Method for maintaining track data integrity in magnetic disk storage devices
US7475276B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 7, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jan 6, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 7, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B2020/183
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Techniques for detection of impending data errors in a mass storage system, such as a track squeeze problem in an electromagnetic disk drive, and then repairing the impending problem, such as by rewriting the affected tracks. In many cases the problem is detected and repair is effected when the original data can still be read. In other cases, when the data is no longer readable on the disk in question, but when the disk is part of a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) system, or other system in which higher layer fault tolerance mechanisms are implemented, the missing data can be recovered via these mechanisms. The recovered data is then used to repair the track squeeze problem. The invention can be implemented as firmware in a storage system, as a component of a general purpose operating system, or inside individual disk drives, or it can use a combination of these implementations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.