System and method for performing page table walks on speculative software prefetch operations

摘要

A method and system are employed within a processor for performing page table walks on speculative software prefetch operations. The system includes a first fault register to store information associated with a faulting micro-op relating to a non-prefetch memory access operation and a second fault register to store information associated with a faulting micro-op relating to a prefetch memory access operation. Also included in the system is a first unit to determine whether a currently pending micro-op relates to a non-prefetch operation or a prefetch operation. The first unit is configured to drop the currently pending micro-op from a pipeline if (1) the currently pending micro-op relates to a prefetch memory access and (2) the currently pending micro-op has previously faulted.