In win2k, what is the difference between Size and Size on disk?

[duragezic]

When you right click a folder and goto properties that is. For instance, my winnt size weights in at a hefty .98 GB but the size on disk is 890mb.

 

[juiio]

A file must be at least one block. Each block isn't necessarily full. The size in disk is the size of the blocks that a file takes up. The size is the actual amount of data. To see this, create a text file with one character in it. The size will be one byte. The size in disk will be much greater (16 KB for example).

 

[ValkyrieKT7]

I would think that size compare to size on disk means that size pertains to size of a folder or file due to file system, and size on disk means how much it's really taking on the physical hard drive

 

[duragezic]

juiio: I understand what you mean by that. And in the case of the text file, the size on disk is larger. But how come size on disk is smaller for the winnt directory when of about 7 other dirs I just checked, the size on disk is slightly larger or the same size. I was thinking maybe that because of all the small files in winnt dir would cause it but it doesn't quite make sense there.

Thanks!

 

[juiio]

You've got the two numbers reversed. Recheck and you'll see.

 

[Mapidus]

The size on disk of the winnt directory is smaller than the size because certain files in the winnt directory are compressed with ntfs compression.