What does BSOD 0x4C (FATAL_UNHANDLED_HARD_ERROR) mean?

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: Windows received an unhandled hard error severe enough to stop the system.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ENOTUNIQ	errno	Linux
EPROCUNAVAIL	errno	Mac

Previous	Next
STREAMS_INTERNAL_ERROR	NO_PAGES_AVAILABLE

FATAL_UNHANDLED_HARD_ERROR

Fatal hard-error escalation for FATAL_UNHANDLED_HARD_ERROR

FATAL_UNHANDLED_HARD_ERROR is bug check code 0x0000004C.

Hard errors are kernel-mediated serious error notifications. This bug check means the hard-error path reached a fatal condition, often because a critical subsystem, device, or image failed in a way the OS could not continue past.

How to read it in a dump

Inspect the hard-error status code and the process or subsystem that raised it.
This is a wrapper around a fatal status; the nested status and stack provide the real cause.
Do not stop at the symbolic name without decoding the embedded NTSTATUS if present.

What to check

Run !analyze -v and inspect the arguments for a nested status code.
Check storage, image load, system file, and critical subsystem errors near the crash.
Preserve event logs and dump data because the hard-error origin may be earlier than the final stop.

References

Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.