Abstract: In one illustrative example, a method for use in reducing Repeatable Run Out (RRO) error in a data storage device involves obtaining an RRO measurement for each track of a limited number of N disk tracks; characterizing the RRO measurement for each track with real and imaginary values by performing a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) calculation on each RRO measurement; performing a least-squares fit on all of the real values to identify a first set of (n+1) coefficients of an nth-order polynomial function which is a function of disk track r and representable in the form Ai(r)=anrn+a(n?1)r(n?1)+ . . . +a1r+a0; and performing a least-squares fit on all of the imaginary values to identify a second set of (n+1) coefficients of an nth-order polynomial function which is a function of disk track r and representable in the form Bi(r)=bnrn+b(n?1)r(n?1)+ . . . +b1r+b0.

Abstract: In one illustrative example, a method for use in reducing Repeatable Run Out (RRO) error in a data storage device involves obtaining an RRO measurement for each track of a limited number of N disk tracks; characterizing the RRO measurement for each track with real and imaginary values by performing a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) calculation on each RRO measurement; performing a least-squares fit on all of the real values to identify a first set of (n+1) coefficients of an nth-order polynomial function which is a function of disk track r and representable in the form Ai(r)=anrn+a(n−1)r(n−1)+ . . . +a1r+a0; and performing a least-squares fit on all of the imaginary values to identify a second set of (n+1) coefficients of an nth-order polynomial function which is a function of disk track r and representable in the form Bi(r)=bnrn+b(n−1)r(n−1)+ . . . +b1r+b0.

Abstract: A manufacturing test method and apparatus for testing devices, preferably magnetic disk drives, assembled or processed at ones of a plurality of stations in a variegated process stream from components originating from a plurality of sources of components, to determine failure statistics for selected ones of the plurality of stations or ones of the sources of components.