Embodiments of the invention provide ways to write data in a load/unload area. In one embodiment, address numbers (ranging from 981 to 1065) whose order of addressing by host equipment is later than that of address numbers (ranging from 1 to 980) as logical block addresses (LBAs) assigned to data sectors in the data area are assigned as LBAs to data sectors whose absolute block addresses (ABAs) range from 1001 to 1100 in the load/unload area. As a result, when the host equipment performs addressing in a magnetic disk drive, the priority order given to the load/unload area becomes low. Accordingly, with the storage capacity being increased, it is possible to prevent the substantial performance from decreasing.