Patent ID: 8819358

Claim:
A data storage device comprising: a first data storage area configured to store one bit of data using single-level cells (SLCs) in a nonvolatile memory cell array; and a second data storage area configured to store at least two bits of data using multi-level cells (MLCs) in the nonvolatile memory cell array, wherein the first data storage area comprises a plurality of memory blocks to be selected in a predetermined order and configured to store user data and metadata corresponding to the user data, and wherein the user data and the metadata are written into a same memory block while it is a currently-selected memory block, and wherein meta-management data used to manage physical locations of the metadata is written into the currently-selected memory block if a previous memory block excludes meta-management data, wherein the meta-management data comprise count-up or count-down information, and the newest meta-management data are identified by the count-up or count-down information, wherein if the data storage device is rebooted, the newest metadata are generated on the basis of metadata detected from the newest meta-management data and scanning results of metadata and user data stored after storage of the newest meta-management data.