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MacBook Pro randomly freezes

Hello, when using my MacBook Pro it randomly freezes and needs a hard reboot to get fixed. It happens a couple of times a day. When it does freeze everything except the power button becomes unresponsive. It happens when I close out of some applications. Any help would be appreciated.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 11.1

Posted on Dec 15, 2020 2:46 PM

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Posted on Dec 16, 2020 11:34 AM

I don't see any software problems in the report except for the high System Load. Google Chrome is known to use a lot of memory & CPU resources, but during the report collection Chrome seem to be almost idle.


Try running Disk Utility First Aid on the SSD. You may even want to run First Aid on the Container instead by clicking on "View" within Disk Utility and selecting "Show All Devices" so that the physical drive and Container appear on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if First Aid reports everything as "Ok" click on "Show Details" and look for any unfixed errors. If you find any unfixed errors, then it will require erasing the whole physical SSD to create a fresh file system before restoring from a backup or clone.


It is possible you are encountering some sort of Big Sur issue.

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Dec 16, 2020 11:34 AM in response to JoeKazmac

I don't see any software problems in the report except for the high System Load. Google Chrome is known to use a lot of memory & CPU resources, but during the report collection Chrome seem to be almost idle.


Try running Disk Utility First Aid on the SSD. You may even want to run First Aid on the Container instead by clicking on "View" within Disk Utility and selecting "Show All Devices" so that the physical drive and Container appear on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if First Aid reports everything as "Ok" click on "Show Details" and look for any unfixed errors. If you find any unfixed errors, then it will require erasing the whole physical SSD to create a fresh file system before restoring from a backup or clone.


It is possible you are encountering some sort of Big Sur issue.

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Dec 15, 2020 7:53 PM in response to JoeKazmac

Run the Apple Diagnostics.


Run EtreCheck and post the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper.


Within the Finder click on the "Go" menu and select "Go to folder ....". Type "/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports" which will then open up a new Finder window. Look to see if there are any files with the name beginning with "kernel" and ending in ".panic". If so, then post the contents of several of these files here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper.


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Dec 16, 2020 11:43 AM in response to HWTech

Hm I'd have to think it has to do with high cpu and memory usage I do play a game and set high ram I kind of thought that but wasn't too sure. This issue has also happened on Catalina, so I think it is my own fault. Thanks for your help! I'll switch to Safari now that it seems to be better.

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Dec 16, 2020 6:48 PM in response to JoeKazmac

The high System Load can sometimes be caused by some other issue like waiting for a device to go ready. Try disconnecting all external devices in case one of them is causing a problem. Like I said I don't think Chrome is the cause at least at the time of the EtreCheck report was taken since Chrome's CPU usage as less than 1%. I'm guessing it is either an external device or a Big Sur issue. I know a co-worker has mentioned to me that their Mac will have intermittent freezes that he has been unable to resolve for the last few years (he is an experienced tech and Mac user).


A file system issue could easily cause a problem as I have seen unfixable APFS issues severely impact performance of a laptop.


You can try restoring the system from an older backup made before this issue began. You can also perform a clean install by first erasing the SSD before re-installing macOS. Then migrate your stuff from the backup or even better just migrate your user account(s) and manually reinstall your third party apps.

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Dec 16, 2020 10:16 AM in response to HWTech

