Since installing Catalina yesterday, multiple crashes from userspace watchdog timeout

I hadn't had a crash in a week, thought it was solved... but crashed out again just now... same exact issue - external monitors connected.

panic(cpu 2 caller 0xffffff7f9bb9dad5): userspace watchdog timeout: no successful checkins from com.apple.WindowServer in 120 seconds

service returned not alive with context : unresponsive work processor(s): WindowServer main thread

service: com.apple.logd, total successful checkins since load (14490 seconds ago): 1450, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago

service: com.apple.WindowServer, total successful checkins since load (14460 seconds ago): 1434, last successful checkin: 120 seconds ago

I wonder if we're looking at this the wrong way round, and need to keep GPUs busy.

In a similar way to taiyodayo saying that leaving QuickTime running helped; if I leave HandBrake encoding videos I can cut my freeze occurrences from 1-2 and hour to 1-2 a day.

Mark

I don't think it's about keeping the GPU's busy - it's likely more about a bug in security mechanism Apple is implementing in the lower layers of GUI manager (WindowServer).

This is just my hypothesis: There is a bug somewhere that's related to the operation of external monitors in Mojave / Catalina.

Once a certain condition is met, some kernel level module goes out of control, eating up kernel resources and then crash the whole OS.

Something in QuicktimePlayer (HDCP related?) or terminal.app so just happens to prevent the condition from occurring.

Hope someone has a case open with Apple, working on it.

It seems like a simple petty error on Apple's side.

In case someone is tying out the quicktimeplayer.app method,

I tested it with a 32 x 32px, 5 seconds file playing looped, it worked just as well.

Leaving a terminal.app open is a lot easier I guess.

In case QTplayer is the only option, just make a really low-res file and leave it playing.

So I've been sending sysdiagnose reports via Feedback Assistant every time Catalina idle crashes since moving to it. I noticed today that the resolution field on the case has been updated to 'Investigation complete - Change required from 3rd party'. There's no other information, and nothing has been communicated directly to me.

🤷🏽‍♂️

Still happening to me every night I leave external displays plugged in. Keeping Terminal window open does not help.

But today's kernel panic details are different! What does it mean?? This is getting so old and is starting to damage the image I hold of Apple.

panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff800aea2d1c): Sleep transition timed out after 180 seconds while entering darkwake on way to sleep. Suspected bundle: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily. Thread 0x74.

Backtracing specified thread

Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address

0xffffffa780bc3900 : 0xffffff800a860178

0xffffff87550339b0 : 0xffffff800a75d771

0xffffff8755033a20 : 0xffffff800a75bf6f

0xffffff8755033a70 : 0xffffff800a85d2b9

0xffffff8755033ab0 : 0xffffff800a85cbdb

0xffffff8755033ae0 : 0xffffff7f8e38af39

0xffffff8755033b10 : 0xffffff7f8e3a4213

0xffffff8755033b20 : 0xffffff7f8e38df0d

0xffffff8755033bb0 : 0xffffff7f8e3937b2

0xffffff8755033c50 : 0xffffff800ae146ef

0xffffff8755033cc0 : 0xffffff800ae2ce70

0xffffff8755033d60 : 0xffffff800ae14f19

0xffffff8755033db0 : 0xffffff800ae2a521

0xffffff8755033e50 : 0xffffff800ae2699e

0xffffff8755033ea0 : 0xffffff800ae24353

0xffffff8755033ef0 : 0xffffff800ae241f0

0xffffff8755033f30 : 0xffffff800ae3f9e2

0xffffff8755033f70 : 0xffffff800ae3ef6c

0xffffff8755033fa0 : 0xffffff800a6e213e

Kernel Extensions in backtrace:

com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(569.4)[1F9B5D88-52DB-3A16-8373-4F608A3CB2D8]@0xffffff7f8e382000->0xffffff7f8e3d2fff

dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.9)[ADD485B5-3EF8-37C4-B3C5-F86326E497A4]@0xffffff7f8b110000

BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task

Boot args: chunklist-security-epoch=0 -chunklist-no-rev2-dev

I used to get these crashes all the time until a few days ago. Two days ago I tried the absurd method of "Quicktime movies in endless loop" in combination with "open terminal". I haven't had a crash since then either. Already more than 48 hours.

