Patent ID: 6061824
Filing Date: 2000-05-09
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A method of processing errors in data read from a disk of a disk drive system, comprising the steps of:reading data and error correction code bits from a first sector of the disk;generating a first error syndrome value based on the data and error correction code bits that were read from the first sector;processing the first error syndrome value to determine whether the data contains an error, wherein if an error is detected, a hardware correction circuit attempts to correct the error;determining whether the error is correctable by the hardware correction circuit, and if so correcting the error with the hardware correction circuit and reading a second sector of the disk; andif the error is deemed uncorrectable by the hardware correction circuit:storing the first error syndrome in a memory;setting a flag to indicate that the first error syndrome is stored in the memory;performing error correction under firmware control;clearing the flag after the firmware reads the first error syndrome stored in the memory; anddetermining whether to continue reading sectors from the disk based at least in part on whether the flag is set.