The Amusing Misadventure of Uploading a 16 Million Terabyte Image

Avery Emberly

Updated Monday, August 12, 2024 at 12:00 AM CDT

One Reddit user recently stumbled upon a comical tech mishap, garnering widespread amusement and bewilderment across the internet. The image in question, which vividly displays the message "File is too large! (16777216 TB)" against a light pink background, has become a source of endless jokes and speculation.

The message further explains that the maximum file size for the user's account type is 100 MB and suggests selecting a premium service to handle larger files. This improbable juxtaposition of a 16,777,216 terabyte file against a 100 megabyte limit has left many in fits of laughter.

In the comment section, users quickly chimed in with their own humorous interpretations and technical insights. One user quipped, "What did you take a picture of?? Your mom?" while another joked, "What did you take a picture of, the entire observable universe?" These light-hearted remarks set the tone for a thread filled with both comedy and curiosity.

For the tech enthusiasts, one user clarified, "16777216 TiB is 2^64-1 bytes, the max value of an unsigned 64 bit integer," explaining that the number corresponds to the maximum value a system can represent. Another user suggested that the image size data might be misinterpreted by the system, leading to this colossal error.

The absurdity continued with comments like, "Imagine trying to upload something this size with dial-up speed... LOL," and "How much is the premium service that can convert 16 million TB?" These jokes highlight the sheer impossibility and hilarity of the situation.

Some users even shared personal anecdotes and further technical details. One recalled causing a school server crash by creating an unreasonably large image file, while others delved into the intricacies of signed vs. unsigned integers and endianness in computer systems.

Despite the complexity of the technical explanations, the consensus remains clear: the image size of 16 million terabytes is a far-fetched error, likely due to a validation or UI issue. The community's mix of humor and technical knowledge turned what could have been a frustrating glitch into an entertaining spectacle.

Whether it's joking about "yo momma" or discussing the limits of computer storage, this Reddit post has provided a fascinating glimpse into the lighter side of tech mishaps. The image of an impossibly large file size serves as a reminder that sometimes, even the most advanced systems can have a sense of humor.

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View source: Reddit

Top Comments from Reddit

snigelfisk

What did You take a picture of?? Your mom? Edit: ty for awards!!

nobody0163

16777216 TiB is 2\^64-1 bytes, the max value of an unsigned 64 bit integer.

EvilWata

Imagine trying to upload something this size with dial-up speed... LOL

Ghost_on_Toast

What did you take a picture of, the entire observable universe?

itsLochii

Thats the Max number an unsigned long can store. When converted to terabytes you get this value. This is a validation and/or UI issue. For those questioning this, 1Kb = 1024b, not 1000

Weak-Relationship857

Must've been sending a d*** pic

could_use_a_snack

Joking aside, I don't know the actual answer for sure, but the number you are seeing is the max number the system can represent. My guess is that the size data of the image is being interpreted incorrectly and the system is confused so it errors out at the max value it can produce. My suggestion would be to take the image and edit it's size or resolution in software by a bit and resave it as a new file and try again. Whatever software created the current image is probably recording size information in a weird format. Another way around this is to ask your mother to go on a diet before you try to upload another photo of her. (Seriously, this is reddit, what did you expect?)

Raven_Crows

How much is the premium service that can convert 16 million TB?

dkyguy1995

16777216 converted to binary is 1000000000000000000000000, or in hexadecimal it's 1000000. So I think it might be an issue with signed vs unsigned integers. It's taking a signed integer (the 1 at the beginning of the number represents a negative) and interpreting it as unsigned (the 1 at the beginning is actually a digit in the number). The number you're seeing then is the computer misinterpreting the maximum negative number as just some enormous power of two. Some people online suggest it might be an issue with endianness which is basically: does the computer read right to left or from left to right. If the programmer isn't careful and reads a number with the wrong endianness then the number 1 can instead be flipped and become the giant negative number from up above

teddycorps

How much p*** were you trying to upload? All of it.