"PF Exception 14 in world" purple diagnostic screen in the ESXi host

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• ESXi host fails with a PF exception 14 purple diagnostic screen.
• In the backtrace of PF exception 14 purple diagnostic screen, you see entries similar to:
  
  cpu21:4117)@BlueScreen: #PF Exception 14 in world 4117:idle21 IP 0x418004a32a23 addr 0x8
PTEs:0x12bacf023;0x28987af023;0x12bc9f023;0x0;
cpu21:4117)Code start: 0x418004800000 VMK uptime: 0:01:42:16.909
cpu21:4117)0x412200547a88:[0x418004a32a23]EventQueue_FilteredRemove@vmkernel#nover+0xbe stack: 0x412200547ad8
cpu21:4117)0x412200547b88:[0x4180049fa654]CpuSched_FilteredWakeup@vmkernel#nover+0x8b stack: 0x412200547c48
cpu21:4117)0x412200547b98:[0x4180049fa7bd]CpuSched_Wakeup@vmkernel#nover+0xc stack: 0x410007cee000
cpu21:4117)0x412200547c48:[0x4180048e4d46]World_Switch@vmkernel#nover+0x12b5 stack: 0x0
cpu21:4117)0x412200547de8:[0x4180049f6b2f]CpuSchedChooseAndSwitch@vmkernel#nover+0x16fa stack: 0x8c
cpu21:4117)0x412200547e58:[0x4180049f70eb]CpuSchedDispatch@vmkernel#nover+0x50e stack: 0x412200547e98
cpu21:4117)0x412200547e68:[0x4180049f7b40]CpuSched_IdleLoop@vmkernel#nover+0x1f stack: 0x40
cpu21:4117)0x412200547e98:[0x41800484664e]Init_SlaveIdle@vmkernel#nover+0x13d stack: 0x0
cpu21:4117)0x412200547fe8:[0x418004b07c59]SMPSlaveIdle@vmkernel#nover+0x310 stack: 0x0
   
• It is observed that this issue always occurs on the same host or hosts.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs when there are hardware or software issues on the host such as:

• Hardware faults occur when there are issues with CPU, memory, or main board components.
• Software issues are more complex and require more detailed examination to troubleshoot the reason for the fault.

Resolution

To investigate this issue:

1. You must extract the log file that led to the Purple Diagnostic Screen (PSOD) crash and examine for potential cause. For more information on extracting the log file, see Collecting diagnostic information for ESXi hosts and vCenter Server using the vSphere Client
2. Examine the extracted log file for any anomalous events immediately before the purple diagnostic screen such as logged hardware failures, memory or CPU errors, and also look for warnings or errors from other software modules. For more information, see Interpreting an ESX/ESXi host purple diagnostic screen (1004250)
    
3. If you suspect a hardware fault, subject the host to rigorous memory and CPU testing. On hosts with multiple CPUs, arrange to run several tests at the same time. The usual troubleshooting techniques for hardware can be used, such as switching memory modules and CPUs between sockets.
    
4. If you cannot perform the above steps because the host fails to power up or boot, submit a support request to your hardware vendor. If its not a hardware issue, then to resolve the issue, collect diagnostic information from the ESXi host and submit a support request.

Additional Information

Extracting the log file after an ESX or ESXi host fails with a purple screen error