Partitioning Hard Disk
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That's the XP installer for you! One reason for that is the original limitations that MS threw in there. Vista sees an improvement with better hardware detection and the ability to separately resize and format or reformat partitions/drives with the better drive tools seen there.
Apparently MS wised up to the GNU seeing the Linux tool GParted which will clearly indicate the small amount of unallocated drive space and resize the partition to see that usable as well. Even now with Vista the Gnome Partition Editor seems to remain champ!
Apparently MS wised up to the GNU seeing the Linux tool GParted which will clearly indicate the small amount of unallocated drive space and resize the partition to see that usable as well. Even now with Vista the Gnome Partition Editor seems to remain champ!
In the Disk Management tool once you look over any partitions created with the XP installer it's common to find a small 1-8mb gap either at the end or beginning and even at both ends of the parition that see that small amount of unallocated drive space. Linux on the other hand has far better hardware detection being a less cluttered and more basic OS where the drive tool picks up on smaller amounts easier then generally seen with Windows which was intended to be more "user friendly" over the UNIX type platform seen with Linux.
"Convenience" not accuracy was built into the XP installer while the Linux drive tool is more thorough. You simply throw Windows on a drive while Linux requires a degree of configuration for most distros. This is why you would generally never notice the 1-8mb of space unless looking for it.
"Convenience" not accuracy was built into the XP installer while the Linux drive tool is more thorough. You simply throw Windows on a drive while Linux requires a degree of configuration for most distros. This is why you would generally never notice the 1-8mb of space unless looking for it.
Rudster816
banned
the windows installer leaves it there for a reason, its easier to do something, i just cant remember what. i read it a couple weeks ago in my A+ cert book, cant find the page though. i just know it leaves it there for a reason, not because of poor detection.
Windows will generally round things off as well as reserving drive space for file conversion when converting from one partition type to another. The Linux drive tool on the other hand is designed to be more precise going by smaller measurements making it a choice OS for many older systems with small drives there. You can run several distros on one drive while Windows is limited to 4 primary types.
It leaves the 8mb space by design, not by any kind of limitation like said above! Its for if you want to change to dynamic disk later.
From Microsoft, if anybody wants to argue the point!
SYMPTOMS
During Setup, if you choose to create a partition that uses the remaining space on a disk, you cannot use the maximum space available on the disk.
For example, if you choose to create a 4096-MB partition on a disk that has only 4096 MB available, the actual partition that is created may be 4095 MB or less in size.
CAUSE
Some space at the end of the disk is reserved by Setup in case you later want to upgrade the disk to a dynamic disk. Dynamic disk information is saved at the end of the disk. The amount that is reserved is a minimum of one cylinder, or 1MB, whichever is greater. One cylinder can be up to 8MB, depending on drive geometry and translation.
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All right thanks guys. Just had a last question. In xp, when i used to format my hard disks, the 250 gb disk was seen as 232 and thats what i was supposed to be seeing. But in vista i see a little less when i format the disk... Does that mean vista takes even more disk space out?
Windows sees 1GB as 1024mb, harddrive manufacturers see it as 1000mb.
On 250gb ide drives here the single primary created would see 238.4gb roughly on WD models. That's about the same for Vista as with XP with the exception of when using a 3rd party partitioning tool.
As far as the 1-8mb drive space GParted easily closed that gap when a 4mb gap was seen between two primaries on one drive in an older build. Expanding to fill in that space saw absolutely no problems with XP at all. What some don't realize is that there variances between drives due to being mass produced where there remains plus(+) and minus(-) tolerances when maching is performed in less then 1 1/1000th of an inch.
One drive platter in one drive will be only slightly larger in that sense then the one in the next drive accountlng for seeing a gap due to that at times. Plus the XP tools were never intended to be that precise. Linux on the other hand is a totally different platform seeing a different hardware detection process.
pc eye, you're on thin ice with those explanations. The harddrive's internal doesn't affect Windows in any way. The firmware present a range of addressable sectors to the outside world. So you don't need to write special tools to see the pluses and minuses.
StrangleHold explained the gap at the end, and why 250 is not 250 in Windows.
StrangleHold explained the gap at the end, and why 250 is not 250 in Windows.
Its whatever PC eye thinks it true, facts doesnt matter. Twist, Manipulate, Constrew till the point is lost and it doesnt matter anymore.
It simply goes over your head there. Besides that even you can install and then reinstall XP on the same drive over and over again and not see any gap while seeing it at other times. The unallocated space isn't always seen showing that convenience of easy installation without fuss is why you see that gap only when looking for it. It's simply due to the way the installer partitions the drive at the time.
MS simply created an explaination rather then revealing the fault with the XP drive tool there. And by the way where was the page for that seen? The ease of resizing the partition for simply filling in the small gap without any problems seen with Windows when changing drive letters or anything else shows that as a simple flaw with the installer itself.
Rudster816
banned
lol @ PC eye, i have my A+ book right next to me sitting at the page where it says the 8mb is left to make it easier to upgrade to a dynamic disk, and the book (by mike meyers, im sure you have heard of it) cuts through a lot of other microsoft bull crap, i doubt he is lying too.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/225822
This is my last post on this, not even going to get in a debate with this guy its pointless.
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