Because the Mac OS is a sophisticated, complex operating system,
the problems a user encounters can be equally complex.
These are examples of some problems that may occur:
-
A handle can be de-referenced.
-
A routine can get a NIL pointer.
-
The stack can dip into the heap for just a few cycles and not be caught
by the stack sniffer.
-
An application can forget to check an error code.
A Macintosh usually crashes with a system error code while running
under System 6.0.x. Starting with System 7, errors are displayed in a different
fashion. Instead of displaying an error code, the system translates the
code to the appropriate words, like "Address Error".
Finding out what's wrong involves use of debugging tools, intricate
knowledge of Macintosh memory structures, and familiarity with the application
itself. Fixing it usually involves recompiling the source code. The table
below explains some of the codes.
ID=01 Bus Error
This means the computer tried to access memory that doesn't exist.
You can get this error on almost any Macintosh. If one of these computers
tried to access one or more bytes beyond the total number of bytes in RAM,
you see a bus error. You should never see this error on a Macintosh Plus
or SE, because address references that are out of bounds "roll over". This
means if one of these computers tries to access one byte beyond the total
bytes in RAM, it actually accesses the first byte in memory. If you see
this error on a Macintosh Plus or SE, it's reporting the wrong error or
having hardware problems.
ID=02 Address Error
The Motorola 68000 microprocessor can access memory in increments
of one byte (8 bits), one word (16 bits), or one long word (32 bits). The
microprocessor can access a byte of information at an odd or even memory
address. But it must access a word or long word at an even memory address.
So, when the microprocessor attempts to read or write a word or long word
at an odd address, you see this error. Since that's a 50/50 proposition
when running random code, this one shows up quite often.
ID=03 Illegal Instruction
The computer has a specific vocabulary of machine language instructions
it can understand. If a computer tries to execute an instruction that isn't
in its vocabulary, you see this error code. It's less likely than error
02, but still very common.
ID=04 Zero Divide Error
This error results if the microprocessor divides two numbers, and
the divisor is zero. Sometimes a programmer puts these in as debugging
aids, and then forgets to take them out.
ID=05 Range Check Error
Programmers can use an instruction in the Motorola 68000 to check
if a number is within a certain range. This error indicates that the number
tested isn't in the specified range.
ID=06 Overflow Error
Each number stored in a computer is given a certain amount of space.
The larger the number, the more space is needed to represent the number.
An overflow condition results if a generated number is too big for its
allotted space. A Motorola 68000 instruction tests for an overflow condition,
and displays this error if it detects an overflow.
ID=07 Privilege Violation
The Motorola 68000 runs in Supervisor or User mode. The Macintosh
should always be in Supervisor mode, but sometimes is placed in User mode.
Some of the instructions can only be executed in Supervisor mode. If the
computer attempts one of these instructions while in User mode, a Privilege
Violation error results.
ID=08 Trace Mode Error
A programmer can use a runtime debugger while in Trace mode. This
allows tracing through a program one instruction at a time. You see this
error if a debugger isn't installed and the 68000 is accidentally placed
in Trace mode.
ID=09 and ID=10 Line 1010 & 1111 Trap
There are many routines in the Macintosh ROM that can be called
by placing instructions in a program that aren't in the 68000's vocabulary.
When the 68000 encounters such an instruction, it looks it up in the instruction
table. This table gives the location of routines paired with each instruction.
If it finds an entry in the table for the instruction, it branches to the
routine. If there's no entry for the instruction, you see one of these
errors.
ID=12 Unimplemented Core Routine
A programmer might set breakpoints in parts of a program to inspect
for errors. This requires using a debugger. If a debugger isn't installed
when a breakpoint occurs, you see this error code.
ID=13 Uninstalled Interrupt
The Macintosh uses an interrupt to identify when devices like keyboards
and disk drives need service. Routines must be available in memory to tell
the computer how to service the device. If those routines aren't available,
you see this error.
ID=15 Segment Loader Error
Macintosh programs are broken up into segments, and each program
will always have at least one segment. Multiple segments allow loading
parts of the program into memory to provide more room for data in internal
RAM. The segment loader is responsible for loading a needed segment into
RAM. If the segment loader can't do this, you'll see this error.
ID=17 through ID=24 Missing Packages 0-7
The Macintosh uses packages to do specific tasks. Some of the packages
are International Utilities, Binary-Decimal Conversion, Standard File Utilities,
and Disk Initialization. These packages are located in the System file.
