How to unhide a suspected hidden partition

[Vinmart]

Hi, I just bought a new PH 1 TB drive online. when I plugged it in and check it out on my computer it shows to have only 931GB free....contacted the seller and he says that he cannot explain why there is 69GB missing, not available. I suspect an hidden partition and would like to know how to unhide it. i have xp home.

[jaclaz]

Hi, I just bought a new PH 1 TB drive online. when I plugged it in and check it out on my computer it shows to have only 931GB free....contacted the seller and he says that he cannot explain why there is 69GB missing, not available. I suspect an hidden partition and would like to know how to unhide it. i have xp home.

A few questions:

1. Do you understand the difference between KB and KiB, MB and MiB, GB and GiB, TB and TiB?
   
2. Do you realize that "free space" and "size" are not interchangeable tems?
   
3. Is the partition you can see, by any chance, formatted with the NTFS filesystem?
   
4. Which EXACT make/model is that hard disk?
   
5. Do you have a specific reason to suspect the presence of a hidden partition?
   

Start with #1:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte

jaclaz

[Ponch]

[*]Is the partition you can see, by any chance, formatted with the NTFS filesystem?

I read the 1st post as "new disk, free unpartitionned space".

And indeed, 931 x 1024 x 1024 x1024 = ~1.000.000.000.000 bytes

or more accurately, 1*10^12 / (2^30)= 931,323

Thus probably no hidden space/partition. The seller really should have known.

[submix8c]

Calculator GB->GiB, MB->Mib (etc.)

http://wintelguy.com/gb2gib.html

1000 not = 1024

HDD are advertised as GB, not GiB and it specifically states that in the specifications, so there's a difference (fools all novices)...

Edited February 1, 2012 by submix8c

[jaclaz]

I read the 1st post as "new disk, free unpartitionned space".

Guess why the questions asked have a given order?

And why before #3 there is #2?

2. Do you realize that "free space" and "size" are not interchangeable tems?

(and before it #1?)

jaclaz