Vista - size on disk

11-18-2007

Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the
file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the
"size on disk" is about the same as the "size"?

11-18-2007

b11_ wrote:

Quote:

> Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the
> file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the
> "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"?

There's very little that can be done about it, unless you've some way
to ensure that each file's size is an even multiple of the partition's
cluster size.

"Size" refers to the actual total of the sizes of all of the
individual file sizes, while "Size on Disk" refers to the total amount
of disk space occupied by those files. The difference is because some
of the files do not occupy an entire cluster. For instance, a 1 Kb file
is occupying a single 4 Kb (or 8 Kb or 16 KB) cluster. Clusters cannot
be shared by different files, so there will always be some wasted space
whenever a file doesn't completely fill a cluster. If there are a lot
of small files, the wastage becomes quite noticeable.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

11-18-2007

Hi,

Depends on the actual size of the file and the default cluster size of the
file system. In NTFS, the default is 4k clusters, so a 2.5k file will still
occupy a 4k space. Large files are spread across different clusters in a
volume, and each part may not entirely fill a cluster, so there will always
be some space left unused.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"b11_" <b11@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:34FE21B7-F747-4F9D-B6A9-5C2AC82C038B@xxxxxx

Quote:

> Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of
> the
> file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the
> "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"?

11-18-2007

On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:43:01 -0800, b11_
<b11@xxxxxx> wrote:

Quote:

> Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the
> file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the
> "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"?

Answered in another newsgroup. Please do not send the same message
separately to more than one newsgroup (called multiposting). Doing so
just fragments the thread, so someone who answers in one newsgroup
doesn't get to see answers from others in another newsgroup. And for
those who read all the newsgroups the message is multiposted to, they
see the message multiple times instead of once (they would see it only
once if you correctly crossposted instead). This wastes everyone's
time, and gets you poorer help than you should get.

If you must send the same message to more than one newsgroup, please
do so by crossposting (but only to a *few* related newsgroups).

Please see "What is the accepted way to share a message across
multiple newsgroups?" at http://smjg.port5.com/faqs/usenet/xpost.html

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

11-29-2007

Ken: the link you posted is outdated. Try it.
___________________________________________________________
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

Quote:

> On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:43:01 -0800, b11_
> <b11@xxxxxx> wrote:
>

Quote:

> > Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the
> > file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the
> > "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"?

>
>
>
> Answered in another newsgroup. Please do not send the same message
> separately to more than one newsgroup (called multiposting). Doing so
> just fragments the thread, so someone who answers in one newsgroup
> doesn't get to see answers from others in another newsgroup. And for
> those who read all the newsgroups the message is multiposted to, they
> see the message multiple times instead of once (they would see it only
> once if you correctly crossposted instead). This wastes everyone's
> time, and gets you poorer help than you should get.
>
> If you must send the same message to more than one newsgroup, please
> do so by crossposting (but only to a *few* related newsgroups).
>
> Please see "What is the accepted way to share a message across
> multiple newsgroups?" at http://smjg.port5.com/faqs/usenet/xpost.html
>
> --
> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
> Please Reply to the Newsgroup
>

11-29-2007

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:12:02 -0800, b11_
<b11@xxxxxx> wrote:

Quote:

> Ken: the link you posted is outdated. Try it.

Yes, I see that it is. Thanks for pointing it out.

Quote:

> ___________________________________________________________
> "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:
>

Quote:

> > On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:43:01 -0800, b11_
> > <b11@xxxxxx> wrote:
> >

Quote:

> > > Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the
> > > file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the
> > > "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"?

> >
> >
> >
> > Answered in another newsgroup. Please do not send the same message
> > separately to more than one newsgroup (called multiposting). Doing so
> > just fragments the thread, so someone who answers in one newsgroup
> > doesn't get to see answers from others in another newsgroup. And for
> > those who read all the newsgroups the message is multiposted to, they
> > see the message multiple times instead of once (they would see it only
> > once if you correctly crossposted instead). This wastes everyone's
> > time, and gets you poorer help than you should get.
> >
> > If you must send the same message to more than one newsgroup, please
> > do so by crossposting (but only to a *few* related newsgroups).
> >
> > Please see "What is the accepted way to share a message across
> > multiple newsgroups?" at http://smjg.port5.com/faqs/usenet/xpost.html
> >
> > --
> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup
> >

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

11-18-2007	#1 (permalink)
b11_ n/a posts	size on disk Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"?
My System Specs

