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Recoverable Alert

Commodore Amiga

Severity: Moderate

What Does This Error Mean?

A Recoverable Alert on the Amiga is similar to the Software Failure message — the system encountered an error but may be able to continue. Press the left mouse button to attempt recovery. Save your work immediately after recovery.

Affected Models

  • Commodore Amiga 500
  • Commodore Amiga 1200
  • Commodore Amiga 2000
  • Commodore Amiga 4000
  • WinUAE emulator

Common Causes

  • Application crashed but system is intact
  • Library version mismatch
  • Insufficient memory for an operation
  • Device driver conflict
  • Corrupt file causing application error

How to Fix It

  1. Press the left mouse button to attempt recovery.

    AmigaOS will try to kill the crashed task and return to normal. This works more often than you might expect.

  2. Save all open work immediately after recovery.

    A recovered system may be unstable. Save everything and consider rebooting.

  3. Note the alert number for diagnosis.

    The alert displays a hex number identifying the error type and location. Common: 00000003 = address error, 00000004 = illegal instruction.

  4. If the alert recurs: the offending program needs updating.

    Check for a newer version of the software that crashed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a Recoverable Alert and a Guru Meditation?

Recoverable Alert: the system can potentially continue after killing the crashed task. Guru Meditation: the system is unrecoverable and must be reset.

Why does AmigaOS crash more than modern OSes?

AmigaOS has no memory protection — all programs share the same memory space. One bad program can corrupt another's memory. Modern OSes isolate each program.