

The calculation would be 4096 (1Īllocation unit) x 5 = 20480 bytes. If I have a file that is 17KB (kilo bytes), then the Size on disk This means that Windows will allocate 4096 bytes for anyįile or portion of a file that is from 1 to 4096 bytes in length. For example, on my C:\ drive, the allocation unit isĤ096 bytes. The size of a cluster can vary, but typical ranges are from 512 bytes Means the OS allocates space for files in "clusters" or "allocation We know that a disk is made up of Tracks and Sectors. They differ because the disk is divided into tracks and sectors, and can allocate blocks of discrete size.įor a more detailed explanation, see this text which I copied from another site:

Size on disk is the actual amount of space being taken up on the disk. Size is the actual size of the file in bytes.
