60Gb 7200 hard drive in Dell laptops

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I just got my laptop with the Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00 60Gb 7200 rpm hard
drive installed. How come it only shows the drive having 52.3Gb of
space? Is there some feature using hard drive space invisible to the
OS (if so, can it be turned off)? Or is the 60Gb 'title' very misleading?
--
=__ __ __ _ __ _= Andrew Krieg - Software Engineering Consultant =
=_ __ _ __ _ _ __= =
=_ _ _ ___= E-mail: krieg@execpc.SPAM.BLOCK.com.ME.TO =
=_ __ _ __ _ __ _= WWW: http://my.execpc.com/~krieg =

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

krieg@shell.core.com (Andrew Krieg) wrote:
>I just got my laptop with the Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00 60Gb 7200 rpm hard
>drive installed. How come it only shows the drive having 52.3Gb of
>space? Is there some feature using hard drive space invisible to the
>OS (if so, can it be turned off)? Or is the 60Gb 'title' very misleading?

Computers think of gigabytes as being 2^30th bytes, while the
marketting folks at the disk drive companies think of them as 10^9
bytes. Yeah, there's a 7% difference. Also, you lose a bit to
formatting, directory space, etc, and maybe a 32M diags partition.

Not a big deal, as your file sizes aren't what you think they are,
there are a bunch of hidden files, and if you get within 10% of full
you are going to want to ugrade anyway.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In other words, Microsoft still can't do base 10 mathematical hard disk
computations after all these years. Bill Gates still must want to save us the
extra CPU cycles needed to multiply and divide by 10, rather than using shift
instructions to multiply and divide by 2. Nice of him to cut down on the
Windows bloatware a bit... Ben Myers

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 12:00:00 -0500, William P.N. Smith wrote:

>krieg@shell.core.com (Andrew Krieg) wrote:
>>I just got my laptop with the Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00 60Gb 7200 rpm hard
>>drive installed. How come it only shows the drive having 52.3Gb of
>>space? Is there some feature using hard drive space invisible to the
>>OS (if so, can it be turned off)? Or is the 60Gb 'title' very misleading?
>
>Computers think of gigabytes as being 2^30th bytes, while the
>marketting folks at the disk drive companies think of them as 10^9
>bytes. Yeah, there's a 7% difference. Also, you lose a bit to
>formatting, directory space, etc, and maybe a 32M diags partition.
>
>Not a big deal, as your file sizes aren't what you think they are,
>there are a bunch of hidden files, and if you get within 10% of full
>you are going to want to ugrade anyway.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
> In other words, Microsoft still can't do base 10 mathematical hard
> disk computations after all these years. Bill Gates still must want
> to save us the extra CPU cycles needed to multiply and divide by 10,
> rather than using shift instructions to multiply and divide by 2.
> Nice of him to cut down on the Windows bloatware a bit... Ben Myers
>
> On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 12:00:00 -0500, William P.N. Smith wrote:
>
>> krieg@shell.core.com (Andrew Krieg) wrote:
>>> I just got my laptop with the Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00 60Gb 7200 rpm
>>> hard drive installed. How come it only shows the drive having
>>> 52.3Gb of space? Is there some feature using hard drive space
>>> invisible to the
>>> OS (if so, can it be turned off)? Or is the 60Gb 'title' very
>>> misleading?
>>
>> Computers think of gigabytes as being 2^30th bytes, while the
>> marketting folks at the disk drive companies think of them as 10^9
>> bytes. Yeah, there's a 7% difference. Also, you lose a bit to
>> formatting, directory space, etc, and maybe a 32M diags partition.
>>
>> Not a big deal, as your file sizes aren't what you think they are,
>> there are a bunch of hidden files, and if you get within 10% of full
>> you are going to want to ugrade anyway.

In defence of Bill and his minions, in XP at least, the drive properties
show both - left hand is decimal, right hand is binary - although the
binary is only reported to the tenth GB.

Q

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
>In other words, Microsoft still can't do base 10 mathematical hard disk

Tell us, Ben, how much memory do you have in your computer?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

512MB RAM. Or 536,870,912 bytes, if you'd rather. Or 524288K bytes.

