A process for producing magnetic plated media suitable for use in high-performance disk drives is disclosed. A layer of nickel is first provided on a standard aluminum alloy substrate, by electroless deposition, to improve adhesion of subsequent layers. A layer of nickel phosphorous and a magnetic layer of nickel cobalt are then, in turn, electroplated. The plated media disk is then oxidized below a nickel-magnetizing temperature to provide a protective outer surface.A variation of this process is also disclosed. This time a magnetically-shielding copper layer is electroplated over the first nickel layer. The nickel phosphorous and nickel cobalt layers are then electroplated on as before. The plated media can now be oxidized at a temperature higher than the nickel-magnetizing temperature to speed up the process.