Why Do Folders Copy To External Hdd's At A Different Size?

Discussion in 'Software' started by superstar, Mar 19, 2021.

  1. superstar

    superstar Major-Superstar

    You heard it... Everytime I copy a folder to my external hdd there is a difference in size shown on my Mac.
    The Mac uses a different format than ntfs but I don't understand why the huge difference. If you look clearly
    you can see the external drive is on the left and uses NTFS, the Mac drive is on the right which uses a different format. The file count is the same, top size is the same, detailed size the same, but a small section that shows a 1GB difference. That difference appears no where else. I have noticed this on different Mac's using external hdd's even when the external is the same format as the Mac.

    *Note: Look at the "Size" info under "General"

    https://i.ibb.co/X4nXQSR/Screen-Shot-2021-03-19-at-5-10-08-PM.png


    I like my archival copies as a 1:1 and expect nothing less when I need to make sure files are rightly stored.
    Anyone know why this is so and if there should be any worry about backing up files because of it?



    Thank you!
     
  2. Earthling

    Earthling Interplanetary Geek

    Size on disk is the number of disk sectors the file is scattered over multiplied by sector size and will always be higher than the byte count. It's a function of the degree of disk fragmentation and is of no concern at all.
     
    Eldon and plodr like this.

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