Kernel Panics Restarting MacBook Pro Retina Mid 2012 - Please Help!!

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Level 1

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Kernel Panics Restarting MacBook Pro Retina Mid 2012 - Please Help!!

over the last two weeks or so, my laptop (Macbook Pro Retina 15in mid-2012, running Catalina 10.15.7) has been randomly restarting due to kernel panics, and i'm unable to figure out the cause or the solution and would appreciate any help i can get. I've taken it in to the apple store, where they told me they wouldn't be able to take a look at my laptop since I bought it outside of the US (extremely strange policy). I've attached the apple problem report at the bottom- hopefully someone with more knowledge than me can help me figure this out.

Crash Report

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 8, 2021 4:13 PM

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Answer 1

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HWTech

Level 9

56,168 points

Mar 10, 2021 9:03 PM in response to birdo124

The Kernel Panic mentions a GPU Panic and 15" MBPros are known to have GPU issues. You can force the laptop to use the Intel GPU instead of the discrete GPU by using the gfxCardStatus app:

https://github.com/steveschow/gfxCardStatus/releases

If you cannot boot normally to install the gfxCardStatus app, then try booting into Safe Mode to install it.

If you cannot even boot into Safe Mode, then you can use the instructions in this article to modify the NVRAM settings to force the laptop to use the Intel GPU, but keep in mind a PRAM Reset will remove this custom setting:

http://dosdude1.com/gpudisable/

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Answer 2

DonH49

Level 6

16,704 points

Mar 8, 2021 4:18 PM in response to birdo124

I did not read the crash report. I'm taking a guess. I'll assume the 2012 Mac does not run an SSD internal drive but a mechanical hard drive. If so then I'll guess that drive is dying a slow death and yes that can cause panics. If true then do a search on the internet say at macsales.com and replace that internal hard drive with an Ssd drive.

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