iMac 5K – Kernel Panic at the disco

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iMac 5K – Kernel Panic at the disco

My iMac 5K (late 2014) has been having kernel panics almost daily. There is no link between them that I can see, i.e. using a specific application or completing a specific task and fear this may be a sign that my 3TB Fusion drive may be on it's last leg.

I recently wiped my computer and reinstalled Catalina from scratch and did not use a Time Machine backup with hopes that would fix the issue but to no avail.

It has been having issues with my newish WD Easy Store 12TB external hard drive disconnecting at some point overnight. It will still appear in the side bar as though it's mounted but nothing happens when you try to open it. This happens every morning. To fix this I simply restart and poof it's fixed until tomorrow morning. I'm not sure if this is related but wanted to at least mention it, given the Kernel Extensions in backtrace that are appearing when I restart and report the kernel panic. However, the backtrace info seems to be related to an APFS formatted file system (external drive is formatted Mac OS Extended Journaled).

Please help me! Many thanks in advance.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Feb 6, 2020 7:54 AM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,849 points

Feb 6, 2020 10:07 AM in response to ridlerontheroof

Dealing with Kernel Panics

Disconnect any third-party peripherals including any USB hubs. Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support then boot the computer into Safe Mode: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support and Playing Safe- what does Safe mode do?. See Diagnosing problems- crash, freeze, panic, or spinning beach ball?, Don’t Panic! Understanding & Troubleshooting Kernel Panics in macOS, and How to fix kernel panics after installing OS X updates | MacIssues.

Kernel panics are indicative of possible hardware failure, so you should Check your Mac with hardware diagnostics or AHT. Read the kernel panic log: Mac OS X- How to log a kernel panic.

If you have no success figuring what is happening then you may need to examine the software you have running when the panics occur. Be sure it’s all current. If you must to resolve the problem erase the disk and reinstall macOS. Follow this outline to reset the computer to the factory-new state: Factory reset of your Mac - Apple Support.

Boot Into Safe Mode

If your Mac isn’t already shut down, then shut it down and wait at least 30 seconds before rebooting.
Immediately, at or before the chime, press and hold down the SHIFT key.
Release the key after the Apple logo and progress bar appear.
Safe mode startup is much slower than normal startup, so be patient.
When the Login Screen appears enter your admin password. If you use automatic login, then this means you are in safe mode.

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Answer 2

Feb 19, 2020 6:42 AM in response to ridlerontheroof

I think I figured out what the heck was causing the kernel panics and the external hard drives to disconnect unexpectedly.

I was using WD Utilities and had the sleep timer set to 15 minutes for the drives in question. This on it's own is harmless and not the issue, however, when combined with System Preferences > Energy Saver > 'Put hard disks to sleep when possible' it seems to cause a conflict between the OS and the WD software and the drive will disconnect on it's own, regardless if there is activity on the drive at the time.

When I discovered this I unchecked the setting in Energy Saver and have not had a single kernel panic or disconnected hard drive since. [knock on wood] I'll report back if the issues begin popping up again but I am optimistic since I could not go a day without it happening before and it's now been three days without issue.

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Answer 3

Feb 7, 2020 7:03 AM in response to Kappy

I ran the Apple Hardware Diagnostics and it found no errors. I also ran TechTool Pro 12 and found the attached. It seems the kernel panics are likely attributed to the mechanical side of the Fusion drive and does not appear to be repairable with software.

Can anyone tell me if the kernel extensions backtrace info is directly related to the Fusion drive?

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iMac 5K – Kernel Panic at the disco

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