Patent ID: 8213117

Claim:
A protective film removal method, comprising: disposing a magnetic head such that a magnetic medium-facing surface of the magnetic head is opposed to a surface of a magnetic recording medium, the magnetic head including a reproducing element configured to reproduce information recorded on a magnetic recording medium, a recording element configured to record information on the magnetic recording medium, a heating resistor, and a protective film covering the magnetic medium-facing surface, and the reproducing element and the recording element being exposed on the magnetic medium-facing surface; controlling the heating resistor to generate heat using a power supply while rotating the magnetic recording medium, wherein thermal expansion due to the heat generation causes bulging of the magnetic medium-facing surface such that the protective film is brought into contact with the magnetic recording medium; and removing a portion of the protective film covering at least one of the reproducing element and the recording element by scraping, wherein the removed portion of the protective film is of an oval shape and includes a region of the protective film covering an end face of the reproducing element and an end face of a main magnetic pole on the magnetic medium-facing surface.