A method and apparatus for detecting, enabling and disabling deadlock errors, and recording deadlock information in the error logs of a data processing system even after a power-on reset. One embodiment of the invention involves a method for indicating a deadlock error in a data processing system capable of having a deadlock error. The method includes indicating that an error is a deadlock error, providing an input signal to set a deadlock error enable circuit having an output signal indicating that the deadlock error will cause a deadlock reset signal to be asserted, logically ORing deadlock error signals to produce a deadlock output; and logically ANDing the deadlock output and the output signal of the deadlock error enable circuit to produce the deadlock reset signal. A second embodiment of the invention involves a data processing system or an error log system, capable of having a deadlock error selected from several deadlock errors. The data processing system or error log system includes a deadlock error enable circuit having an output signal indicating that the deadlock error will cause a deadlock reset signal to be asserted, a first combinational logic circuit to logically OR the deadlock signals, having a deadlock output, and a second combinational logic circuit to logically AND the deadlock output of the first combinational logic circuit and the output signal of the deadlock error enable circuit, to produce the deadlock reset signal.