File Size Converter

The file size converter is a powerful tool for converting between digital storage units. It supports both decimal (SI) units where 1 KB equals 1,000 bytes, and binary (IEC) units where 1 KiB equals 1,024 bytes. This distinction is crucial for understanding why a 500 GB hard drive shows as 465 GiB in Windows. Whether you're planning cloud storage, calculating data transfer requirements, or optimizing application sizes, this converter provides accurate conversions across all common storage units from bytes to petabytes. Perfect for developers, system administrators, and anyone working with digital data.

About Binary vs Decimal Units

There are two systems for measuring file size: decimal (SI) and binary (IEC). Decimal uses powers of 1000, while binary uses powers of 1024. This is why a 500 GB hard drive shows as 465 GiB in your operating system.

Example: 1 GB (decimal) = 1,000,000,000 bytes, but 1 GiB (binary) = 1,073,741,824 bytes

5 GB to MB 1 TB to GB 100 MB to Bytes 500 GB to GiB (Binary) 1024 MiB to MB 2 TB to GB 250 GB to MB 1 PB to TB

Mathematical Explanation

File size conversion involves understanding two unit systems: decimal (SI) where each step multiplies by 1,000, and binary (IEC) where each step multiplies by 1,024. In decimal, 1 KB = 1,000 bytes, 1 MB = 1,000 KB, 1 GB = 1,000 MB. In binary, 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes, 1 MiB = 1,024 KiB, 1 GiB = 1,024 MiB. This difference compounds at larger scales: a 500 GB drive equals 465.66 GiB, explaining why operating systems show less capacity than advertised. The converter uses precise multiplication factors to ensure accuracy across all unit ranges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Decimal (SI) units use base-10 (1 KB = 1,000 bytes), commonly used by manufacturers. Binary (IEC) units use base-2 (1 KiB = 1,024 bytes), used by operating systems. This explains capacity differences between advertised and displayed drive sizes.

Manufacturers use decimal gigabytes (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes), while Windows uses binary gibibytes (1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes). 500 GB equals approximately 465.66 GiB, which Windows rounds to 465 GB.

In decimal (SI), 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. In binary (IEC), 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes. The difference of 73,741,824 bytes becomes significant with large storage capacities.

Typical sizes: MP3 song (3-5 MB), photo (2-10 MB), 4K movie (15-40 GB), AAA video game (50-150 GB), operating system backup (20-50 GB), cloud document (0.1-5 MB).

Use decimal for marketing, purchasing, and comparing manufacturer specs. Use binary for system administration, programming, and understanding actual available storage. Both are valid in different contexts.

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