Patent ID: 6249890
Filing Date: 2001-06-19
Classification: G06F,G11B

Abstract:
A method for predicting failure of a disc drive of the type having a controllably positionable head adjacent a rotatable storage disc for reading data from the disc, the head comprising a magneto-resistive element having a changed electrical resistance in the presence of a magnetic field of selected orientation, the method comprising steps of:(a) determining a baseline level for a readback response characteristic of the head indicative of head performance as data are read back from the disc;(b) periodically determining a subsequent level for the readback response characteristic of the head;(c) predicting a possibility of a future failure of the disc drive in relation to a difference between the baseline level and the subsequent level for the readback response characteristic of the head; and(d) providing an indication of the possibility of the future failure to allow a host device with which the disc drive is associated to reallocate data stored on the disc before the failure of the disc drive.