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ERROR_MCA_EXCEPTION
a thread is being dispatched with a machine check architecture exception.
ERROR_MCA_EXCEPTION indicates this condition: Machine Check Architecture reports processor-detected hardware faults such as cache, bus, memory-controller, or interconnect errors. This result indicates that Windows is delivering or recording such an exception in the execution path of a thread.
Where the result appears
- hardware error handling and WHEA diagnostic paths.
- debugger output after a processor machine-check event.
- virtualization hosts exposing a hardware exception to a guest or management component.
- low-level services that translate an exception into a Win32 code.
What to collect
- the machine-check bank status, address, miscellaneous register, and processor number.
- WHEA error record severity and component classification.
- CPU microcode, BIOS/UEFI, chipset firmware, and overclocking state.
- temperature, power, ECC, and recurrence data around the same timestamp.
Handling and recovery
Stop treating the affected execution as trustworthy until hardware health is assessed. Remove overclocking, update firmware when recommended by the system vendor, run platform diagnostics, and replace the component identified by repeated records. Production systems should be drained if uncorrectable events recur.
Common misinterpretation
An MCA exception is not a normal software exception caused by bad input. Application-level catch-and-retry logic cannot repair a failing processor cache, memory controller, or bus.
References
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