Random Kernel Panics

matej-z wrote:

I've a MacBook Pro 13-inch 2020 model.

Random kernel panics occur.

The screen freezes, the haptics of the touch pad vanish, and then the laptop restarts.

This problem persists in macOS Big Sur, although it was initially observed in macOS Catalina.

A complete erase and install has been performed at an Apple Store, unfortunately, not solving this issue.

The last three times it happened were on 12.11.20, 18.11.20, and today on 23.11.20.

The latest crash log from today 23.11.20 is appended as additional text:

<Crash Log from Random Kernel Panic on 23.11.20.log>

machine checks (MCA) are hardware or very low-level software or firmware.

If you have an Apple store convenient and open have then take a look at your Mac .

YOu can try and trouble shoot further :

—Try a SafeBoot https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

Takes noticeable longer to get to the login screen, does a 5-15 minute disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, etc. Login and test. Reboot as normal and test as caches get rebuilt.

In Safe mode third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled, it removes malware, etc hampering smooth operation, however a reboot will put it back to normal mode.

This test will tell you if third party interference; extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.

—Test issue in another user (or guest user) account  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204443

This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account. 

matej-z wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion, however, it occurs randomly on a weekly basis and I don't think that it is a sensible investigation for me to hang around in Safe mode for possibly more than a week in hope of experiencing the error there.

I will anyhow try to get an appointment once again at the Apple Store to further investigate.

They repaired the MBP once already two months ago for a different reason, effectively replacing almost all parts.

How certain are you in your assertion that the issue is hardware related?

Furthermore, can you imagine a replacement to produce these hardware issues?

Safeboot suggestion is simple, you do not have to log in there—reboot as normal. Cache clearing. Full stop.

Kernel Panics are predominately caused by hardware faults or faulty third-party kernel extensions.

Learn what to do if your computer restarts or shuts down unexpectedly, or you get a message that your computer restarted or shut down because of a problem.

If your Mac spontaneously restarts or displays a ... - Apple Support

matej-z wrote:

I've been to the Safe Boot mode now. I did not observe anything relating, however, I also did not spend too much time in it. (The Safe Boot mode once restarted with a weird pixel-ly screen, requiring me to re-login, triggered by opening a PDF while many windows were already open. Don't consider this to be related.)

After booting normally again now, I performed

kexstat | grep -v com.apple

to get all the third-party kernel extensions, however, none were returned. Which makes me wonder as well.

Garbage in garbage out— your command line as written is incorrect.

Copy & paste:

kextstat | grep -v com.apple