Patent ID: 6157189
Filing Date: 2000-12-05
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A method for testing a magnetic disk and a read head, comprising the steps of:writing an arbitrary signal on a reference track located at an arbitrarily selected radial distance from the center of the magnetic disk in test using a magnetic recording read/write head;rotating the disk around its central axis during testing;scanning the magnetic disk with the magnetic read/write head by moving the head laterally back and forth repeatedly crossing the reference track on said disk a plurality of times to scan a zone which is radially larger and radially shorter than the radial distance from the center of the disk to the recording track on the disk as the magnetic disk is rotating around its central axis; andsensing the arbitrary signal on the reference track as the read/write head is scanned back and forth across the reference track in the zone being scanned producing a scanned read signal that is representative of the magnetic disk and read/write head performance.