Noise is a concern when it comes to storing data because noise can cause a
corrupted signal and, therefore, lost data, Micromagnetic simulation was us
ed to gain insight and understanding of particulate media noise due to nonu
niform particle distribution. These distributions result in a spatial fluct
uation of the anisotropy field and orientation of the particles, which intr
oduces randomness into the recording process, The effect of the randomness
(i,e,, noise) on the recording process was studied, as were effects of redu
ced media thickness and improved particle alignment on the noise level and
record nonlinearity, Effect of the noise on write-equalized recordings was
also investigated. The focus of the paper is on thin metal-particle media.