EtreCheck version: 5.6.4 (5222) Report generated: 2020-12-16 13:11:54 Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com Runtime: 1:43 Performance: Excellent Sandbox: Enabled Full drive access: Disabled Problem: Computer is restarting Description: MacBook Pro freezes and requires a hard reboot. Major Issues: Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention. No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found. Minor Issues: These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement. Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed. Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. Apple has said that unsigned software will not run by default in a future version of the operating system. Limited drive access - More information may be available with Full Drive Access. Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future. Hardware Information: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) MacBook Pro Model: MacBookPro16,1 2.6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7 (i7-9750H) CPU: 6-core 16 RAM - Not upgradeable BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR4 2667 BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR4 2667 Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 110 Video Information: Intel UHD Graphics 630 - VRAM: 1536 MB Color LCD (built-in) 3584 x 2240 AMD Radeon Pro 5300M - VRAM: 4 GB Drives: disk0 - APPLE SSD AP0512N 500.28 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes) Internal PCI-Express 8.0 GT/s x4 NVM Express disk0s1 - EFI [EFI] 315 MB disk0s2 [APFS Container] 499.96 GB disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 499.96 GB (Shared by 7 volumes) disk1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [Fusion Drive] (Shared) disk1s1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) (Shared - 15.05 GB used) disk1s1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) (Shared - 15.05 GB used) disk1s2 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 73.24 GB used) disk1s3 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared - 295 MB used) disk1s4 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared) disk1s5 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 20 KB used) disk1s6 - U****e (APFS) (Shared - 729 KB used) Mounted Volumes: disk1s1s1 - Macintosh HD 499.96 GB (Shared - 15.05 GB used, 412.26 GB available, 410.61 GB free) APFS Mount point: / Read-only: Yes disk1s2 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive] 499.96 GB (Shared - 73.24 GB used, 412.26 GB available, 410.61 GB free) APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data Encrypted disk1s3 - Preboot [APFS Preboot] 499.96 GB (Shared - 295 MB used, 410.61 GB free) APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot disk1s5 - VM [APFS VM] 499.96 GB (Shared - 20 KB used, 410.61 GB free) APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM disk1s6 - U****e 499.96 GB (Shared - 729 KB used, 410.61 GB free) APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/U****e Network: Interface en0: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Interface en6: Bluetooth PAN Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge System Software: macOS Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) Time since boot: Less than an hour Notifications: Notifications not available without Full Drive Access. Security: Gatekeeper: Enabled System Integrity Protection: Enabled Antivirus software: Apple Unsigned Files: Launchd: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist Executable: ~/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle/Contents/Resources/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent -runMode ifneeded Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.virtualbox.startup.plist Executable: /Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/LaunchDaemons/VirtualBoxStartup.sh restart Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK Launchd: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist Executable: ~/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle/Contents/Resources/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent -runMode xpchost Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK Launchd: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Helper-Tool Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK Launchd: /Library/LaunchAgents/com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Java Updater.app/Contents/MacOS/Java Updater -bgcheck Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK Launchd: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Java Updater.app/Contents/MacOS/Java Updater -bgcheck Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Helper-Tool Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK Plugin: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin Preference Pane: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home/lib/deploy/JavaControlPanel.prefPane Apps: 5 Kernel Extensions: /Library/Application Support/VirtualBox VBoxDrv.kext (6.1.12) VBoxNetAdp.kext (6.1.12) VBoxNetFlt.kext (6.1.12) VBoxUSB.kext (6.1.12) System Launch Agents: [Not Loaded] 18 Apple tasks [Loaded] 182 Apple tasks [Running] 131 Apple tasks System Launch Daemons: [Not Loaded] 35 Apple tasks [Loaded] 181 Apple tasks [Running] 143 Apple tasks [Other] One Apple task Launch Agents: [Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveStandaloneUpdater.