CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Practice Question

The purple screen indicates that ESXi halted because of an unrecoverable Machine Check Exception. An MCE is generated by the processor's built-in Machine-Check Architecture when it detects a severe hardware fault. The message "Cache Hierarchy: Level 0 Data Cache Read Error" identifies a failure inside the CPU's own cache subsystem, so the most probable root cause is a defective processor. Best practice is to capture the screen, collect logs, and escalate to the hardware vendor to test or replace the CPU. Memory modules, array-controller batteries, and network adapters do not trigger CPU cache MCEs and therefore are unlikely causes in this scenario.