Hardware⏱️ 3 min read📅 2026-06-19

How to Fix: mce hardware error - what core is affected

Understanding mce hardware error and its relation to CPU core on AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor.

Quick Answer: The 'PROCESSOR 2:a20f10' line indicates the processor ID, while 'APIC 16' refers to the APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller) ID. The correct core is determined by matching the 'apicid' value from /proc/cpuinfo with the 'apicid' value in lstopo/hwloc output.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🔍 Why This Happens
  2. 🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes
  3. 💡 Conclusion

A Hardware Error (HWE) is an error that occurs when the system encounters a problem with its hardware. In this case, the MCE (Machine Check Exception) indicates that the system has encountered a machine check event logged by the kernel. The HWE is caused by a faulty or malfunctioning component in the system's hardware, which triggers a machine check exception.

The presence of an HWE can be frustrating for users as it may cause system instability and potentially lead to data loss or corruption. However, with the help of diagnostic tools and techniques, it is possible to identify the affected core and take corrective action to resolve the issue.

🔍 Why This Happens

  • The MCE error message indicates that CPU 11 has encountered a machine check event logged by the kernel. This suggests that there is an issue with one of the cores in the system's hardware, specifically Core ID 11.
  • Another possible cause is APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller) 16, which may be related to the faulty core or another component in the system's hardware.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes

Identifying and isolating the affected core

  1. Step 1: Use the /proc/cpuinfo file to identify the Core ID of the affected processor. In this case, Core ID 11 is mentioned for both CPU 11 and APIC 16.
  2. Step 2: Verify that the identified Core ID matches with the Core L# value in the lstopo/hwloc output. This will help confirm that the issue is indeed related to Core ID 11.
  3. Step 3: Use the 'lscpu' command to get detailed information about the system's CPU architecture and identify any potential issues with Core ID 11.

Disabling the faulty core

  1. Step 1: Disable the affected core by adding the following kernel parameter to the GRUB menu: `mce_amd=fix` (for AMD-based systems) or `mce=fix` (for non-AMD systems). This will disable the faulty core and prevent further machine check exceptions.
  2. Step 2: Reboot the system after applying the kernel parameter. If the issue persists, proceed to the next step.

💡 Conclusion

To resolve the mce hardware error, identify and isolate the affected core using diagnostic tools such as /proc/cpuinfo and lstopo/hwloc. Once the faulty core is identified, disable it by adding a kernel parameter to the GRUB menu. Reboot the system after applying the parameter, and if the issue persists, further troubleshooting may be necessary.

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