Data sector error handling mechanism

• US 20030177434A1
• Filed: 03/03/2003
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Su, Hui, Moller, Gregory P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,206,990 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/768
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1816 Testing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1879 Direct read-after-write methods
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2005/001 Controlling recording characteristics of record carriers or transducing characteristics of transducers by means not being part of their structure
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/183 wherein at least one additional attempt is made to read or write the data when a first attempt is unsuccessful
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/012 Recording on, or reproducing or erasing from, magnetic disks G11B17/00, G11B19/00 take precedence

Abstract

A method is provided for handling errors in a data storage system. The method includes determining a number of sectors to be accessed. Also, all sectors from the number of sectors are accessed during a first access routine. Next, error sectors are identified and the error sectors are accessed during a second access routine.

Claims

1. A method of handling errors in a system comprising:

determining a number of sectors to be accessed;

accessing all sectors of the number of sectors during a first access routine;

identifying error sectors in the number of sectors; and

accessing the error sectors during a second access routine.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying includes associating a write fault error with a particular sector.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying includes identifying error sectors based on positioning information.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the positioning information pertains to a position of a head relative to a track that is accessed.

5. The method of claim 1 and further comprising providing a signal for each sector indicative of whether each sector is an error sector and generating a mask based on the signals.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein accessing the error sectors comprises writing only the error sectors based on the mask.

7. The method of claim 5 and further comprising storing the mask in a buffer.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing all sectors comprises writing data to all sectors of the number of sectors and wherein the method further comprises storing data to be written to a storage medium in a buffer and releasing at least a portion of the data stored in the buffer that has correctly been written to the storage medium during the first access routine, wherein releasing is performed before the second access routine.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing the error sectors includes writing only the error sectors during a second access routine.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying includes:

associating write fault errors with particular sectors and generating error signals indicative thereof;

identifying error sectors based on positioning information and generating error signals indicative thereof;

generating a mask based on the error signals; and

writing data to error sectors based on the mask.

11. A data storage system, comprising:

a storage medium;

a head configured to access data from the storage medium;

a buffer memory; and

a controller configured to determine a number of sectors to be accessed from the storage medium, access all sectors of the number of sectors on the storage medium during a first routine, identify error sectors from the number of sectors and access the error sectors during a second routine.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the controller is further configured to associate a write fault error with a particular sector.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the controller is further configured to identify error sectors based on positioning information.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the positioning information pertains to a position of a head relative to a track that is accessed.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the controller is further configured to provide a signal for each sector indicative of whether each sector is an error sector and generate a mask based on the signals.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the controller is further configured to only write the error sectors based on the mask.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the controller is further configured to store the mask in the buffer memory.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein the controller is further configured to store data to be accessed in the buffer memory and release at least a portion of the data stored in the buffer memory when data has correctly been written to the storage medium.

19. The system of claim 11 wherein the controller is further configured to write only the error sectors during the second access routine.

20. The system of claim 11 wherein the controller is further configured to associate write fault errors with particular sectors and generate error signals indicative thereof, identify error sectors based on positioning information and generate error signals indicative thereof, generate a mask based on the error signals and write data to the error sectors based on the mask.

21. A data storage system, comprising:

a storage medium;

a head configured to access sectors on the storage medium;

means for identifying error sectors during a first access routine and means for accessing the error sectors during a second access routine.

22. The system of claim 21 and further comprising means for associating a write fault error with a particular sector.

23. The system of claim 21 and further comprising means for identifying error sectors based on positioning information.

24. The system of claim 21 and further comprising means for providing a signal for each sector indicative of whether each sector is an error sector and generating a mask based on the signals.

25. The system of claim 21 and further comprising means for accessing only a selected number of sectors during an access routine.