A system and method for processing track identification data in a disk drive having concentric tracks each having a track identification field (TIF) stored in embedded servo sectors, the TIF includes a band segment identifying a group of tracks, and an index segment identifying a single track of the group of tracks. The system and method include reading a servo sector to obtain the TIF, parsing the TIF to obtain the band segment, comparing the obtained band segment to an expected band segment to obtain a band segment differential (BSD), initiating an action if the BSD exceeds a pre-determined threshold and varies from the expected band segment by a predetermined number of bits, initiating another action if the BSD exceeds the predetermined threshold and does not vary from the expected band segment by the predetermined number of bits. The process is then applied to the index segments of the band segment.