If you get these errors, you probably have a damaged System file. Error
codes 15, 16, 26, 27, 30, and 31 also come up when the System file is damaged.
Try replacing the System file.
ID=25 Memory Full Error
You've probably run out of RAM. But you can get this error when
an earlier error causes the Macintosh to falsely detect an out-of-memory
condition.
ID=26 Bad Program Launch
The Macintosh couldn't execute the application opened.
ID=28 Stack Ran into Heap
This is similar to the Memory Full error. It's a good idea to save
your work frequently, and keep current backups of your hard disk data.
When a system crash does occur, you'll lose less data if you've taken these
precautions.
Troubleshooting System Errors
It's a good idea to save your work frequently, and keep current
backup copies of your hard disk data. When a system crash occurs, you'll
lose less data if you've taken these precautions.
If you're getting system errors frequently, investigate these possibilities:
-
Try to open the document with a current version copy of the application.
-
Try opening other documents with the same copy of the application.
-
Check to see if the document size exceeds the application size limits.
-
Boot your system with extensions off (restart while holding the Shift
key down).
-
Any changes (new Control Panels, extensions, etc.) you've made to the
system might give you a clue to the cause of the crashes.
-
Make a note of the desk accessories you had open at the time of the
crash and exactly what you did before the crash.
-
Make a note of the error ID or text, and the version numbers of the
application and system software you were using.
-
Try to recreate the problem on another Macintosh.
-
Cleanly install your system software and try the application again.
Negative Error Codes
Here is a list of negative codes (0 to -261) with brief explanations.
General System Errors (VBL Mgr, Queue)
0 noErr 0 for success
"OR"
0 smNotTruncated
No truncation necessary
-1 qErr
queue element not found during deletion
"OR"
-1 smTruncErr
Truncation indicator alone is wider
than the specified width
-2 vTypErr
invalid queue element
-3 corErr
core routine number out of range
-4 unimpErr
unimplemented core routine
-5 SlpTypeErr
invalid queue element
-8 seNoDB
no debugger installed to
handle debugger command
Color Manager Errors
-9 iTabPurgErr
from Color2Index/ITabMatch
-10 noColMatch
from Color2Index/ITabMatch
-11 qAllocErr
from MakeITable
-12 tblAllocErr
from MakeITable
-13 overRun
from MakeITable
-14 noRoomErr
from MakeITable
-15 seOutOfRange
from SetEntry
-16 seProtErr
from SetEntry
-17 i2CRangeErr
from SetEntry
-18 gdBadDev
from SetEntry
-19 reRangeErr
from SetEntry
-20 seInvRequest
from SetEntry
-21 seNoMemErr
from SetEntry
I/O System Errors
-17 controlErr
Driver can't respond to Control call
-18 statusErr
Driver can't respond to Status call
-19 readErr
Driver can't respond to Read call
-20 writErr
Driver can't respond to Write call
-21 badUnitErr
Driver ref num doesn't match unit table
-22 unitEmptyErr
Driver ref num specifies NIL handle
in unit table
-23 openErr
Requested read/write permission doesn't
match driver's open permission, or Attempt
to open RAM serial Driver failed
-24 closErr
Close failed; Permission to close .MPP driver
was denied
-25 dRemovErr
tried to remove an open driver
-26 dInstErr
DrvrInstall couldn't find driver in resources
-27 abortErr
IO call aborted by KillIO; Publisher has
written a new edition
"OR"
-27 iIOAbortErr
IO abort error (Printing Manager)
-28 notOpenErr
Couldn't rd/wr/ctl/sts cause driver not opened
-29 unitTblFullErr
Unit table has no more entries
-30 dceExtErr
dce extension error
File System Errors
-33 dirFulErr
Directory full
-34 dskFulErr
Disk full
-35 nsvErr
No such volume; volume not found
-36 ioErr
I/O error
-37 bdNamErr
Bad file name; there may be no bad names
in the final system!