.... Ben Myers

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 19:09:51 -0500, William P.N. Smith wrote:

>ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
>>In other words, Microsoft still can't do base 10 mathematical hard disk
>
>Tell us, Ben, how much memory do you have in your computer?
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

>>ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
>>>In other words, Microsoft still can't do base 10 mathematical hard disk

ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
>512MB RAM. Or 536,870,912 bytes, if you'd rather. Or 524288K bytes.

So which is it, 512 megabytes, 536 megabytes, or 524 megabytes?
You're as bad as Microsoft, can't do math?

[My point is that the computer-sized {kilo,mega,giga}bytes were around
since computers were invented, and until some marketting inDUHvidual
discovered he could gain 7% of the size of the disk by using a
completely different numbering scheme to that which had been used for
_decades_, everyone knew what everyone else meant. Now we've got at
least two different ways of talking about hard disk space, and
everyone keeps asking "where did my hard disk space go?"]

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

512MB or 512 megabytes, where mega equals 1024x1024, is my standard answer. I
DID the math. The problem statement "how much memory do you have in your
computer?" was imprecise as to the units required for the answer, so I provided
3 answers to cover all possibilities, except maybe to express the result in
binary, hexadecimal, or octal for those who still remember some form of assembly
language.

The marketing whiz who decided to add 7% to the capacity of hard drives was
thinking the way non-geeks think, and that covers most of the world. I don't
suppose that the Dow Jones index should be given in K, or our rising US national
debt be stated in Mega$? What a minute! A great way to reduce the national
debt by 7%, real fast! ... Ben Myers

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 22:17:39 -0500, William P.N. Smith wrote:

>>>ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
>>>>In other words, Microsoft still can't do base 10 mathematical hard disk
>
>ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote:
>>512MB RAM. Or 536,870,912 bytes, if you'd rather. Or 524288K bytes.
>
>So which is it, 512 megabytes, 536 megabytes, or 524 megabytes?
>You're as bad as Microsoft, can't do math?
>
>[My point is that the computer-sized {kilo,mega,giga}bytes were around
>since computers were invented, and until some marketting inDUHvidual
>discovered he could gain 7% of the size of the disk by using a
>completely different numbering scheme to that which had been used for
>_decades_, everyone knew what everyone else meant. Now we've got at
>least two different ways of talking about hard disk space, and
>everyone keeps asking "where did my hard disk space go?"]
>

 

[sparky]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Ben Myers wrote:
> 512MB or 512 megabytes, where mega equals 1024x1024, is my standard answer. I
> DID the math. The problem statement "how much memory do you have in your
> computer?" was imprecise as to the units required for the answer, so I provided
> 3 answers to cover all possibilities, except maybe to express the result in
> binary, hexadecimal, or octal for those who still remember some form of assembly
> language.
>
> The marketing whiz who decided to add 7% to the capacity of hard drives was
> thinking the way non-geeks think, and that covers most of the world. I don't
> suppose that the Dow Jones index should be given in K, or our rising US national
> debt be stated in Mega$? What a minute! A great way to reduce the national
> debt by 7%, real fast! ... Ben Myers

Good idea - let's express it in hex, then.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hex would certainly cut the national debt way down, but I'm afraid the idea
might be too geeky for Washington. But you never know... Ben Myers

On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 05:26:56 GMT, Sparky <nemo@moon.sun.edu> wrote:

>Ben Myers wrote:
>> 512MB or 512 megabytes, where mega equals 1024x1024, is my standard answer. I
>> DID the math. The problem statement "how much memory do you have in your
>> computer?" was imprecise as to the units required for the answer, so I provided
>> 3 answers to cover all possibilities, except maybe to express the result in
>> binary, hexadecimal, or octal for those who still remember some form of assembly
>> language.
>>
>> The marketing whiz who decided to add 7% to the capacity of hard drives was
>> thinking the way non-geeks think, and that covers most of the world. I don't
>> suppose that the Dow Jones index should be given in K, or our rising US national
>> debt be stated in Mega$? What a minute! A great way to reduce the national
>> debt by 7%, real fast! ... Ben Myers
>
>Good idea - let's express it in hex, then.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In article <418b0766.2612994@news.charter.net>,
Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_not at charter.net> wrote:

>The marketing whiz who decided to add 7% to the capacity of hard drives was
>thinking the way non-geeks think, and that covers most of the world. I don't
>suppose that the Dow Jones index should be given in K, or our rising US national
>debt be stated in Mega$? What a minute! A great way to reduce the national
>debt by 7%, real fast! ... Ben Myers

Hmmm, except 53.2Gb is a 11.33% reduction of the 60Gb advertised when I
selected the drive.

