Why does my USB flash drive show less storage than it real has?

Small Storage, Beautiful Life. 

Shenzhen MingFu Tech Co.,Ltd is a professional company that produces storage products, including USB Flash Drive, USB C Memory Stick, Type-C USB Thumb Drive, SD Memory Card products.

So,why does my thumb drive not show real capacity and how can I fix a USB pen drive that shows less than actual storage?

You might find that your USB flash drive has plenty of space, but when you try to copy files over, it says there isn’t enough capacity. This could happen for several reasons:

1. The USB flash disk might be fake

The actual capacity does not reach the authentic capacity. Please refer to the actual capacity of the USB memory sticks ⇓

What the Authentic Capacity of USB Pendrive 

2. System limitations

The default USB storage devices format is FAT32. When you copy a single file exceeding 4GB, you may be prompt that the capacity is not enough. In this case, you only need to change the format of the USB pendrive to NTFS or exFAT format. 

Check out how to change the format if you're unsure ⇒ How to Transfer Files Larger than 4GB to USB Flash Drive

3. Files are hidden or data is corrupted

There may be hidden system files or corrupted data in the USB flash sticks. These files take up space but are invisible. You can free up space by showing hidden files and deleting unnecessary files.

4. Accumulation of junk files

If you've been using your USB storage device for a while, it's likely filled with temporary files, cached stuff, or backups that eat into available storage space. You can clean things up using a cleanup tool or just manually delete those extra files.

5. Viral infection issues

Viruses can mess with your USB too—like creating hidden partitions, encrypting data, etc. Use anti-virus software to fully scan the USB storage device and remove malicious programs to restore space.

6. Hardware problem

If none of these solutions work out for you, there may be a hardware failure in the USB flash drive itself. Try plugging the USB flash memory into another computer or using another storage device to verify whether the problem is caused by the USB flash hardware.

In short, to solve the problem of insufficient U disk space, we need to investigate and deal with the USB memory itself, file system, hidden files, junk files, virus infection and hardware problems, etc.

Any other questions about the USB flash disk drive, also can feel free contact us.