I noticed that when transferring the file to a CD, it still has the same "Size" (which makes sense), but also the same "Size on disk," as it did when it was on my computer's hard drive. From my previous knowledge, I understand that there may still be old data written to that "wasted space," even though its not used by the new file. If I have a file that's "Size" is 3,764,140 bytes, but the "Size on disk" is 3,764,224 bytes, I understand that there are 84 bytes of wasted space in the last cluster of the file. I read your post (which is helpeful), but I have a slightly more specific question that I thought you might be able to help me with. So the actual size of a file(s) or folder(s) should always be taken from the Size value when viewing the properties window. That means,usually, the size on disk is always greater than the actual size. So the size on disk is the space of all those sectors in which the file is saved. The reason is, because even though the entire file can fit inside one allocation unit, it still takes up 4096 of space (one allocation unit) on disk (only one file can use an allocation unit and cannot be shared with other files). The file size on disk would be 4096 bytes. It takes 5 allocation units to hold a 17KB file.Īnother example would be if I have a file that is 2000 bytes in size. The calculation would be 4096 (1 allocation unit) x 5 = 20480 bytes. If I have a file that is 17KB (kilo bytes), then the Size on disk would be 20.48 KB (or 20480 bytes). This means that Windows will allocate 4096 bytes for any file or portion of a file that is from 1 to 4096 bytes in length. For example, on my C:\ drive, the allocation unit is 4096 bytes. The size of a cluster can vary, but typical ranges are from 512 bytes to 32K or more. In Windows that means the OS allocates space for files in "clusters" or "allocation units". We know that a disk is made up of Tracks and Sectors. Size on disk means the size that is being taken up on the disk (your hard drive). So if you were to transfer the file or folder to another drive, CD, DVD or USB drive, this would be the actual size in bytes that is being copied. Size is the actual size of the file or the folder.
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