check

n. A hardware-detected error condition, most commonly used to refer to
actual hardware failures rather than software-induced traps. E.g., a parity
check is the result of a hardware-detected parity error. Recorded here
because the word often humorously extended to non-technical problems. For
example, the term child check has been used to refer to the problems caused
by a small child who is curious to know what happens when s/he presses all
the cute buttons on a computer's console (of course, this particular problem
could have been prevented with molly-guard s).

