{{short description|Error that causes a program to abort}}
{{Distinguish|fatal system error}}
In [[computing]], a '''fatal exception error''' or '''fatal exception error''' is an [[error]] that causes a program to abort (ABEND) and may therefore return the user to the [[operating system]]. When this happens, data that the program was processing may be lost. A fatal error is usually distinguished from a [[fatal system error]]<ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/F/fatal_error.html|title=Fatal error|date=September 1996|publisher=Webopedia|access-date=2010-10-31|archive-date=2018-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122012810/https://www.webopedia.com]/TERM/F/fatal_error.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/stop_error.html|title=Stop error|date=31 July 2003|publisher=Webopedia|access-date=31 October 2010|archive-date=23 July 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040723075244/http://www.webopedia.com]/TERM/S/stop_error.html|url-status=live}}</ref> (colloquially referred to in the [[Microsoft Windows|MS Windows]] operating systems by the error message it produces as a "[[Stop error screen|blue screen of death]]"). A fatal error occurs typically in any of the following cases:
* An [[illegal instruction]] has been attempted
* Invalid [[data]] or [[CodeSource (computer programming)code|code]] has been accessed
* An operation is not allowed in the current [[ring (computer security)|ring]] or [[CPU modes|CPU mode]]
* A program attempts to [[Division by zero|divide by zero]]. (Onlyonly for integers; with the IEEE [[floating point]] standard, this creates an [[infinity]] instead).
In some systems, such as [[Mac OS XmacOS]] and [[Microsoft Windows]], a fatal error causes the operating system to create a [[data logging|log entry]] or to save an image ([[core dump]]) of the process.
==References==
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==External links==
*[http://wwwsupport.webopediamicrosoft.com/TERM/F/fatal_exception_error.html?kbid=150314 What Are Fatal exceptionException errorErrors] -– Microsoft Knowledge WebopediaBase
*[http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=150314 What Are Fatal Exception Errors] - Microsoft Knowledge Base
