File Sizes

Convert file sizes from Gigabyte Megabyte Kilobyte

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Why You Need to Know About File Sizes
Let's say that you are going to send a picture to a friend through email. Your friend tells you not to send anything bigger than a megabyte (MB) (most isps don't allow attachments bigger than a megabyte anyway). You look at your picture and it says 2052 kilobytes (KB). A kilobyte is smaller than a megabyte so are you safe to send it? The answer is no because it is more than a megabyte. In fact 2052 KB is over 2 MB.

File sizes can be confusing but not once you understand how these sizes work and how to convert from one the other! There are (from largest to smallest):
Gigabytes(GB), Megabytes(MB), Kilobytes(KB), Bytes and Bit.
But that really doesn't tell you much other than a gigabyte is bigger than a kilobyte.

Exact File Size Conversion
Bit Smallest unit of measurement.
Byte 8 bits
Kilobyte (KB) 1024 bytes.
MegaByte (MB) 1024 kilobytes (KB)
GigaByte (GB) 1024 megabytes (MB)
To convert these in exact figures, it is best to use a calculator designed for this purpose.

This free script provided by JavaScript Kit

Estimate File Sizes
That still doesn't help a whole lot unless you come back to this page and use a calculator. There is an easy way to estimate between file sizes. It is not exact but you can easily figure out an estimate of the different unit of measurement in decimal format (the math system we are used to).

Here Is How To Convert File Measurements Without A Calculator
Each unit changes names when you get to 1000 of that unit. The basic unit is a byte. If you have 1000 bytes, you can then call it 1 kilobyte. If you have 1000 kilobytes, you can then call it 1 megabyte. The same happens when you go up from megabytes to gigabytes.

Each chart below shows equivalent amounts. Note that the decimal place moves three places either to the right or left.

Bigger than a Gigabyte or Terabyte?
Currently, hard drives and camera memory are being measured in gigabytes. Soon, we will be going to even bigger units of measurement. The measurement Terabyte is starting to be heard more often. Here is a list of measurements bigger than gigabytes or terabytes:
Megabyte > Gigabyte > Terabyte > Petabyte > Exabyte > Zettabyte > Zottabyte > Brontobyte

File Sizes of Common Storage Devices
It is important to note that advertised measurements of storage are in the raw state - once you format the storage device it is smaller.
3 1/4" Floppy - 1.44 Megabytes (MB)
CD - around 700 Megabytes (MB)
DVD - around 4.7 Gigabytes (GB)
Hard Drives - getting bigger all the time but as of this writing, around 160 Gigabyte (GB) or 320 Gigabyte (GB) are common.

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