Innovations in magnetic hard disk drive design have continually increased storage capacity, principally by increasing areal density. Application of advanced read/write elements including giant magnetoresistive heads, have allowed areal densities to exceed 17 Gbits/sq. in.(17 billion bits per square inch of disk surface). To achieve ever-increasing densities, the laws of magnetic recording physics require ever decreasing head-to-disk spacing, which can be achieved only with a virtually perfect, ultra-smooth disk. Previously, most drives operated in a CSS (contact stop-start) mode, in which heads come to rest on the disk surface when the disk rotation stops. During start-up, the heads could slide, in contact, over the disk surface until the disks are spinning sufficiently fast to achieve the required flying height. In order to prevent adhesion of the heads to a smooth disk surface which could affect drive spin-up, disk surfaces are textured (roughened in a precision process). Texturing is performed either uniformly over the entire disk surface, or locally in a specific zone at the inner diameter of the disk dedicated for starting and stopping. While these techniques have been successful in the past, today's higher areal density designs require a level of disk surface perfection beyond the texturing need to support CSS operation. The Travelstar 4GT and Travelstar 5GS products are the first 2.5 inch form factor Hitachi drives to use load-unload. In these drives, a ramp-type load-unload mechanism is employed to lift the heads from each disk surface as the actuator travels beyond the disk outer diameter (OD), parking the heads outside of the disk stack. At the end of each head/suspension assembly is a lift tab which engages a ramp, an inclined cam-like surface positioned at the disk OD. To prevent disk surface contact during loading, descent speed of the heads is controlled.