Heat assisted magnetic recording for bit-patterned media

One or more tangible computer-readable storage media encoding computer-executable instructions for executing on a computer system a computer process, the computer process comprising:

• operating a HAMR head heat source at a first power to write data to a target data track of a storage media;
• receiving an instruction to re-write the target data track;
• determining whether the target data track is bounded by a data-storing track;
• based on the determination, selecting between the first power and a second lower power for the re-write of the target data.

One or more tangible computer-readable storage media encoding computer-executable instructions for executing on a computer system a computer process, the computer process comprising:

• selecting between a first region and a second region of a storage medium to write data of a write command;
• if the first region is selected, writing data to a series of alternating data tracks while operating a HAMR head heat source at a first power;
• and
• if the second region is selected, writing data to a series of consecutive data tracks while operating the HAMR head heat source at a second power lower than the first power.