BSOD 7 (INVALID_SOFTWARE_INTERRUPT): causes and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: INVALID_SOFTWARE_INTERRUPT

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ERROR_ARENA_TRASHED	Win32 error	Windows
KERN_NOT_RECEIVER	Kern return	Mac
ippStsLnZeroArg	Intel Ipp Status	Any
E2BIG	errno	Any

Previous	Next
INVALID_PROCESS_DETACH_ATTEMPT	IRQL_NOT_DISPATCH_LEVEL

INVALID_SOFTWARE_INTERRUPT

INVALID_SOFTWARE_INTERRUPT is bug check 0x07. Microsoft's reference marks it as very infrequent and does not document meanings for the four bug-check arguments. The symbolic label does not publish which software interrupt mechanism, vector, or caller should be blamed.

Keep undocumented fields undocumented

It is tempting to decode one of the arguments as an interrupt number because of the stop name. The public contract does not support that interpretation. Save the raw values for the debugger and use the captured execution context to determine what code was running when the stop was issued.

How to approach a dump

Query !analyze -show 0x07 for any debugger-known details available with the installed debugging tools.
Run !analyze -v and inspect the stack, current processor, and symbolized module path.
When comparing incidents, match the Windows build and stack shape; identical stop names alone are not enough to claim one root cause.

References

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