The irq notification is enabled by default, so error detection is always possible.
ArwvmeSysErrInfo *ArwvmeGetSysErrInfo(int fd);returns a structure containing the information about the last (!) VMEbus error generated by this pid. The structure contains the module_number, the vme_addr, the time (jiffies) and the reason, at which the handler was called. The returned pointer is private and must not be freed! In the cases of PCIADA_TO, ACFAIL and SYSFAIL the handler will aggressively kick the users (via SIGBUS). If a process catches the signal, it will inspect the reason and decides what to do next.
int ArwvmeCheckSysError(int fd);returns TRUE, if a bus error occured since the last request. Both functions reset the sys err info, so a ArwvmeCheckSysError(fd); ArwvmeGetSysErrInfo(fd); will reveal no error for the second call.