Overview

In this tutorial, we will learn about Computer Data Storage units and measurements.

Basic Unit

The basic computer data storage unit is called a bit or binary digit. A bit can store either 0 or 1. All the files on the computer are stored as binary files. Data on digital computers is represented as a series of 0s and 1s bits. These are analogous to ON and OFF.

 

Data Storage Units

Basic computer data storage units in tabular format are as follows:

Unit	Abbreviation	Storage Capacity
Bit	bit	0 or 1
Byte	byte	8 bits
Kilobyte	KB	1024 bytes
Megabyte	MB	1024 kilobytes
Gigabyte	GB	1024 megabytes
Terabyte	TB	1024 gigabytes

 

There are higher storage units beyond terabytes like petabytes, exabytes, etc.

Examples

# Let’s convert 8 Bytes to bits.

We know that 1 Byte = 8 bits.

So, 8 Bytes  = 8 * 8 bits

= 64 bits

 

# Let’s convert 256 KB to bits.

1 KB = 1024 bytes.

= 1024 * 8 bits.

So, 256 KB = 256 * 1024 * 8 bits

= 2097152 bits