An information storage system having a ring head in such close proximity to a rigid magnetic storage disk that the magnetic field felt by the media layer or layers of the disk has a larger perpendicular than longitudinal component so that data is stored in a perpendicular mode. Reading of data is accomplished with a magnetoresistive sensor which may be coupled to the magnetically permeable core of the ring head far from the poletips, which may contact the disk. The media preferably has a high perpendicular anisotropy, and may be formed in a plurality of films with crystalline structures traversing the films.