-38 fnOpnErr
File not open
-39 eofErr
End of file; no additional data in the format
-40 posErr
Tried to position to before start of
file (r/w)
-41 mFulErr
Memory full (open) or file won't fit (load)
-42 tmfoErr
Too many files open
-43 fnfErr
File not found; Folder not found;Edition
container not found; Target not found
-44 wPrErr
Disk is write-protected; Volume is locked
through hardware
-45 fLckdErr
File is locked
-45 fLckedErr
Publisher writing to an edition
-46 vLckdErr
Volume is locked through software
-47 fBsyErr
File is busy (delete); Section doing I/O
-48 dupFNErr
Duplicate filename (rename); File found
instead of folder
-49 opWrErr
File already open with write permission
-50 paramErr
Error in user parameter list
-51 rfNumErr
Reference number invalid
-52 gfpErr
Get file position error
-53 volOffLinErr
Volume is off line
-54 permErr
Software lock on file; Not a subscriber
[permissions error on file open]
-55 volOnLinErr
drive volume already on-line at MountVol
-56 nsDrvErr
no such drive (tried to mount a bad drive num)
-57 noMacDskErr
not a Macintosh disk (sig bytes are wrong)
-58 extFSErr
External file system file system identifier
is nonzero
-59 fsRnErr
file system internal error: during rename
the old entry was deleted but could not be restored.
-60 badMDBErr
bad master directory block
-61 wrPermErr
Write permissions error; Not a publisher
Font Manager Errors
-64 fontDecError
error during font declaration
-65 fontNotDeclared
font not declared
-66 fontSubErr
font substitution occurred
Disk, Serial Ports, Clock Specific Errors
-64 lastDskErr
-64 noDriveErr
drive not installed
-65 offLinErr
r/w requested for an off-line drive
-66 noNybErr
couldn't find 5 nybbles in 200 tries
-67 noAdrMkErr
couldn't find valid addr mark
-68 dataVerErr
read verify compare failed
-69 badCksmErr
addr mark checksum didn't check
-70 badBtSlpErr
bad addr mark bit slip nibbles
-71 noDtaMkErr
couldn't find a data mark header
-72 badDCksum
bad data mark checksum
-73 badDBtSlp
bad data mark bit slip nibbles
-74 wrUnderrun
write underrun occurred
-75 cantStepErr
step handshake failed
-76 tk0BadErr
track 0 detect doesn't change
-77 initIWMErr
unable to initialize IWM
-78 twoSideErr
tried to read 2nd side on a 1-sided drive
-79 spdAdjErr
unable to correctly adjust disk speed
-80 seekErr
track number wrong on address mark
-81 sectNFErr
sector number never found on a track
-82 fmt1Err
can't find sector 0 after track format
-83 fmt2Err
can't get enough sync
-84 verErr
track failed to verify
-84 firstDskErr
-85 clkRdErr
unable to read same clock value twice
-86 clkWrErr
time written did not verify
-87 prWrErr
parameter RAM written didn't read-verify
-88 prInitErr
InitUtil found the parameter RAM uninitialized
-89 rcvrErr
SCC receiver error (framing, parity, OR)
-90 breakRecd
Break received (SCC)
AppleTalk Errors
-91 ddpSktErr
Error opening socket
"OR"
-91 eMultiErr
Invalid address or table is full
-92 ddpLenErr
Data length too big
"OR"
-92 eLenErr
Packet too large or first entry of the write-data
structure didn't contain the full 14-byte header
-93 noBridgeErr
No router available [for non-local send]
-94 lapProtErr
error in attaching/detaching protocol
"OR"
-94 LAPProtErr
Protocol handler is already attached,
node's protocol table is full, protocol
not attached, or protocol handler
pointer was not 0
-95 excessCollsns
Hardware error [excessive collisions on write]
-97 portInUse
driver Open error code (port is in use)
-98 portNotCf
driver Open error code
(parameter RAM not configured for
this connection)
-99 memROZErr
hard error in ROZ
-99 memROZError
hard error in ROZ
-99 memROZWarn
soft error in ROZ
Scrap Manager Errors
-100 noScrapErr
No scrap exists error
-102 noTypeErr
Format not available [no object
of that type in scrap]
Storage Allocator Errors
-108 memFullErr
Ran out of memory [not enough room
in heap zone]
-109 nilHandleErr
GetHandleSize fails on baseText or
substitutionText; NIL master pointer
[handle was NIL in HandleZone or other]
-110 memAdrErr
Address was odd, or out of range
-111 memWZErr
Attempted to operate on a free block;
GetHandleSize fails on baseText
or substitutionText
[WhichZone failed (applied to free block)]
-112 memPurErr
Trying to purge a locked or non-purgeable block
-113 memAZErr
Address in zone check failed
-114 memPCErr
Pointer Check failed
-115 memBCErr
Block Check failed
-116 memSCErr
Size Check failed
-117 memLockedErr
Trying to move a locked block (MoveHHi)
HFS Errors
-120 dirNFErr
Directory not found
-121 tmwdoErr
No free WDCB available
-122 badMovErr
Move into offspring error
-123 wrgVolTypErr
Not an HFS volume [wrong volume type error or
(obsolete) operation not supported for MFS]
-124 volGoneErr
Server volume has been disconnected.
