How to Determine the Amount of Gigabytes on a Computer Hard Drive

Computer hard drives vary widely in size. Older machines often have drives that offer only a few gigabytes worth of space, while new computers provide many hundreds or even several thousands of gigabytes of storage. Determining the size of a hard drive is a straightforward process on both Mac OS X and Windows operating systems.

Instructions

1. Open your computer information screen. If you use the Mac OS X operating system, skip to Step 3. If you use Windows XP or an earlier version of Windows, double-click the icon on your desktop labeled "My Computer." If you use Windows Vista or Windows 7, double-click the desktop icon labeled "Computer."

2. View your hard drive size. In Windows XP and earlier Windows versions, right-click the icon representing your hard drive; this is generally labeled the "C:" drive. Select "Properties." Look under the "General" tab and find the line labeled "Capacity." The amount at the end of the line shows the maximum number of gigabytes your hard drive can hold. In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, simply locate the icon representing your hard drive and read the label below the status bar. The amount listed at the end of the label represents your hard drive's maximum capacity.

3. Determine the hard drive size on a Mac OS X machine. Press the "Control" key on your Mac keyboard while clicking the hard drive icon on your desktop. Select the "Get Info" option. Locate the "Capacity" label on the following screen; this shows the maximum number of gigabytes your hard drive can hold.

References

• University of Maryland, Baltimore County: Determine your hard drive's size and remaining space
• California State University, Chico: How to determine your system specs in Mac OS X