| 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
Dump evidence
Preserve the complete dump, the four bug-check parameters, the exact Windows build, loaded-module list, and the event timeline immediately before the stop. AllStat summarizes the condition as “this result”; that sentence identifies the failure class, while the parameters and stack determine which object, driver, processor, or subsystem instance was involved.
Analysis order
- Run WinDbg
!analyze -v, then inspect the documented meaning of each parameter instead of relying only on the probably-caused-by line. - find the earliest abnormal event: driver update, firmware change, device reset, storage error, verifier report, resource exhaustion, or application hang connected with fatal / unhandled / hard.
- keep third-party filter, security, storage, graphics, and virtualization drivers in the module inventory; removing evidence before dump analysis can obscure the responsible path.
Do not repeatedly reboot a machine affected by this result before collecting the dump and event logs. Recovery actions should follow the component identified by the stack and parameters, not merely the symbolic stop-code name.
Looking for a different code? Search another status or error code.