Detecting a track tear servo defect condition in a hard disc drive

Apparatus and method for evaluating the presence of a track tear servo defect in a disc drive, characterized as a stepwise radial discontinuity so that the track ends at a different radius than it begins is disclosed for a disc drive. A first defect log is generated for a selected track, the first defect log providing an indication of detected defects for each servo frame associated with the selected track. At such time that a selected servo frame is identified as having a defect, a second defect log is generated for the selected track while the position information provided by the selected servo frame is ignored. The second defect log is then evaluated to determine whether any defects are detected for the remaining servo frames. At such time that a defect appears in the second defect log for a servo frame immediately following the selected servo frame, a track tear condition is declared.