-125 updPixMemErr
Insufficient memory to update a pixmap
-127 fsDSIntErr
Internal file system error
Menu Manager Errors
-126 dsMBarNFnd
System error code for MBDF not found
-127 dsHMenuFindErr
Couldn't find HMenu's parent in MenuKey
-128 userCanceledErr
User canceled an operation
HFS FileID Errors
-130 fidNotFound
no file thread exists
-131 fidNotAFile
directory specified
-132 fidExists
file ID already exists
Color QuickDraw and Color Manager Errors
-147 regionTooBigError
Region too big or complex
-148 pixMapTooBigErr
Pixel map record is deeper than
1 bit per pixel
[passed pixelmap is too large]
-149 notEnoughStack
Not enough stack space for the
necessary buffers
"OR"
-149 mfStackErr
Insufficient stack
-150 cMatchErr
Color2Index failed to find an index
-151 cTempMemErr
Failed to allocate memory for
temporary structures
-152 cNoMemErr
Failed to allocate memory for structure
-153 cRangeErr
Range error on colorTable request
-154 cProtectErr
ColorTable entry protection violation
-155 cDevErr
Invalid type of graphics device
-156 cResErr
Invalid resolution for MakeITable
-157 cDepthErr
Invalid pixel depth
-158 cParmErr
Invalid parameter
Resource Manager Errors (other than I/O)
-185 badExtResource
Extended resource has a bad format.
-186 CantDecompress
Resource bent ("the bends")
can't decompress a compressed resource
-188 resourceInMemory
Resource already in memory
-189 writingPastEnd
Writing past end of file
-190 inputOutOfBounds
Offset or count out of bounds
-192 resNotFound
Resource not found
-193 resFNotFound
Resource file not found
-194 addResFailed
AddResource failed
-195 addRefFailed
AddReference failed
-196 rmvResFailed
RmveResource failed
-197 rmvRefFailed
RmveReference failed
-198 resAttrErr
Attribute inconsistent with operation
-199 mapReadErr
Map inconsistent with operation
Sound Manager Errors
-200 noHardware
Required sound hardware not available
[no hardware support for the specified synthesizer]
-201 notEnoughHardware
Insufficient hardware available
[no more channels for the
specified synthesizer]
-203 queueFull
No room in the queue
-204 resProblem
Problem loading the resource
-205 badChannel
Channel is corrupt or unusable
[invalid channel queue length]
-206 badFormat
Resource is corrupt or unusable
[handle to 'snd ' resource was invalid]
-207 notEnoughBufferSpace Insufficient
memory available
-208 badFileFormat
File is corrupt or unusable, or not
AIFF or AIFF-C
-209 channel
Channel is busy
-210 buffersTooSmall
Buffer is too small
-211 channelNotBusy
Channel not currently used
-212 noMoreRealTime
Not enough CPU time available
-213 badParam
A parameter is incorrect
-220 siNoSoundInHardware No sound
input hardware available
-221 siBadSoundInDevice Invalid
sound input device
-222 siNoBufferSpecified No buffer
specified
-223 siInvalidCompression Invalid compression
type
-224 siHardDiskTooSlow
Hard drive too slow to record
-225 siInvalidSampleRate Invalid
sample rate
-226 siInvalidSampleSize Invalid
sample size
-227 siDeviceBusyErr
Sound input device is busy
-228 siBadDeviceName
Invalid device name
-229 siBadRefNum
Invalid reference number
-230 siInputDeviceErr
Input device hardware failure
-231 siUnknownInfoType
Unknown type of information
-232 siUnknownQuality
Unknown quality
MIDI Manager Errors
-250 midiNoClientErr
no client with that ID found
-251 midiNoPortErr
no port with that ID found
-252 midiTooManyPortsErr too many
ports already installed in the system
-253 midiTooManyConsErr too
many connections made
-254 midiVConnectErr
pending virtual connection created
-255 midiVConnectMade
pending virtual connection resolved
-256 midiVConnectRmvd
pending virtual connection removed
-257 midiNoConErr
no connection exists between specified ports
-258 midiWriteErr
couldn't write to all connected ports
-259 midiNameLenErr
name supplied is longer than 31 characters
-260 midiDupIDErr
duplicate client ID
-261 midiInvalidCmdErr
command not supported for port type
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