A tape drive may arrange timing-based-servo marks into a timing-based-servo pattern. The timing-based-servo pattern may be at least one M-pattern. The tape drive may select the at least one M-pattern. The tape drive may match at least two timing-based-servo marks in the at least one M-pattern. The tape drive may determine, from the matching, whether an alignment of the at least two timing-based-servo marks is demonstrative of tape-creep.

A servo pattern recording method according to an embodiment of the present technology is a servo pattern recording method of recording a servo pattern on a tape-like magnetic recording medium including a magnetic layer including five or more servo bands, the method including: determining at least three first servo bands in which first servo band identification information constituted by a plurality of bits is to be recorded, and at least two second servo bands in which second servo band identification information constituted by a plurality of bits is to be recorded, the second servo band identification being different from the first servo band identification information; and recording each of the first servo band identification information and the second servo band identification information in the first servo band and the second servo band on the same phase.

According to an embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a magnetic disk including a first storage area and a second storage area different from the first storage area. In the second storage area, both of a first post code that is used to write user data in the first storage area by a first method and a second post code that is used to write user data in the first storage area by a second method are stored in advance. The first method is a method in which one track between two tracks adjacent to each other overlaps a part of the other track between the two tracks. The second method is a method in which two adjacent tracks do not overlap each other.

A data storage device is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk. The head is used to read servo information from the disk and generate a position error signal (PES) representing a position of the head over the disk. A control signal is generated based on the PES and a triangle-shape dither signal, and the head is positioned over the disk using the control signal.

A magnetic disk device includes a magnetic disk, a first read element, a second read element, and a controller. In the magnetic disk, first servo information is written. The controller controls the servo writing of second servo information on the magnetic disk, based on the first servo information. In addition, the controller controls acquisition of the first servo information by the first read element. The controller switches a read element to be used to control the servo writing from the first read element to the second read element based on quality of the first servo information acquired by the first read element.

According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a disk that has a track including a first servo sector and a second servo sector that is different from the first servo sector, a head that writes data to the disk and reads data from the disk, and a controller that records first signal strength record data related to a signal strength at which first target servo data that is a target of the first servo sector is read, and standardizes first signal strength data related to a signal strength at which the first target servo data is read when the first target servo data is read.

A tape-shaped magnetic recording medium includes a base, a nonmagnetic layer that is provided on the base and contains a nonmagnetic powder, and a magnetic layer that is provided on the nonmagnetic layer and contains a magnetic powder. In the magnetic recording medium, the magnetic layer has an average thickness of not more than 90 nm, the magnetic powder has an average aspect ratio of from 1.0 to 3.0, a coercive force Hc1 in a perpendicular direction is not more than 3,000 Oe, the coercive force Hc1 in the perpendicular direction and a coercive force Hc2 in a longitudinal direction satisfy the relation of Hc2/Hc10.8, the nonmagnetic layer has an average thickness of not more than 1.1 m, and the nonmagnetic powder has an average particle volume of not more than 2.010.sup.5 m.sup.3.

A tape-shaped magnetic recording medium includes a substrate; and a magnetic layer that is provided on the substrate and contains a magnetic powder. An average thickness of the magnetic layer is not more than 90 nm, an average aspect ratio of the magnetic powder is not less than 1.0 and not more than 3.0, the coercive force Hc1 in a vertical direction is not more than 3000 Oe, and the coercive force Hc1 in the vertical direction and a coercive force Hc2 in a longitudinal direction satisfy a relationship of Hc2/Hc10.8.

A tape-shaped magnetic recording medium includes a substrate; and a magnetic layer that is provided on the substrate and contains a magnetic powder. An average thickness of the magnetic layer is not more than 90 nm, an average aspect ratio of the magnetic powder is not less than 1.0 and not more than 3.0, the coercive force Hc1 in a vertical direction is not more than 3000 Oe, the coercive force Hc1 in the vertical direction and a coercive force Hc2 in a longitudinal direction satisfy a relationship of Hc2/Hc10.8, and a value of 1.50.5 is not more than 0.6 N in a tensile test of the magnetic recording medium in the longitudinal direction, where 0.5 is a load at an elongation rate of 0.5% in the magnetic recording medium and 1.5 is a load at an elongation rate of 1.5% in the magnetic recording medium.

Zone self-servo write (SSW) technology is disclosed that leverages two clock signals synchronized in parallel to transition between zones to write servo patterns at different frequencies while minimizing error rate despite the different frequencies. Two separate clock signals (clocks) are used to locate and lock to different reference spirals. By updating both clocks in parallel instead of in series, error rate for writing while stepping up frequency across zones is reduced.