A data storage device is disclosed including a non-volatile media having a first and a second plurality of physical locations, the first plurality of physical locations storing user data and the non-volatile media storing first metadata associating each of the first plurality of physical locations with a logical block address (LBA), and a mapping table including a mapping of each LBA to a current physical location. The data storage device further includes control circuitry that reads the first metadata to obtain a first plurality of LBAs, reads the mapping table to determine a current physical location for the first plurality of LBAs, and compares the current physical location of each of the first plurality of LBAs to a corresponding one of the first plurality of physical locations to identify valid user data in the first plurality of physical locations for migration into the second plurality of physical locations.