hard error

hard error

[′härd ′er·ər]

(computer science)

Any error that results from malfunctioning of hardware, including storage devices and data transmission equipment.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

hard error

(1) A permanent, unrecoverable error such as a disk read error or circuit malfunction. Contrast with soft error.

(2) A category of errors that requires user intervention, including disk read errors, disk not ready (no disk in drive) and printer not ready (out of paper).

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