A Machine Check Exception (MCE) is a type of computer hardware error that occurs when a computer's central processing unit detects a hardware problem.
Microsoft Windows displays the error using the blue screen of death containing the error message (the parameters inside the brackets vary):
STOP: 0x0000009C (0x00000004, 0x00000000, 0xB2000000, 0x00020151) "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION"On Linux, a process (such as klogd ) writes a message to the kernel log and/or the console screen (usually only to the console when the error is non-recoverable and the machine crashes as a result):
The error usually occurs due to failure or overstressing of hardware components where the error cannot be more specifically identified with a different error message. Diagnosing the error message can be difficult, although Intel Pentium processors do generate more specific codes which can be decoded by contacting the manufacturer.
Most MCEs require a restart of the system before users can continue normal operation, and indicate a long-term problem of a general nature.
Read more about Machine Check Exception: Problem Types, Causes, Decoding MCEs
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