We present a particular generator polynomial for a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code that can be used to detect all dominant error events in perpendicular recording over a broad range of densities. This polynomial is also effective in detecting error events that occur at codeword boundaries. The bit-error-rate and the sector-error-rate performances are validated that result from the use of the corresponding CRC code in conjunction with the well-known post-Viterbi error correction method.