--
=__ __ __ _ __ _= Andrew Krieg - Software Engineering Consultant =
=_ __ _ __ _ _ __= =
=_ _ _ ___= E-mail: krieg@execpc.SPAM.BLOCK.com.ME.TO =
=_ __ _ __ _ __ _= WWW: http://my.execpc.com/~krieg =

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Andrew Krieg wrote:

> I just got my laptop with the Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00 60Gb 7200 rpm hard
> drive installed. How come it only shows the drive having 52.3Gb of
> space? Is there some feature using hard drive space invisible to the
> OS (if so, can it be turned off)? Or is the 60Gb 'title' very misleading?

I got the same drive on my Inspiron 1150 and was dissapointed, till I ran
Partition Magic. Here's the problem:

Off the bat, the drive is really only 60 billion bytes, thus only 57GB (the
other posters got this one).

The real problem is that Dell included two hidden partitions. At the
beginning of the drive, there is a small (~64MB? I can't remember) Dell
Utility partition, I suppose for troubleshooting and diagnostics. At the
end, there is a larger partition, with an image of the hard drive when it
was brand new. This one takes several gigs. When you take these partitions
into account, plus the space needed to cushion them (you can't just split
the drive anywhere), Windows thinks the HD is only 52.3GB.

My advice: delete all of the partitions, create one using the entire disk,
and re-install the OS using the provided Windows CD. Installation was a
breeze with the included driver CD. Plus, you'll end up having a smaller
Windows XP installation, as you'll end up with the programs you want, not
the ones Dell wants.

Another alternative is to use a program like Partition Magic to delete the
backup partition at the end of the drive, thus gaining around 4-5 gigs. I
don't believe it can get rid of the smaller partition, but that one is
around 64 megs, so its not too great.

I searched Google first of course, and found a message direct from Dell
saying it was OK to delete these partitions. You can always re-install from
the Windows CD anyways, so I don't know why they have the image.

Personally, I wiped out all partitions and did a clean install of Windows XP
Professional the day I received it.

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Read the entire thread.

"Andrew Krieg" <krieg@shell.core.com> wrote in message
news:10onhd3sokmjm50@corp.supernews.com...
> Hmmm, except 53.2Gb is a 11.33% reduction of the 60Gb advertised when I
> selected the drive.
> =__ __ __ _ __ _= Andrew Krieg - Software Engineering Consultant =

 

[sparky]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Ben Myers wrote:

> Hex would certainly cut the national debt way down, but I'm afraid the idea
> might be too geeky for Washington. But you never know... Ben Myers

LOL, good point - hadn't thought of that.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Okay, now convert the original capacity to hexadecimal and you'll see even fewer
digits. Some of them possibly letters A thru F though... Ben Myers

On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 18:25:39 -0000, krieg@shell.core.com (Andrew Krieg) wrote:

>In article <418b0766.2612994@news.charter.net>,
>Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_not at charter.net> wrote:
>
>>The marketing whiz who decided to add 7% to the capacity of hard drives was
>>thinking the way non-geeks think, and that covers most of the world. I don't
>>suppose that the Dow Jones index should be given in K, or our rising US national
>>debt be stated in Mega$? What a minute! A great way to reduce the national
>>debt by 7%, real fast! ... Ben Myers
>
>Hmmm, except 53.2Gb is a 11.33% reduction of the 60Gb advertised when I
>selected the drive.
>
>--
>=__ __ __ _ __ _= Andrew Krieg - Software Engineering Consultant =
>=_ __ _ __ _ _ __= =
>=_ _ _ ___= E-mail: krieg@execpc.SPAM.BLOCK.com.ME.TO =
>=_ __ _ __ _ __ _= WWW: http://my.execpc.com/~krieg =

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

One of my favorite jokes.

When does Christmas equal Halloween?

