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File size is a measure of how much data a computer file contains or how much storage space it is allocated. Typically, file size is expressed in units based on byte . A large value is often expressed with a metric prefix (as in megabyte and gigabyte ) or a binary prefix (as in mebibyte and gibibyte ).
34,359,738,368 bits (4 gibibytes) – maximum addressable memory for the Motorola 68020 (1984) and Intel 80386 (1985), also the volume size limit for the FAT16B file system (with 64 KiB clusters) as well as the maximum file size (4 GiB-1) in MS-DOS 7.1-8.0. 3.76 × 10 10 bits (4.7 gigabytes) – capacity of a single-layer, single-sided DVD: 2 36
Consequently, no file could be larger than 2 32 − 1 bytes (4 GiB − 1). In many implementations, the problem was exacerbated by treating the sizes as signed numbers, which further lowered the limit to 2 31 − 1 bytes (2 GiB − 1). Files that were too large for 32-bit operating systems to handle came to be known as large files.
Thus, a representation that compresses the storage size of a file from 10 MB to 2 MB yields a space saving of 1 - 2/10 = 0.8, often notated as a percentage, 80%. For signals of indefinite size, such as streaming audio and video, the compression ratio is defined in terms of uncompressed and compressed data rates instead of data sizes:
114 minutes of uncompressed CD-quality audio at 1.4 Mbit/s is approximately 1 GB. A single-layer DVD+R disc can hold about 4.7 GB. A dual-layered DVD+R disc can hold about 8.5 GB. A single-layer Blu-ray can hold about 25 GB. The largest Nintendo Switch cartridge available on the market holds about 32 GB. A dual-layered Blu-ray can hold about 50 GB.
In this convention, one thousand and twenty-four megabytes (1024 MB) is equal to one gigabyte (1 GB), where 1 GB is 1024 3 bytes (i.e., 1 GiB). Mixed 1 MB = 1 024 000 bytes (= 1000×1024 B) is the definition used to describe the formatted capacity of the 1.44 MB 3.5-inch HD floppy disk , which actually has a capacity of 1 474 560 bytes .
File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers and was the default file system for the MS-DOS and Windows 9x operating systems. [ citation needed ] Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks , it was adapted for use on hard disks and other devices.
Storing small files on a filesystem with large clusters will therefore waste disk space; such wasted disk space is called slack space. For cluster sizes which are small versus the average file size, the wasted space per file will be statistically about half of the cluster size; for large cluster sizes, the wasted space will become greater.