USB has 14.50MB of data after formatting

[MrBatata]

So I just formatted (as FAT32) my 8GB USB 3.0 Datatravler 100 G3 and on MiniTool I noticed that it had 14.50MB (0.20%) of data in it.

I would assume that it is the 'meta'data about the USB itself (label and table files) but somehow 14.5MB seem a bit too much for me.

Can someone explain me what is happening please (is it USB related stuff or something else)?

And if it is indeed because of USB related files is there anyway to figure out how much space any regular USB drive will take in a specific file format (Total usable space and Allocation Tables and whatnot )?

P.S.: I've red about this somewhere (probably wikipedia) but I still find it confusing.

 

[WebBeachBoy]

Sometimes manufacturers also add proprietory files so that when the flash disk is plugged in the computer can recognise what make and type it is and connect to the manufacturers website. Normally these files are "visible" though.

 

[MrBatata]

Sometimes manufacturers also add proprietory files so that when the flash disk is plugged in the computer can recognise what make and type it is and connect to the manufacturers website. Normally these files are "visible" though.

Thing is, mine weren't. I formatted it myself and after it had those extra 14.5MB.

 

[WebBeachBoy]

Well I still think that 14.5MB is not a lot and can probably relate to the file table data.......

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Nope. File table is usually 8KiB. 15MiB is way out.

 

[MrBatata]

Nope. File table is usually 8KiB. 15MiB is way out.

Right! I thought the same.

But how does one calculate the size of the file?
I can't find anything anything about it. But maybe I'm not searching for the right keywords. 😛

 

[MrBatata]

Nope. File table is usually 8KiB. 15MiB is way out.

Is there any good low-level tool to see the data? Or for that matter any way to see that data?

I think if I can see what's using up all that space I can, maybe, make sense of what's happening.

 

[WebBeachBoy]

OK then -

1) Remove the partition (Computer Management)
2) Re-partition it then see what it says.

Formatting does remove everything. Partitioning does. Be careful to select your flash disk and not your hard disk !

 

[WebBeachBoy]

That was supposed to read "Formatting does NOT remove everything". Sorry

 

[MrBatata]

OK then -

1) Remove the partition (Computer Management)
2) Re-partition it then see what it says.

Formatting does remove everything. Partitioning does. Be careful to select your flash disk and not your hard disk !

Did that same result (that's why I made this thread 😛 ), but I'll do it again for the sake of science!

 

[WebBeachBoy]

Could also possibly be bad sectors .........

 

[MrBatata]

Could also possibly be bad sectors .........

Nope scanned for them, got none. Also pen is brand new.

 

[WebBeachBoy]

Well - the 'unhelpful' answer is that there cannot be "files" on there after a repartitioning (unless there is a secondary small partition with e.g. MBR files on it or recovery software of some kind)

 

[leigh76]

OP Try this.......
http://www.computrogeek.com/2013/06/lexar-usb-formatting-tool-download-2013.html

Has worked for me in the past with a sdcard that went from 32gb to 8gb lol

 

[MrBatata]

Well - the 'unhelpful' answer is that there cannot be "files" on there after a repartitioning (unless there is a secondary small partition with e.g. MBR files on it or recovery software of some kind)

I'll give it another go tomorrow.

OP Try this.......
http://www.computrogeek.com/2013/06/lexar-usb-formatting-tool-download-2013.html

Has worked for me in the past with a sdcard that went from 32gb to 8gb lol

I'll see that 1st thing tomorrow morning.

 

[WebBeachBoy]

I also think it's useful to point out that there are two different definitions of "Gigabyte". Gigabyte was always 1024MB (because of the computers binary system) but now it has come to mean 1000MB and manufacturers 'sell' on the lower basis whilst users can expect the 'normal' basis.

Give Partition Magic a whirl. I think that you can still download a copy free.

 

[MrBatata]

I also feel interested in this question. I even tried wiping my USB disk with MiniTool Partition Wizard that you mentioned, to make sure there are no residual data in the disk or meta files. Then I repartitioned it and formatted it as FAT32 via different ways, coming out always the similar results as yours. Finally, I used a Hex editor tool to view what inside the disk and found that there were just FAT files taken up the space. When you format a partition, the meta files of FAT32 (FAT file, the file allocation table) will be written to that partition. I did not discovered what exactly all factors that are related to the size of the FAT file. As far as I can tell, the FAT file would become bigger if the partition is formatted with a small cluster; it becomes smaller, vice versa. After doing a wipe and reformatting, a 3.9 MB of space is used in my 1.89 GB USB disk with 8 KB cluster size(just the FAT file occupied the 3.9 MB). You can also have a try to see if the FAT32 meta files would become smaller or not via using the "Wipe" function of MiniTool Partition Wizard or using format commandline in the CMD. If the space taken has no obvious changes to the previous reults you had, I consider that the FAT32 meta files must also have something to do with the storage space of a device. Anyway, I am quite sure your 14.5MB is taken up by the fat allocation table. You may find a Hex editor tool to view what inside your disk to check if I am right or not.

What hex tool did you use?

 

[MrBatata]

I also think it's useful to point out that there are two different definitions of "Gigabyte". Gigabyte was always 1024MB (because of the computers binary system) but now it has come to mean 1000MB and manufacturers 'sell' on the lower basis whilst users can expect the 'normal' basis.

Give Partition Magic a whirl. I think that you can still download a copy free.

I have it installed XD

 

[MrBatata]

It is "WinHex". It shows you everything in your storage device, and you can even edit the hex dump.

Do you know the site I got do very similar hits on google but with different addresses.
http://www.x-ways.net/winhex/index-e.html
http://www.winhex.com/winhex/index-m.html

 

[MrBatata]

That was supposed to read "Formatting does NOT remove everything". Sorry

Only noticed(clicked in my mind) this now, how come formatting does not remove everything? Isn't that the definition of formatting?

 

[MrBatata]

I've noticed that if I reformat or even re-partition the USB drive the same happens.
Even more funny is that in NTFS it occupies 63MB instead of the 14,5MB in FAT32.

I've tried with EASUS Partition Master, MiniTool and WinDskMgm all 3 yielding the same results.

I just don't know now how to show you the hex.

 

[MrBatata]

So I've contacted Kingston, and this was their response:

Dear XXXXXX,

Thank you for contacting Kingston Technology.

While I cannot say what is causing this, I can say that it is not uncommon for this to occur.

Somehow the index created when the drive was first setup has become corrupted and this has lead to a substantial portion of the drive becoming unusable.

Usually, this is can be fixed by formatting the drive using a low level format software like Active Killdisk, TestDisk or HDD Guru,

A low level format goes much deeper than the standard Windows format, removing the tertiary and secondary data layers - only the primary layer remains intact.

Any errors on these two layers can lead to corruption issues and by removing these layers, issues are usually resolved.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:

Please note that Killdisk, TestDisk or HDD Guru are 3rd party utilities. We can merely recommend the usage of these however not guarantee any successful reformatting of your Flash product.

Once you have formatted the product with a low level format utility, please reformat it again in Windows using the options FAT16, FAT32, NTFS or exFAT.

If the low-level format does not restore the fully capacity of the drive, please get back to us with your address and phone number and a copy of the proof of purchase, as then it will be necessary for us to replace the drive under the warranty.

Kind regards

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX