Question 1

Why does my 1TB hard drive only show 931GB?

Accepted Answer

Drive manufacturers advertise capacity in decimal terabytes (1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes), but your operating system reports free space in binary units (1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes) while mislabeling them "GB". 1,000,000,000,000 bytes ÷ 1,073,741,824 ≈ 931.32, so a 1 TB drive shows as roughly 931 GB (really GiB) in Windows, macOS, and most file managers. No storage is missing — it is the same bytes measured with two different standards.

Question 2

What is the difference between GB and GiB?

Accepted Answer

GB (gigabyte) uses the decimal (SI) standard: 1 GB = 1000³ = 1,000,000,000 bytes. GiB (gibibyte) uses the binary (IEC) standard: 1 GiB = 1024³ = 1,073,741,824 bytes. GiB is about 7.4% larger than GB. Storage vendors and network speeds use GB; operating systems and RAM specifications typically use GiB, even when labeled "GB".

Question 3

How many MB are in a GB?

Accepted Answer

1 GB (decimal) = 1000 MB (decimal). If you mean the binary units instead, 1 GiB = 1024 MiB. Always check whether the source you are converting from uses the decimal (1000-based) or binary (1024-based) standard.

Question 4

How many bits are in a byte?

Accepted Answer

There are exactly 8 bits in 1 byte. This is true in both the decimal and binary storage standards — the bit/byte relationship does not change; only the larger multiples (KB vs KiB, MB vs MiB, etc.) differ between the two standards.

Question 5

Which standard should I use: decimal or binary?

Accepted Answer

Use decimal (KB, MB, GB, TB, PB) when working with numbers from drive manufacturers, internet service providers, or file download sizes on the web — these almost always use base-1000. Use binary (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB, PiB) when you need to match what your operating system's file explorer or RAM specification reports, since those are typically calculated in base-1024 even when displayed with a "GB"-style label.

Question 6

Is this converter accurate?

Accepted Answer

Yes. All conversion factors are exact powers of 1000 (decimal) or 1024 (binary) with no approximation, so results are precise to floating-point limits regardless of how large or small the value is.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my 1TB hard drive only show 931GB?

What is the difference between GB and GiB?

How many MB are in a GB?

How many bits are in a byte?

Which standard should I use: decimal or binary?

Is this converter accurate?

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