continuous kernel panics

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Level 1

14 points

continuous kernel panics

I've installed macOS Catalina on my iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017), 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, 24 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 .

I've recently begun getting what appear to be kernel panics. The iMac, when unattended for awhile, will 'restart because of a problem'. I always make a copy of the report in a text file before sending it off to Apple. I'm wondering if anyone else is having this issue? If so, what was the solution or cause?

Thanks.

Dennis

Posted on Nov 13, 2019 2:16 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,706 points

Nov 13, 2019 4:01 PM in response to wunwspirit

Dennis, please post an EtreCheck report of the system so I can see what is installed.

Please navigate to the Mac App Store and download the free version of EtreCheck OR please click www.EtreCheck.com where you will find the app. Once you downloaded the free app and created the report please post it as your reply to this message. In order to post it, please use the following link for more detailed instructions on how to correctly include the results:

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211

We can then look for obvious issues that may be causing your problem.

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,706 points

Nov 13, 2019 2:26 PM in response to wunwspirit

Please post your last KP report and we can look to see what may be causing the KPs. If you don't know how :

Launch Console.
In the Console app sidebar, select the folder named Library/Logs.
Select the DiagnosticsReporter folder.
A list of reports is displayed. Select the most recent crash report to view it.

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Answer 3

wunwspirit Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 13, 2019 3:58 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Hi @rkaufmann87 ,

To my knowledge, I do not have any antivirus app installed. I purchased this iMac as a refurb directly from Apple this past April and it came with a clean install of macOS Mojave . I've only begun having these kernel panics since upgrading to macOS Catalina a couple weeks ago.

Dennis

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Answer 4

fuzzymo

Level 4

2,030 points

Nov 13, 2019 6:25 PM in response to wunwspirit

Yes, I have seen this with my 2017 iMac several times since Catalina. The same type of reports ("Your computer restarted because of a problem") were generated and sent to Apple. I am hoping it will be fixed soon.

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,706 points

Nov 13, 2019 6:39 PM in response to wunwspirit

I don't see any evidence that you backup this computer, if I am wrong please advise however if I am wrong that is foolish and a guarantee you will lose data!!!!!!!! At the very least you should be using Time Machine to backup the computer. I also see a lot of external devices attached to the Mac, one or more could be the cause of the KP. I would unmount each then continue testing and then ad 1 and test and repeat until you have either eliminated or found the problem.

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Answer 6

wunwspirit Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 14, 2019 8:01 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Hi @kaufmann87,

You are correct. I have not implemented a backup system for this iMac in my workflow yet and it is at the top of the list.

I suppose a stopgap solution, as you mentioned would be time machine. I'll have to get a 4 Gb WD MyBook external for that I suppose. The most cost efficient thing I can do right now. I do all of the work, photoshop, workfiles, jobs etc. on my 2008 Mac Pro Tower right now which I do back up everything twice on two separate external drives every night with SuperDuper! . That process has worked quite well for me for years. I’ve got the latest version of SuperDuper! v3.2.5 ( 64 bit ) installed on the iMac. Now it’s just a matter of setting up two additional 4 Gb WD MyBook backup drives in the same protocol that I have on the Mac Pro tower system.

I removed a Chrome extension from Amazon last night ( which was kind of bothersome anyway ). Not sure if this would have anything to do with kernel panics or not.

I am encouraged to announce that when I came into my office today, I did not see the message on the iMac

screen telling me that your computer restarted because of a problem.

I don’t often do a restart on this iMac, which I probably should get into the habit of doing. I usually just let it run 24/7 with several apps remaining running most of the time. I have it set so the hard drive goes to sleep after a certain amount of time.

I do have two OWC dual bay drive enclosures hooked up to the iMac (as you can see in the visual reference of my digital workflow upgrade on my website). One of the drives is an 1TB ssd startup drive with macOS High Sierra. I did this so that I could run my older Adobe Creative Suite software on the iMac ( CS4 ). I did bite the bullet and get an Adobe Creative Cloud ~ Photoshop subscription which seems pretty cost effective since this is one of my main tools ( 120.00/year ).

Best,

Dennis

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Answer 7

wunwspirit Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 13, 2019 2:36 PM in response to rkaufmann87

here is the latest KP report:

latest KP report

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Answer 8

wunwspirit Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 13, 2019 4:19 PM in response to rkaufmann87

here's the etrecheck:

etrecheck report

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Answer 9

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,706 points

Nov 13, 2019 3:10 PM in response to wunwspirit

It appears that you have some antivirus app installed on your computer, my guess is McAfee. Does your iMac currently or has it ever had any antivirus or cleaning apps installed?

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