US 7,120,737 B1Granted

Disk drive employing a disk command data structure for tracking a write verify status of a write command

AssigneeWestern Digital Technologies, Inc.

InventorGregory B. Thelin

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A disk drive is disclosed including a disk having a plurality of tracks, wherein each track comprises a plurality of data sectors. A microprocessor executes a write command associated with a disk command data structure by inserting the disk command data structure into a dirty queue, and then executing the write command using the disk command data structure by writing data blocks to a plurality of target data sectors. The disk command data structure is then inserted into a write verify queue, and the disk command data structure is used to perform a write verify operation. The disk command data structure is inserted into an available queue if the target data sectors pass the write verify operation, and the disk command data structure is inserted back into the dirty queue if at least one of the target data sectors fails the write verify operation.

Claims2

Dependent claims

A disk drive comprising:

(a) a disk comprising a plurality of tracks, wherein each track comprises a plurality of data sectors and each data sector is operable to store a data block;
(b) a head actuated radially over the disk;
(c) a plurality of disk command data structures, wherein a first one of the disk command data structures comprises a pointer to a plurality of data blocks to be written to a corresponding plurality of target data sectors;
(d) a dirty queue for queuing disk command data structures associated with write commands comprising write data to be written to the disk, including write commands received from a host;
(e) a write verify queue for storing disk command data structures associated with write commands comprising write data to be verified;
(f) an available queue for storing disk command data structures associated with write commands comprising write data written to the disk and verified;
and
(g) a microprocessor for executing a first write command received from the host and associated with the first disk command data structure by:
inserting the first disk command data structure into the dirty queue;
selecting the first disk command data structure from the dirty queue;
executing the write command using the first disk command data structure by writing the data blocks to the plurality of target data sectors;
inserting the first disk command data structure into the write verify queue after executing the write command;
selecting the first disk command data structure from the write verify queue;
using the first disk command data structure to perform a write verify operation to verify recoverability of each of the target data sectors;
inserting the first disk command data structure into the available queue if the target data sectors pass the write verify operation;
and
if at least one of the target data sectors fails the write verify operation:
(i) inserting the first disk command data structure back into the dirty queue;
(ii) selecting between the first disk command data structure and a second disk command data structure from the dirty queue, wherein the second disk command data structure is associated with a second write command received from the host;
and
(iii) executing the first or second write command associated with the selected disk command data structure.

18 more elements

A method of executing a first write command received from a host and associated with a disk command in a disk drive, the disk drive comprising a disk having a plurality of tracks, wherein each track comprises a plurality of data sectors and each data sector is configured to store a data block, a head actuated radially over the disk, and a plurality of disk command data structures, wherein a first one of the disk command data structures is associated with the first write command and comprises a pointer to a plurality of data blocks to be written to a corresponding plurality of target data sectors, the method comprising:

(a) inserting the first disk command data structure into a dirty queue, wherein the dirty queue queues disk command data structures associated with write commands comprising write data to be written to the disk, including write commands received from the host;
(b) selecting the first disk command data structure from the dirty queue;
(c) executing the first write command using the first disk command data structure by writing the data blocks to the plurality of target data sectors;
(d) inserting the first disk command data structure into a write verify queue after executing the write command;
(e) selecting the first disk command data structure from the write verify queue;
(f) using the first disk command data structure to perform a write verify operation to verify recoverability of each of the target data sectors;
(g) inserting the disk command data structure into an available queue if the target data sectors pass the write verify operation;
and
(h) if at least one of the target data sectors fails the write verify operation:
(i) inserting the first disk command data structure back into the dirty queue;
(ii) selecting between the first disk command data structure and a second disk command data structure from the dirty queue, wherein the second disk command data structure is associated with a second write command received from the host;
and
(iii) executing the first or second write command associated with the selected disk command data structure.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/336,674Filed 20 Jan 2006 · continuation
Priority: 24 Dec 2002
Granted: 10 Oct 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G11B 20/1879
Error detection or correction; Testing , e.g. of drop-outs: direct read-after-write methods
G11B 20/1816
Error detection or correction; Testing , e.g. of drop-outs: testing
G11B 2020/183
Testing: wherein at least one additional attempt is made to read or write the data when a first attempt is unsuccessful
G11B 2220/2516
Magnetic discs: hard disks