Method and apparatus for detecting media defects in a disc drive

An apparatus for marking defective stored data in a data storage medium, comprising:

• a data transfer member operably disposable in a data transfer relationship with the medium for reading a data signal characterizing the stored data;
• a first comparator member comparing the data signal to a preselected threshold to indicate an occurrence of a data read error;
• a second comparator member responsive to the first comparator member, comparing a number of consecutive data read errors to a first preselected count;
• a third comparator member responsive to the first comparator member, comparing the total number of data read errors to a second preselected count;
• a marking member marking a corresponding portion of the medium as defective only if one of the number of consecutive data read errors and the total number of data read errors equals the respective preselected counts.

A disc drive, comprising:

• a data storage medium and a data transfer member in an operable data reading and writing relationship;
• means for marking a portion of the medium, preventing the subsequent storage of data therein based on the detection of the magnitude and quantity of data read errors without error correction attempts, the means for marking is characterized by:
• a first comparator member comparing the data signal to a preselected threshold to indicate an occurrence of a data read error;
• a second comparator member responsive to the first comparator member, comparing a number of consecutive data read errors to a first preselected count;
• a third comparator member responsive to the first comparator member, comparing the total number of data read errors to a second preselected counts;
• a marking member marking a corresponding portion of the medium as defective only if one of the number of consecutive data read errors and the total number of data read errors equals the respective preselected counts.