It's simply an absolutely absurd solution.

I've been having the same issue. I thought it might be the ram upgrade I did, because I used a 3rd party Ram. But I see everyone else is having the issue. I also have an extra issue. It crashes usually when my computer falls asleep. But sometime randomly the fan inside my iMac will go full blast for no reason, the a loud noise comes out and it restarts. So weird. anyone else? also I have the most updated Catalina as of 3/4/20.

i have late 2012 imac and have been facing the same problem since upgrading to Catalina...and have tried pretty much all the things people have recommended SMC, NVRAM, re-install, deleting 32 bit apps...but no luck...anyone found a fix?

Same here, also connected to external monitor (sometimes one with origin apple adapter or two monitors with OWC dual HDMI adapter). Also happens that I cannot shut down or restart my Mac properly. Mac crashes and reboots automatically, with a previous cooler fan-boost. I have a 6-core 16inch MacBook Pro.

panic(cpu 6 caller 0xffffff7f9939dad5): userspace watchdog timeout: no successful checkins from com.apple.logd in 120 seconds

service returned not alive with context : unresponsive dispatch queue(s): com.apple.firehose.drain-mem

service: com.apple.logd, total successful checkins since load (6920 seconds ago): 681, last successful checkin: 120 seconds ago

service: com.apple.WindowServer, total successful checkins since load (6890 seconds ago): 689, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago

Backtrace (CPU 6), Frame : Return Address

0xffffff8216adb820 : 0xffffff801893bb2b

0xffffff8216adb870 : 0xffffff8018a734d5

0xffffff8216adb8b0 : 0xffffff8018a64f4e

0xffffff8216adb900 : 0xffffff80188e2a40

0xffffff8216adb920 : 0xffffff801893b217

0xffffff8216adba20 : 0xffffff801893b5fb

0xffffff8216adba70 : 0xffffff80190d2b25

0xffffff8216adbae0 : 0xffffff7f9939dad5

0xffffff8216adbaf0 : 0xffffff7f9939d7e6

0xffffff8216adbb10 : 0xffffff801906739b

0xffffff8216adbb60 : 0xffffff8019070443

0xffffff8216adbca0 : 0xffffff8018a22d12

0xffffff8216adbdb0 : 0xffffff80189419d8

0xffffff8216adbe10 : 0xffffff8018918635

0xffffff8216adbe70 : 0xffffff801892f0e5

0xffffff8216adbf00 : 0xffffff8018a4b575

0xffffff8216adbfa0 : 0xffffff80188e3226

All my Mac issues have disappeared after I downgraded to Mojave from Catalina. No hardware changes, mine is a late 2012 iMac and I had never had any peripherals other than external hard disk. It was crashing so bad I couldn’t get time machine to back up anything. Saved my important files onto the external drive and then followed the instructions on the macworld.uk site to download Mojave and create bootable installable on a flash drive and installed it and zero crashes in the last 24 hrs. It used to crash every 25 mins with Catalina.

[Edited by Moderator]

the below site gives you steps on how to download the os mojave

macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/download-old-os-x-3629363/

the below site gives you steps on how to create bootable installable

macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/bootable-mac-installer-3575875

This problem only started for me with 10.15.4 beta. 10.15.4 final release as of yesterday did not solve the problem. Getting this crash a couple of times a day. Will read the whole thread and see if I can avoid it but if not will go back to Mojave.

Just had the hang happen again.

In my case WindowServer still seemed to be up and running.

Hopefully everyone having this problem has opened a support ticket with Apple to try to get their attention. This really should be a high priority for them...

The latest upgrade to 10.15.4 fixed my watchdog timeout errors. (Finally!)

FYI My system is a 2018 15" MacBook Pro 2.9 GHz i9 w 32 GB ram & a Radeon Pro Vega 20. I use it in clamshell mode with 2 adaptors driving three external 24" monitors.

The only fix I'd previously found to stop the error was to leave a QuickTime movie continuously looping in the background.