In a particular embodiment, a data storage device is disclosed that can include a data storage medium having a device failure partition including a device failure log to store operational state information. The operational state information can include commands, data, performance data, and environmental data associated with the data storage device. The data storage device can further include a controller adapted to selectively store the operational state information to the device failure log in a first-in first-out (FIFO) order representing recent states of the data storage device.