A representation of a codeword is decoded by applying a first decoder of the codeword to the representation of the codeword. If applying the first decoder fails to decode the representation of the codeword then a second decoder of the codeword is applied to the representation of the codeword. Preferably, applying the first decoder consumes less power and is faster than applying the second decoder. Data are ported by encoding the data as a codeword, exporting the codeword to a corrupting medium, importing a representation of the codeword, and applying a first decoder to the representation of the codeword. If applying the first decoder fails to decode the representation of the codeword then a second decoder of the codeword is applied to the representation of the codeword.