[Android Central Question]

Hello All,

Just came to the best place to get some advice/info.

Today I received my new tablet a Lenovo Tab P10. On the back of the box, and the website I bought it from, it said that it has 32gb memory on it yet when I plugged it into my laptop to transfer something onto it, I saw the hard drive section and it said that I had 20.8gb free out of 23.0gb.

Is there any memory missing or am I misunderstanding something about how tablets work? I know on laptops if you have a terrabyte harddrive there will be a big missing because of the OS etc, but can the same thing happen on the tablet? If so, 9gb is a lot for an OS is it not?

Thank you for your time and help.

From Sarah.

[mustang7757]

Hi, welcome to Android Forums

I'd like to recommend creating a account so me or other members can assist you, as guest have limitations in replying here and if we need further Information to communicate with you.

I'll provide a link to register, please come back to your post so we can further assist you . Thank you
https://forums.androidcentral.com/sh...d.php?t=409154

[mustang7757]

That's strange, can you post a screenshot of your storage? Block any personal information.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/sh...d.php?t=737130

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! 8-9 GB is not that unusual for the OS and any preinstalled app. The newer Lenovo tablets typically come with a lot of Amazon functionality (like Alexa), so those apps probably account for a chunk of that.

[mustang7757]

Wouldn't it show 20.8 out of 32gb instead of 20.8 out of 23gb ?

[Golfdriver97]

Wouldn't it show 20.8 out of 32gb instead of 20.8 out of 23gb ?

It could also be the difference between a binary GB and a decimal GB. 1024 kB to make a MB versus just 1000 can add up quick once you reach Giga.

[Golfdriver97]

To add to my above post.... advertising storage using decimal, but the OS still reading it as binary is why it reflects a different amount.

[mustang7757]

It could also be the difference between a binary GB and a decimal GB. 1024 kB to make a MB versus just 1000 can add up quick once you reach Giga.

Hmm...I checked my phone storage on Note 10 and it reads this 41.46/256gb. It's a 256gb phone

[B. Diddy]

Wouldn't it show 20.8 out of 32gb instead of 20.8 out of 23gb ?

I've seen certain devices not include the storage that is reserved for the system and preinstalled apps in that figure. It might help to see a screenshot of the Settings>Storage menu. http://forums.androidcentral.com/gen...d-central.html. You'll have to register first.

[mustang7757]

Yeah true ...

I've seen certain devices not include the storage that is reserved for the system and preinstalled apps in that figure. It might help to see a screenshot of the Settings>Storage menu. http://forums.androidcentral.com/gen...d-central.html. You'll have to register first.

[Golfdriver97]

Hmm...I checked my phone storage on Note 10 and it reads this 41.46/256gb. It's a 256gb phone

Different OEMs can use different drives. Samsung may use a binary GB measurement while Lenovo may have used decimal.

Another factor is how the particular OS version reads the drive storage. Windows usually tells user's how much space after formatting is available.

This is a downside to open source. Lenovo or maybe even Samsung changed how the OS reads the drive size. Pragmatically, you also don't have all 256 GB available to you, no matter how the size is measured.

[mustang7757]

Yeah , I agree with you .

Different OEMs can use different drives. Samsung may use a binary GB measurement while Lenovo may have used decimal.

Another factor is how the particular OS version reads the drive storage. Windows usually tells user's how much space after formatting is available.

This is a downside to open source. Lenovo or maybe even Samsung changed how the OS reads the drive size. Pragmatically, you also don't have all 256 GB available to you, no matter how the size is measured.

[SarahLauritzen]

Hello all,
Thank you for replying, all the answers are very helpful. I have provided a link to the screenshot which was requested, I cannot find how to add it directly here. Thank you again.

https://mega.nz/#!g8ZV2CoA

[B. Diddy]

Sorry, we can't see that image because it asks for a decryption key.

[SarahLauritzen]

Sorry, here it is again, thanks.

https://mega.nz/#!QoZgAIha!QFEfPwNTc...UVee90jBXaFZtg

[Rukbat]

It's the difference between 32GB of total storage and a 23GB partition for the user. See [Guide] Checking the ACTUAL storage space on an Android device. It's like a PC with a single hard drive, but "Drive C" and "Drive D". They're partitions of the single drive. And if it's a 1TB drive, you don't see 1TB in each partition, you see a total of 1TB. (Except that in Android, you don't normally see all the other partitions, just the one for the user to use.)

[B. Diddy]

Sorry, here it is again, thanks.

https://mega.nz/#!QoZgAIha!QFEfPwNTc...UVee90jBXaFZtg

Sorry, but that's not the storage screen I'm looking for. On your tablet, go to Settings>Storage​ and show us that screenshot. But as Rukbat mentioned, Windows is only looking at the partition it's allowed to look at, since the system partition is protected and can't be accessed by Windows File Explorer. So the 23 GB is simply the storage available to the user, not counting what the OS and preinstalled bloatware take up.