I am missing 6.8 GB on Sandisk ultra m3.0 64 GB. I can see 57.2 GB only. Does not add up by any calculation.
what you see is normal here is the explination. I highliged the most important part of the disclaimer.
https://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/46/
Why is the capacity of my device (as reported by many operating systems) different than the capacity that is listed on its label?
All SanDisk products include the total capacity, at an unformatted level, that is stated on the product packaging. For example, a 128GB SanDisk USB flash drive has a total capacity of 128,000,000,000 bytes at the unformatted level (where 1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes).
Definitions of a Megabyte:
1. Operating Systems commonly define capacity as follows:
- Kilobyte (KB) as: 2 to the 10th power (1,024 bytes)
- Megabyte (MB) as: 2 to the 20th power (1,024 X 1,024 bytes = 1,048,576 bytes)
- Gigabyte (GB) as: 2 to the 30th power (1,024 X 1,024 X 1,024 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes)
2. Disk Drive and Flash Memory Card Manufacturers commonly define a MB as one million bytes (exactly 1,000,000 bytes) and a GB as one billion bytes (exactly 1,000,000,000 bytes).
SanDisk defines 1 GB as 1,000,000,000 bytes. Operating Systems define 1 GB as 1,073,741,824 BYTES.
Note: Some capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus not available for data storage.
A portion of the total capacity is used to store certain functions including optimizations of the memory that support performance and endurance and therefore is not available for user storage. This is disclosed on our packaging and marketing materials when you see the statement “Actual user storage less.”
As a leader in flash storage technology, SanDisk offers multiple products at different speeds and capacities to address a variety of consumer needs. To provide the optimum product for you, we’re continuously improving and updating our technology, products, firmware, and design. Continual improvements and updates are made to our product (both new products and existing product lines) and can include changes to the basic file structure, formatting and other functions. These optimizations may result in variances as to the amount of memory space that is available for user storage, but are essential to performance and endurance of the products.
If I use the same calculations, What is 64000000000 for Sandisk equals 64000000000/1073741824 = 59.6046447753906
It should be 59.60 GB and not 57.2 GB
Please clarify.
Thanks
you are right. The calculations don’t add up. It should be 59.60 GB. So there’s about 2.5 GB actually missing.
But here’s the thing: SanDisk says “Actual user storage less”, but who knows what that means and how much it affects the storage medium. To me, it could also mean that they will only give you 32 GB, because they need the other 32 GB for some kind of wear leveling or performance improvements or whatever. SanDisk really needs to disclose this information! Also: other manufacturers don’t seem to have this problem!
Yes, I call this fake advertisement! And if you’re ordering online, you might not even be able to read the backside of the packaging!
@vikramr wrote:
Please clarify.
I believe drlucky already did:
"A portion of the total capacity is used to store certain functions including optimizations of the memory that support performance and endurance and therefore is not available for user storage. "
No. dr lucky’s calculations do not add up. The space reserved for OS is usually to demark allocated spaces and never that high.
As a consumer I am concerned about such open statements which can really imply that a 64 GB could be sold as 32 GB possible?. In a competitive market driven by Standards, the company should maintain their standards. So I would look forward to Sandisk helping to address this issue. The customer support has not yet confirmed the exact space it should show instead asked me to check on Mac OS. It was a good cue. I checked various USB drives on Mac and they show higher capacity than the printed. So the 64 GB should show 64 GB+ capacity on the mac. But in my case it shows 61.51 GB on Mac and 57.2 GB on windows instead of 64 GB on mac and 59.6 GB on Windows. I still await a resolution from Sandisk customer support.
If you are unhappy with the drive return it to where you bought it or to SanDisk.
Depending on where you bought it it’s possible it’s a counterfeit.
I can see it has an official import packaging. I have also shared the packaging picture with Sandisk. The capacity difference is so huge that I expect Sandisk support to spot a counterfeit instantly. Instead I see that customer support is dilly dallying and sharing calculations which do not add up.
i think this disclaimer in the capacity article explains it.
"A portion of the total capacity is used to store certain functions including optimizations of the memory that support performance and endurance and therefore is not available for user storage. "
there are variances in memory technologies used and the actual user available storage space may differ.
this is also important to note in the disclaimer
This is disclosed on our packaging and marketing materials when you see the statement “Actual user storage less.”
As a leader in flash storage technology, SanDisk offers multiple products at different speeds and capacities to address a variety of consumer needs. To provide the optimum product for you, we’re continuously improving and updating our technology, products, firmware, and design. Continual improvements and updates are made to our product (both new products and existing product lines) and can include changes to the basic file structure, formatting and other functions. These optimizations may result in variances as to the amount of memory space that is available for user storage, but are essential to performance and endurance of the products.
Does the disclaimer give a free hand to reduce the actual user storage? How much lesser? Please can your be absolute if you can be or specify the percentage. This is diverting from the point where you are denying comparison with not any competitive products user storage but Sandisk’s own storage. You may want to double check the problem specified here.
Refer link for True 64 GB capacity which should be 59.6 GB and not 57.2 GB.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2102633/usb-64gb-storage-total-size.html
That’s exactly what I’ve encountered, Treysis. I bought a 64Gb Blade (printed on packaging and on the blade itself) and, after loading it up as a ‘recovery disk’, I find it only has 31.9Gb space in total (see below). Misrepresentation (as you suggest) or bad quality control.? Perhaps San Disk could comment?
@virkamr:
I believe most customers do not really care for the missing 4-5% of the “less user storage” (again, I am not talking to the space “lost” due to binary conversion!..which is not actually lost, as we all know). But it means 4-5% more profit for SanDisk. Is the space really needed for optimizations? How come other manufacturers don’t face these problems and sell what’s advertized?
And, while you can return the product, some countries (especially European, don’t know about the rest) actually hold you accountable to your advertizing. I.e., if you agree to sell a 64 GB stick, and you fail to deliver this, you are not only obliged to take back the “faulty” product, but you (as a seller, not manufacturer) might be asked to pay compensation to the customer if he/she has to buy a comparable product of a more expensive competitor. However, as it goes, nobody is gonna open a court case because of a few euros. Though, maybe a competitor (hopefully) might like to sue for unfair competition due to false advertisement.
1 Like
So far Sandisk has not offered me any compensation or replacement.
I was informed to obtain replacement from the Online portal Flipkart. I got a replacement with a slightly bumped up capacity but no where close to 64 GB. The 57.2 now is some 57.8. So I am still missing a whopping 6.4 GB which Sandisk is adding to their profits?
For the sake of records, now after exact 2 months of opening a support case and forum query I am in possesion of a Non-Sandisk 64 GB which is quite near to true capacity. In all fairness Sandisk should recall any such faulty products in the market and provide replacement without any questioning to everyone.
No, this is only 120 MB short of what is promised. It’s not SanDisks fault that Windows is displaying capacity incorrectly. The stick really has 63.9 GB. What Windows is showing is GiB, but it is writing GB. Not SanDisk’s fault here.
i purchased 6 of these to do a business POS rollout which required i had a 64 gb media to make a bootable 57.8gb sticks and after opening these realising they are actually 57.2gb, I returned the 4 unopened of these today for this particular reason. It was a major inconvenience on a business level. and has pushed back a major store chain POS upgrade. other brands of 64gb USB sticks do not have this problem.
Isn’t this just space taken up by the file system as with spinning hard drives !?. My 512Gb extreme Pro shows as 460Gb capacity, my 256Gb Corsair 230Gb (both NTFS format) and I see nothing of concern.
