A method and mechanism for error recovery in a processor. A multithreaded processor is configured to utilize software for hardware detected machine errors. Rather than correcting and clearing the detected errors, hardware is configured to report the errors precisely. Both program-related exceptions and hardware errors are detected and, without being corrected by the hardware, flow down the pipeline to a trap unit where they are prioritized and handled via software. The processor assigns each instruction a thread ID and error information as it follows the pipeline. The trap unit records the error by using the thread ID of the instruction and the pipelined error information in order to determine which ESR receives the information and what to store in the ESR. A trap handling routine is then initiated to facilitate error recovery.