Binary vs Decimal Storage

Storage units come in two flavors. Decimal (SI): 1 KB = 1,000 bytes. Binary (IEC): 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes. Drive manufacturers quote decimal capacities; operating systems display binary — the famous "missing" space on a new drive is simply this difference. This data storage converter supports both conventions.

The Byte Ladder

B → KB → MB → GB → TB → PB → EB. Each step multiplies by 1,000 (decimal) or 1,024 (binary). A 4.7 GB DVD holds 4.4 GiB. A 1 TB drive shows 931 GiB in Windows. Understanding which convention you are looking at prevents huge estimation errors when planning backups or storage purchases.

Practical Planning

Estimate photo libraries (~5 MB each), music (~10 MB per song), video (~1 GB per hour of HD, ~7 GB per hour of 4K), and operating-system overhead (~30–50 GB). Always buy storage with headroom for growth and periodic backups.