system recovery.

Third, by default, all system files are hidden and cannot be seen. This may adversely affect the reporting of available hard drive space. You can set your Folder Options so you view system and hidden files and folders, but do be careful as changes to system files can adversely affect your system.

Fourth, if you turn on Compression for a drive, it will increase reported free space and used space, but since compression is based upon the actual contents, this number is not fixed, but will change as files are added or changed.

Fifth, older operating systems did not support some of today's larger drives, so the total space reported may be much smaller than the drive specifications.

It is also worth noting that bad sectors are corrected by your operating system and can change the total drive space, free space, or used space as well.

So as long as a drive is reporting a value approximately close to the specification value, you can be comfortable that you received the right drive and that you are getting to correct data storage. Of course, tuning of your drive's partitions and options can yield optimal values, but this is not something for the average user to explore.








edit: oh.. and yes is perfectly normal... abnormal would be getting exactly 320 gb. (the higher the drive, more Mb will be missing)

 

This is very simple. There are a few things that take up space by default:
1. Recovery partitions
2. OS (which can use up to 30 GB when you count the bloatware and space reserved for things like recycle bin and system restore)

And then there is also the issue briefly mentioned about how more space seems to ``disappear'' when you get a bigger hard drive. This is because the hard drive manufacturers use the standard SI units (where bit = 10^0, kilobit = 10^3, megabit = 10^6, gigabit = 10^9, terabit = 10^12, etc.), but the operating system is using the binary system (kibibit = 2^10, mebibit = 2^20, gibibit = 2^30, tebibit = 2^40, etc.), which is also used informally with the -byte suffix. By the time you get up to the terabyte level, 2^40-10^12=9.95E10 bits ≈ 12.5 gigabytes. So in reality, the hard drive manufacturers/OEMs are just scamming you.

 

No, they are not scamming you. The HDD datasheets mention that 1GB = (1000)³ bytes. People cannot read the documentation for some reason.

The correct unit to be used is GiB, MiB, kiB, which is 1GiB = (1024)³
So, it is the OS developer who is fooling you, by still using GB. At least Disk Management should use the unit GiB.

 

GiB's are stupid, drive manufacturers need to change to true GB's, MB's, etc.

 

Here comes another. Sheesh..

Manufacturers just follow the SI-prefix, which is mega, giga and all. And HDD manufacturers are not binary, whereas computers are, which should adopt IEC's standard of mebi, gibi, etc.

But anyway, discussing all this here is like

 

Of course people don't read the documentation, and the manufacturers count on that. In pretty much anything consumer technology related, you can assume the customer to be completely ignorant.

They are aware they are following the technically correct definition rather than the generally accepted definition and are most definitely doing it on purpose.

 

don't worry I have the exact same HDD you have and I have 279.5 of diskspace

this is very common. it is a marketing trick by all manufacturers