Disk drives and disk drive-containing devices having selectively controllable and/or adaptive quiet and high performance modes of operation

A disk drive that selectively provides either higher-performance seek operations or reduced-audible noise while effecting a seek operation, the disk drive comprising:

• first means for defining a higher performance seek operating mode;
• second means for defining a quiet seek operating mode, the second means including a disk drive control program and detection means for detecting a data stream length, the quiet seek operating mode being invoked whenever the data stream length reaches a threshold length;
• servo means for controlling seek operations, the servo means including means for defining a plurality of seek profiles including a first seek profile defined to provide relatively short average seek times and a second seek profile defined to provide quieter operation on average in comparison with the first seek profile, and means for effecting a seek subject to the first seek profile in response to the higher performance seek operating mode and for effecting a seek subject to the second seek profile in response to the quiet seek operating mode.

A disk drive that selectively provides either higher-performance seek operations or reduced-audible noise while effecting a seek operation, the disk drive comprising:

• first means for defining a higher performance seek operating mode;
• second means for defining a quiet seek operating mode, the second means comprising means for measuring an ambient acoustic level, the measuring means invoking the quiet seek operating mode whenever the ambient acoustic level reaches a selectable threshold;
• servo means for controlling seek operations, the servo means including means for defining a plurality of seek profiles including a first seek profile defined to provide relatively short average seek times and a second seek profile defined to provide quieter operation on average in comparison with the first seek profile, and means for effecting a seek subject to the first seek profile in response to the higher performance seek operating mode and for effecting a seek subject to the second seek profile in response to the quiet seek operating mode.

A disk drive that selectively provides either higher-performance seek operations or reduced-audible noise while effecting a seek operation, the disk drive comprising:

• first means for defining a higher performance seek operating mode;
• second means for defining a quiet seek operating mode, the second means defining a plurality of mutually different quiet seek operating modes, each of the plurality of quiet seek operating modes causing the drive to operate with mutually different levels of audible noise, the second means comprising means for measuring an ambient acoustic level, the measuring means invoking a selected one of the plurality of quiet seek operating modes depending upon the measured ambient acoustic level;
• servo means for controlling seek operations, the servo means including means for defining a plurality of seek profiles including a first seek profile defined to provide relatively short average seek times and a second seek profile defined to provide quieter operation on average in comparison with the first seek profile, and means for effecting a seek subject to the first seek profile in response to the higher performance seek operating mode and for effecting a seek subject to the second seek profile in response to the quiet seek operating mode.

A disk drive that selectively provides either higher-performance seek operations or reduced-audible noise while effecting a seek operation, the disk drive comprising:

• first means for defining a higher performance seek operating mode;
• second means for defining a quiet seek operating mode;
• servo means for controlling seek operations, the servo means including means for defining a plurality of seek profiles including a first seek profile defined to provide relatively short average seek times and a second seek profile defined to provide quieter operation on average in comparison with the first seek profile, and means for effecting a seek subject to the first seek profile in response to the higher performance seek operating mode and for effecting a seek subject to the second seek profile in response to the quiet seek operating mode, and media, the media being formatted into a first disk portion and a second disk portion, the first disk portion being formatted to designate the quiet seek operating mode for seek operations within the first disk portion and the second disk portion being formatted to designate the performance seek operating mode for seek operations.