11-18-2007	#2 (permalink)
Bruce Chambers n/a posts	Re: size on disk b11_ wrote: Quote: > Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the > file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the > "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"? There's very little that can be done about it, unless you've some way to ensure that each file's size is an even multiple of the partition's cluster size. "Size" refers to the actual total of the sizes of all of the individual file sizes, while "Size on Disk" refers to the total amount of disk space occupied by those files. The difference is because some of the files do not occupy an entire cluster. For instance, a 1 Kb file is occupying a single 4 Kb (or 8 Kb or 16 KB) cluster. Clusters cannot be shared by different files, so there will always be some wasted space whenever a file doesn't completely fill a cluster. If there are a lot of small files, the wastage becomes quite noticeable. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. ~ Denis Diderot
My System Specs

11-18-2007	#3 (permalink)
Rick Rogers n/a posts	Re: size on disk Hi, Depends on the actual size of the file and the default cluster size of the file system. In NTFS, the default is 4k clusters, so a 2.5k file will still occupy a 4k space. Large files are spread across different clusters in a volume, and each part may not entirely fill a cluster, so there will always be some space left unused. -- Best of Luck, Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/ Windows help - www.rickrogers.org My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com "b11_" <b11@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:34FE21B7-F747-4F9D-B6A9-5C2AC82C038B@xxxxxx Quote: > Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of > the > file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the > "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"?
My System Specs

11-18-2007	#4 (permalink)
Ken Blake, MVP n/a posts	Re: size on disk On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:43:01 -0800, b11_ <b11@xxxxxx> wrote: Quote: > Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the > file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the > "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"? Answered in another newsgroup. Please do not send the same message separately to more than one newsgroup (called multiposting). Doing so just fragments the thread, so someone who answers in one newsgroup doesn't get to see answers from others in another newsgroup. And for those who read all the newsgroups the message is multiposted to, they see the message multiple times instead of once (they would see it only once if you correctly crossposted instead). This wastes everyone's time, and gets you poorer help than you should get. If you must send the same message to more than one newsgroup, please do so by crossposting (but only to a few related newsgroups). Please see "What is the accepted way to share a message across multiple newsgroups?" at http://smjg.port5.com/faqs/usenet/xpost.html -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
My System Specs

11-29-2007	#5 (permalink)
b11_ n/a posts	Re: size on disk Ken: the link you posted is outdated. Try it. ___________________________________________________________ "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote: Quote: > On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:43:01 -0800, b11_ > <b11@xxxxxx> wrote: > Quote: > > Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the > > file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the > > "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"? > > > > Answered in another newsgroup. Please do not send the same message > separately to more than one newsgroup (called multiposting). Doing so > just fragments the thread, so someone who answers in one newsgroup > doesn't get to see answers from others in another newsgroup. And for > those who read all the newsgroups the message is multiposted to, they > see the message multiple times instead of once (they would see it only > once if you correctly crossposted instead). This wastes everyone's > time, and gets you poorer help than you should get. > > If you must send the same message to more than one newsgroup, please > do so by crossposting (but only to a few related newsgroups). > > Please see "What is the accepted way to share a message across > multiple newsgroups?" at http://smjg.port5.com/faqs/usenet/xpost.html > > -- > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User > Please Reply to the Newsgroup >
My System Specs

11-29-2007	#6 (permalink)
Ken Blake, MVP n/a posts	Re: size on disk On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:12:02 -0800, b11_ <b11@xxxxxx> wrote: Quote: > Ken: the link you posted is outdated. Try it. Yes, I see that it is. Thanks for pointing it out. Quote: > ___________________________________________________________ > "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote: > Quote: > > On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:43:01 -0800, b11_ > > <b11@xxxxxx> wrote: > > Quote: > > > Sometimes the "size on disk" of a file is much larger than the "size" of the > > > file. How can that be avoided? In other words, what should be done so the > > > "size on disk" is about the same as the "size"? > > > > > > > > Answered in another newsgroup. Please do not send the same message > > separately to more than one newsgroup (called multiposting). Doing so > > just fragments the thread, so someone who answers in one newsgroup > > doesn't get to see answers from others in another newsgroup. And for > > those who read all the newsgroups the message is multiposted to, they > > see the message multiple times instead of once (they would see it only > > once if you correctly crossposted instead). This wastes everyone's > > time, and gets you poorer help than you should get. > > > > If you must send the same message to more than one newsgroup, please > > do so by crossposting (but only to a few related newsgroups). > > > > Please see "What is the accepted way to share a message across > > multiple newsgroups?" at http://smjg.port5.com/faqs/usenet/xpost.html > > > > -- > > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User > > Please Reply to the Newsgroup > > -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
My System Specs

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