Abstract: A data storage device may comprise storage media comprising a plurality of sectors, and a controller configured to selectively read and write data thereto. The controller may be further configured to tag a sector as a bad sector to be relocated after a first failed read and to untag the tagged sector after a successful write attempt after the first failed read. After a second failed read from the sector subsequent to the successful write, the controller may tag the untagged sector as a bad sector to be relocated and adjust a recurring bad sector counter for that sector. On a subsequent write request, based at least in part on the bad sector counter and a threshold, the controller may determine whether to relocate data stored at a physical location on the data storage device corresponding to the sector to a spare location on the data storage device.