Dec 25 = Oct 31

Tom
<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote in message
news:418c3156.896430@news.charter.net...
> Okay, now convert the original capacity to hexadecimal and you'll see even
> fewer
> digits. Some of them possibly letters A thru F though... Ben Myers
>
> On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 18:25:39 -0000, krieg@shell.core.com (Andrew Krieg)
> wrote:
>
>>In article <418b0766.2612994@news.charter.net>,
>>Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_not at charter.net> wrote:
>>
>>>The marketing whiz who decided to add 7% to the capacity of hard drives
>>>was
>>>thinking the way non-geeks think, and that covers most of the world. I
>>>don't
>>>suppose that the Dow Jones index should be given in K, or our rising US
>>>national
>>>debt be stated in Mega$? What a minute! A great way to reduce the
>>>national
>>>debt by 7%, real fast! ... Ben Myers
>>
>>Hmmm, except 53.2Gb is a 11.33% reduction of the 60Gb advertised when I
>>selected the drive.
>>
>>--
>>=__ __ __ _ __ _= Andrew Krieg - Software Engineering Consultant =
>>=_ __ _ __ _ _ __= =
>>=_ _ _ ___= E-mail: krieg@execpc.SPAM.BLOCK.com.ME.TO =
>>=_ __ _ __ _ __ _= WWW: http://my.execpc.com/~krieg =
>

 

[sparky]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Tom Scales wrote:

> One of my favorite jokes.
>
> When does Christmas equal Halloween?
>
> Dec 25 = Oct 31

Heh, along with: "There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who
understand binary and ..."

 

[sparky]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

CS Student wrote:

> Andrew Krieg wrote:
>
>
>>I just got my laptop with the Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00 60Gb 7200 rpm hard
>>drive installed. How come it only shows the drive having 52.3Gb of
>>space? Is there some feature using hard drive space invisible to the
>>OS (if so, can it be turned off)? Or is the 60Gb 'title' very misleading?
>
> I got the same drive on my Inspiron 1150 and was dissapointed, till I ran
> Partition Magic. Here's the problem:
>
> Off the bat, the drive is really only 60 billion bytes, thus only 57GB (the
> other posters got this one).
>
> The real problem is that Dell included two hidden partitions. At the
> beginning of the drive, there is a small (~64MB? I can't remember) Dell
> Utility partition, I suppose for troubleshooting and diagnostics. At the
> end, there is a larger partition, with an image of the hard drive when it
> was brand new. This one takes several gigs. When you take these partitions
> into account, plus the space needed to cushion them (you can't just split
> the drive anywhere), Windows thinks the HD is only 52.3GB.

This is the same mechanism IBM is using for ThinkPads. The R40 I bought
a year ago came with a restore partition and "Rapid Restore" (IIRC)
software. You could always make a copy & delete the partition.

If an owner requested recovery CDs from IBM within 30 days, IBM would
send them gratis, otherwise there was a charge for them. I've had 3 sets
so far without getting a set that works. Fortunately I had Ghosted my
HDD and just restored that after the CD recovery failed.

 

[george]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Andrew Krieg" <krieg@shell.core.com> wrote in message
news:10onhd3sokmjm50@corp.supernews.com...
> In article <418b0766.2612994@news.charter.net>,
> Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_not at charter.net> wrote:
>
> >The marketing whiz who decided to add 7% to the capacity of hard drives
was
> >thinking the way non-geeks think, and that covers most of the world. I
don't
> >suppose that the Dow Jones index should be given in K, or our rising US
national
> >debt be stated in Mega$? What a minute! A great way to reduce the
national
> >debt by 7%, real fast! ... Ben Myers
>
> Hmmm, except 53.2Gb is a 11.33% reduction of the 60Gb advertised when I
> selected the drive.
>
> --
> =__ __ __ _ __ _= Andrew Krieg - Software Engineering Consultant =
> =_ __ _ __ _ _ __= =
> =_ _ _ ___= E-mail: krieg@execpc.SPAM.BLOCK.com.ME.TO =
> =_ __ _ __ _ __ _= WWW: http://my.execpc.com/~krieg =

It does seem a bit excessive...I just put a 60GB Hitachi in my Inspiron 8200
a few days ago
and the reported size was 55.88GB.