What do the numbers given by a BSOD mean and how do I interpret them?

Question

I was living in the world without Blue Screens with my PC/Windows 7 x64.

Unfortunately, they have visited me about month ago and they don't want to go away. I get about 1-4 Blue Screens per day.

Background (may be irrelevant, but somebody could ask about it): PC is working from 4 to 10 hours a day, under moderate load - I have quite a strong (8GB RAM, Intel Core Quad Q9550 2.8GHz, GTX260) but also old computer (I've bought it few years ago, when all those components were about "just released"). I do have installed some new applications this month, but nothing I would distinguish from what I do for years.

I wonder, do the magic numbers (which look like pointers) that I see on Blue Screen means something? In general.

If you are interested what my happy numbers are (still, it's a general question about how to read them or where to find their meaning):

STOP: 0x0000000000000124
(
    0x0000000000000000,
    0xFFFFFA8007BB7028,
    0x00000000B2000040,
    0x0000000000000800
)

I guess that somebody has put them on the Blue Screen for a reason, hasn't he? What's a point of displaying something not helpful?

P.S. It's not a question about how to test the memory or read the .dmp - it's just about the numbers.

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

From Microsoft's article "Blue Screen Data":

The hexadecimal number following the word "STOP" is called the bug check code or Stop code. This is the most important item on the screen.

Each bug check code has four associated parameters. In the first blue screen shown here, all four parameters are displayed after the bug check code. However, in the second kind of blue screen, these parameters have been rearranged within the explanatory text. Regardless of the amount of rearrangement, they will always appear sequentially. If fewer than four parameters appear, the remaining parameters can be assumed to be zero.

What those parameters contain/represent depends on the Stop code, as well as the other parameters.

Wikipedia puts it nicely:

"Depending on the error number and its nature, all, some, or even none of the parameters contain data pertaining to what went wrong, and/or where it happened."

For the bug check code 0x124 (WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR), for example:

╔═════════════╦════════════════════════════════════════╦════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Parameter 1 ║              Parameter 2               ║                            Parameter 3                             ║                            Parameter 4                            ║                                                                                                                 Cause of error                                                                                                                 ║
╠═════════════╬════════════════════════════════════════╬════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╬═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╬════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ 0x0         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ High 32 bits of MCi_STATUS MSR for the MCA bank that had the error ║ Low 32 bits of MCi_STATUS MSR for the MCA bank that had the error ║ "A machine check exception occurred.  These parameter descriptions apply if the processor is based on the x64 architecture, or the x86 architecture that has the MCA feature available (for example, Intel Pentium Pro, Pentium IV, or Xeon)." ║
║ 0x1         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ A corrected machine check exception occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                                  ║
║ 0x2         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ A corrected platform error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                                           ║
║ 0x3         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ A nonmaskable Interrupt (NMI) error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                                  ║
║ 0x4         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ An uncorrectable PCI Express error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                                   ║
║ 0x5         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ A generic hardware error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                                             ║
║ 0x6         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ An initialization error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                                              ║
║ 0x7         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ A BOOT error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ║
║ 0x8         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ A Scalable Coherent Interface (SCI) generic error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                    ║
║ 0x9         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ "Length, in bytes, of the SAL log."                                ║ Address of the SAL log                                            ║ An uncorrectable Itanium-based machine check abort error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                             ║
║ 0xA         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ A corrected Itanium-based machine check error occurred.                                                                                                                                                                                        ║
║ 0xB         ║ Address of WHEA_ERROR_RECORD structure ║ Reserved                                                           ║ Reserved                                                          ║ A corrected Itanium platform error occurred                                                                                                                                                                                                    ║
╚═════════════╩════════════════════════════════════════╩════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

For more information on how to use these parameters to actually debug it, check out this other SU question: How to diagnose Blue Screens in Windows 7 (64bit)

bwDraco · Answer 2 · 2014-12-09T00:22:34.570

STOP 0x124 with parameter 1 = 0x0 indicates a machine check exception. It means you have a problem with your hardware (most likely your CPU).

Determining the specific cause of the problem is a highly technical procedure that requires the Windows kernel debugger, and the information you'll get is likely to be vendor-specific, so I can't go into much detail. To get started, see this MSDN blog post. If you decide to do this, be sure to post the results so we can interpret them. In any case, you'll probably need to replace the CPU or motherboard.

This Microsoft article gives a brief explanation for the parameters for this STOP code. General information about STOP errors can be found here.

What do the numbers given by a BSOD mean and how do I interpret them?

2 Answers2