Data Storage
Convert between different units of digital data storage and memory
Data Storage Converter
Convert between different units of digital data storage and memory
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About Data Storage
Explore the various units used to measure digital data storage and memory
Historical Context
Data storage units have evolved alongside computing technology. The bit, representing a binary digit (0 or 1), is the fundamental unit of digital information. The byte, typically 8 bits, became the standard unit for character encoding. As storage capacities grew, kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes became common. Confusion arose between decimal (base-10) and binary (base-2) interpretations of these prefixes, leading to the introduction of binary-specific units (kibibyte, mebibyte, etc.) in 1998 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Modern Standards
Today, two parallel systems exist: the decimal system (KB, MB, GB) based on powers of 1000, commonly used by storage manufacturers and in telecommunications; and the binary system (KiB, MiB, GiB) based on powers of 1024, often used in operating systems and memory contexts. This dual system can lead to discrepancies in reported storage capacities. For example, a '500 GB' hard drive contains 500 billion bytes, but operating systems using binary units may report this as approximately 465 GiB.
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Conversion Reference
Quick reference for common data storage conversions