Disk drive with textured slider contact region

A disk drive comprising:

• a disk;
• a slider having at least first and second side rails and a trailing center pad, the side rails being parallel, coplanar and disposed on outer sides of the slider, the trailing center pad being narrower than a distance between the first and second side rails and centrally disposed on the slider along a horizontal axis which passes between, and parallel to, the side rails, the trailing center pad extending rearward beyond the side rails along the horizontal axis which passes between the side rails;
• an actuator assembly on which the slider is mounted in contact with a planar disk surface when the disk is at rest;
• a circular contact start/stop (CSS) region on the planar surface of the disk comprising at least inner, middle and outer zones with the inner, middle and outer zones forming concentric circles, the middle zone having a width which is less than or equal to the distance between the rails, with at least the inner and outer zones having a plurality of bumps on the planar surface for supporting a side rail of the slider, the middle zone being recessed in relation to the inner and outer zones by having a plurality of bumps on the planar surface having an average height less than an average height of the bumps in the inner or outer zones;
• and
• a latch for limiting the movement of the actuator which when latched simultaneously positions the first side rail in contact with the outer zone and the second side rail in contact with the inner zone and the trailing center pad of the slider over the middle zone to provide a positive pitch to the slider by allowing the trailing center pad to drop into the middle zone while the first and second side rails are supported by the bumps in the inner and outer zones while the disk is at rest.