Patent ID: 8220139

Claim:
A slider tester for inspecting a slider for a disk drive, comprising: a disk for use as a recording medium; a rotational mechanism which rotates the disk; a suspension including a lift tab on the distal end thereof and a gimbal portion on which the slider is mounted; a movable table movable in a track width direction of the disk; a table drive mechanism which moves the movable table in the track width direction; a signal processing section which is electrically connected to an element of the slider and processes a signal to access a recording surface of the disk; and a guide member which is located between the lift tab and the recording surface of the disk and supports the lift tab, thereby preventing the slider from falling onto the disk, the movable table including a suspension support portion which holds a plurality of said suspensions arranged in the track width direction of the disk, the guide member including a guide surface extending in the track width direction of the disk and in contact with the lift tab and an opening which is formed in the middle with respect to the track width direction of the guide surface and allows the lift tab to move toward the recording surface of the disk.