SSD questions

I noticed space going missing on my SSD. So I decided to reformat my laptop. I have the 256 GB model. When I set it back up it said it had 202 GB of 225 GB free. Is that right? Or am I missing 23 GB?

 

It could be the difference between 256GB binary vs decimal, as most drive manufacturers advertise it as decimal (which is not really right but it's always been that way). Also it could be a restore partition or other partition on the drive, unless you're sure it's all one big partition.

I've formatted a ton of 1TB drives, and they always come up as 931GB under normal circumstances.

 

Thanks, so it's probably all there then. I never really paid much attention to my desktop's HDDs since I got a ton or storage, but with this 256 GB I've been watching it more. I've noticed it sometimes has gone down 1 gb before and I didn't download anything. Whats some good software to organize my files so I don't look 500mb here and 1 gb there?

 

I'm making an assumption it's normal. Actually let me get some numbers from a 256GB SSD at home just for you to compare to.

Other things that could be eating up space are your recycle bin (I think it uses space until you empty it) and the system restore feature. As you update drivers and install programs, the system makes incremental backups to to a roll back. Those take up space over time. You can set the limits of it, or even disable it as many do on SSD's.

I don't know of any programs but I am sure there are some out there to help you find what is taking up space.

 

How much space would I save if I copied my restore partition to an external HDD and deleted them off of the SSD?

 

Its showing 11.72 GB on mine. Honestly I prefer to leave it on there so if it every has a really bad issue, say when I'm on vacation or not at home, I can get it back up quickly. I'm good about backing up my data so I'm not so worried about data loss.

You can make a complete windows restore too, so that you can get all your programs and basic setup back. I did it while it was failry clean, just a few updates and programs installed and it was about 25GB. I keep it on a backup drive so if I ever need it I should be able to get back to stock config fairly easy.

 

Thanks! If I had known I was going to play ESO I probably would've bought the 512 GB model. After my warranty is up I'm going to add a second SSD so I don't have to be so pressed for storage.

 

Are you wanting to buy one right away? If you can wait a bit, maybe I can sell you my 512 when I get dual 1TB? Just a thought. I guess I have no clue what its worth but if it isn't much or you don't want it I could also put it in my desktop with some sort of adapter to supplement the 512 in it.

 

My warranty is still 12 months away, so yeah I can wait awhile.

 

My local PC parts store was going to sell me a brand new 512 for $325.

 

Mt GT60 which has a 256GB SSD is 232.79 GB in size with only a 2nd 100MB partition. So assuming you do have the 12GB restore partition you have about the same space that my GT60 would. 233-12GB would = 221 on my GT60. So if you have a restore partition I think yours is totally normal.

 

So let me ask you this so I know I understand. The difference between the 256 and the 225 is the OS and all necessary files, and the difference between the 225 and the 202 is the restore partition?

 

No its the other way around. Let me try to explain this better.

256GB advertised is actually 256 billion bytes, which is actually about 238GB. Basically the vendors are lying about the drives by fudging the numbers. Most vendors have always done this so it's nothing new. Saying the size in GB which is binary, versus billion bytes in decimal. Its just the difference between 256GB and 256 billion bytes essentially.

So start with brand new empty drive of 238GB, subtract the 12GB restore partition, plus maybe another almost 1GB (mine has 4 partitions from factory, 600MB, 12GB, 100MB and 464GB my case for the 512 version)

238 - 12 - 1 = 225 in your case, which just by luck happens to match what you said

That is your total C drive (partition) space. Then your OS and all programs etc are taking up the 23GB of used drive space.

I hope that helps!

FYI, I've seen people try to explain the "loss" countless times as "formatting" and that is simply not that case. Its just the manucatures saying the size in GB when it actually is in billion. They did the same thing for MB and million and I have no idea on KB and thousand as that was before me time.

Edit* A quick google found me this page, and explains what the drive manufacturers are doing much better than i did.

http://blog.codinghorror.com/gigabyte-decimal-vs-binary/

 

Thanks! I appreciate the help! It makes sense now. Now I understand. You've been a great help, thanks man!