"Possible Memory Corruption" kernel panic on 15" MacBook Pro (mid-2012)

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"Possible Memory Corruption" kernel panic on 15" MacBook Pro (mid-2012)

After over two years of flawless operation, my 15" mid-2012 MacBook Pro has recently been giving me kernel panics reporting possible memory corruption. I haven't added or removed any software in several weeks, with the exception of a MacOS update last night and updates pushed from the App Store.

I googled the exact message, and scanned through other folks' postings to see if I could find any similarities but unfortunately could not. One person resolved their issue by uninstalling Avast; another by removing a "boomdevice" kext. I don't have that either.

The MacBook was purchased used and being a mid-2012, is way out of warranty. I was just hoping someone may be able to shed some light on whether anything obvious is popping up in the panic logs.

I looked in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports but don't see any kernel panic files in there. The below log I copied the text from the last time the MacBook rebooted from a panic. If I get another one I'll be sure to save it.

Panic Log 1

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 23, 2020 2:54 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 24, 2020 4:55 PM in response to msawyer91

Run the Apple Diagnostics.

Remove one stick of RAM to see if you continue to have Kernel Panics. The memory slot nearest the Bottom Case tends to go bad from bad solder joints after years of use from pressure exerted on the bottom case against the memory slot. It is very unusual to have two memory modules go bad or to have both memory slots go bad.

You can also run Memtest86. Use the downloaded Memtest86 .iso file as a source for Etcher (Mac/Windows/Linux) to create a bootable Memtest86 USB drive. Option Boot the USB drive and select the orange icon labeled "EFI".

To look for possible software issues run EtreCheck and post the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

124,252 points

Nov 23, 2020 4:21 PM in response to msawyer91

Looks like a hardware problem to me. The panic log usually doesn't provide any details as to exactly what the problem may be, but since it says "Possible memory corruption," it might be the RAM.

Only an Apple Store or Authorized Repair center can determine for sure what the hardware problem might be.

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Answer 3

msawyer91 Author

Level 1

25 points

Nov 24, 2020 9:38 AM in response to msawyer91

Got another kernel panic, but not memory corruption this time around. I see "kalloc" which makes me think memory but then I see in the kernel exception stack trace mobile file integrity, which makes me think perhaps the disk? Disk Utility shows the disk is healthy.

Panic Log 2

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Answer 4

msawyer91 Author

Level 1

25 points

Nov 24, 2020 12:37 PM in response to msawyer91

I reset the NVRAM/PRAM and SMC, then rebooted. Another panic a couple hours later. This one just a generic kernel panic.

I am going to swap the memory out of one of my other MacBooks, a 13" MacBook Pro of the same mid-2012 generation. I'm hoping it's just a stick of memory going bad. An exceedingly rare hardware failure in my 27 years in IT, but not unheard of.

Could a failing SSD cause this as well? I've seen bad hard disks and SSD's cause blue screens of death in Windows, but I've not encountered as many disk failures on a Mac so am not as clear how these failures manifest themselves.

Panic Log 3

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"Possible Memory Corruption" kernel panic on 15" MacBook Pro (mid-2012)

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