an apparatus for recording and reproducing a data signal on and from a rewritable recording medium structured to have sectors and a method for recording the data signal on the recording medium are provided for enhancing endurance against the degrade of the recording medium caused by overwriting . the shift information for representing a shift amount of a recording start point is added to a vfo or a sync of the data . in recording , the recording start point is changed on the shift amount so as to avoid the overlap of the recording start location . in reproduction , the unnecessary portion of the recorded data is erased for preventing the vfo of the recorded data from being erroneously detected . by this operation , the apparatus and the method enhances the endurance against the repetitive overwrite of the data signal and secures extraction and synchronization of the reproduction clock .