Data recording/reproducing apparatus with error detection and data

Abstract

Generally in the case that a rotary head type digital audio tape recorder is used as an auxiliary storage of a computer or the like, the R-DAT reads recorded data immediately after the data is recorded and inspects its recording state by comparing it with the original recorded data, and if the recording state is inferior, namely, if an error is detected, the R-DAT records the data again in order to improve reliability of the recorded data. Since an R-DAT according to the present invention re-records the original data of the error-detected data plural times, the R-DAT allows for reproduction of the data re-recorded immediately after, or further thereafter the error-detected data, in the case that the first re-recorded data cannot be reproduced correctly. Moreover, since the R-DAT re-records the data in which an error was detected and the data recorded immediately before the error data, the R-DAT can reproduce the re-recorded data in the case that the data contiguous to a defective portion of a recording medium cannot be correctly reproduced due to expansion of the defective portion caused by repetition of reproducing operations, or other reasons. In this way, reliability of recorded data is remarkably improved.