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-10-10) [Loaded] com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-12-15) [Not Loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? 840d562b - installed 2020-08-03) Launch Daemons: [Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveStandaloneUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-10-10) [Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-10-10) [Loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-12-15) [Loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-08-10) [Loaded] com.microsoft.teams.TeamsUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-09-15) [Not Loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (? e3fefdd2 - installed 2020-08-03) [Not Loaded] org.virtualbox.startup.plist (? 700b9385 - installed 2020-08-08) User Launch Agents: [Loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (? 0 - installed 2020-10-19) [Loaded] com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist (? 0 - installed 2020-10-19) [Other] mega.mac.megaupdater.plist (? 0 - installed 2020-12-15) User Login Items: [Not Loaded] LaunchAtLoginHelper (Yvette Testut - installed 2020-05-22) Modern Login Item /Applications/AltServer.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/LaunchAtLoginHelper.app [Not Loaded] Launcher Disabler (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-10-10) Modern Login Item /Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/Launcher Disabler.app [Not Loaded] OneDrive Launcher (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2020-10-10) Modern Login Item /Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/OneDrive Launcher.app [Not Loaded] SpeedTestHelper (App Store - installed 2020-11-21) Modern Login Item /Applications/Speedtest.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/SpeedTestHelper.app [Loaded] StartUpHelper (Spotify - installed 2020-11-21) Modern Login Item /Applications/Spotify.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/StartUpHelper.app Internet Plug-ins: PepperFlashPlayer: 32.0.0.433 (Adobe Inc. - installed 2020-09-21) JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 261 build 12 (? - installed 2020-10-01) User Internet Plug-ins: User Internet Plug-ins need Full Drive Access User Audio Plug-ins: User Audio Plug-ins need Full Drive Access User iTunes Plug-ins: User iTunes Plug-ins need Full Drive Access Safari Extensions: MKPlayer (App Store - installed 2020-10-16) 3rd Party Preference Panes: Flash Player (Adobe Inc. - installed 2020-08-25) Java (? - installed 2020-10-01) Backup: Time Machine Not Configured! Performance: System Load: 4.07 (1 min ago) 2.20 (5 min ago) 0.91 (15 min ago) Nominal I/O speed: 17.56 MB/s File system: 19.42 seconds Write speed: 2693 MB/s Read speed: 2577 MB/s CPU Usage Snapshot: Type Overall System: 2 % User: 4 % Idle: 94 % Top Processes Snapshot by CPU: Process (count) CPU (Source - Location) Other processes 37.81 % (?) EtreCheck 16.35 % (App Store) mdbulkimport 10.06 % (Apple) trustd 2.51 % (Apple) Google Chrome 0.54 % (Google, Inc.) Top Processes Snapshot by Memory: Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location) EtreCheck 565 MB (App Store) Google Chrome 196 MB (Google, Inc.) AppleSpell 57 MB (Apple) Dock 56 MB (Apple) accountsd 46 MB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use: Process (count) Input / Output (Source - Location) Other processes 3 MB / 9 MB (?) spindump_agent 0 B / 0 B (Apple) backgroundtaskmanagementagent 0 B / 0 B (Apple) UsageTrackingAgent 0 B / 0 B (Apple) SafariBookmarksSyncAgent 0 B / 0 B (Apple) Virtual Memory Information: Physical RAM: 16 GB Free RAM: 7.57 GB Used RAM: 4.91 GB Cached files: 3.52 GB Available RAM: 11.09 GB Swap Used: 0 B Software Installs (past 30 days): Install Date Name (Version) 2020-11-16 CyberGhost VPN 2020-11-21 The Unarchiver (4.2.4) 2020-11-21 Speedtest (1.18) 2020-11-21 Keynote (10.0) 2020-11-21 Numbers (10.0) 2020-11-21 Pages (10.0) 2020-11-21 iMovie (10.2.1) 2020-11-26 Polarr Photo Editor (5.10.21) 2020-12-04 Mono Framework 2020-12-14 macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update 2020-12-14 Command Line Tools for Xcode (12.3) 2020-12-14 macOS Big Sur (11.1) 2020-12-14 macOS 11.1 (11.1) 2020-12-15 Microsoft AutoUpdate 2020-12-16 EtreCheck (5.6.4) Clean up: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/mega.mac.megaupdater.plist /Applications/MEGAsync.app/Contents/MacOS/MEGAupdater Executable not found Diagnostics Information (past 7-30 days): Directory /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports is not accessible. Enable Full Drive Access to see more information. End of report

Hello, thank you for your help. Apple Diagnostics came back saying everything was fine and I pasted the EtreCheck report in additional text. I checked the folder and I didn't see any .panic files.

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MacBook Pro randomly freezes

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