Random shutdowns with iMac 5k 27 2014 (15,1) Mojave?!
I have been suffering from chronic shutdowns (or what looks like shutdowns) with my iMac late 2014 (5k, 4ghz i7, M295x @4Gb, Mojave 10.14.6). This is making me crazy. The computer will simply shut down randomly - sometimes exactly when you move the mouse or press a key. Sometimes the machine will run for days; sometimes it will go into a crash loop; sometimes it just conks out.
When I am lucky enough to get an opportunity to see a log, I get error 13 (General Protection) on Processor 2. Otherwise, after login, the computer keeps on doing whatever it was doing. It feels a lot like Hibernate on Windows.
I've read all 60 threads on this issue, and so I have tried as many things as I could compile. I've had about 200 more crashes trying everything.
- I have tried it on and off a UPS
- There are no 3rd party extensions
- I have removed Malwarebytes
- I have switched out 2 DIMMs at a time (it has 4x8Gb)
- I have tried it with and without external disks (Thunderbolt makes this bug more likely)
- I have tried wiping the SSD and reinstalling
- I have restored from Time Machine
- I have tried Safe Mode
- I have tried booting from an external drive
- I have reset the SMC and PRAM
- There is no correlation to temperature on any sensor
- There is no correlation to CPU load
- There is no correlation to sleep
- Everything passes Apple diagnostics
- I have sucked all the dust out of the case
- I have replaced all peripheral cables
- I tried disabling Ethernet over Thunderbolt
- The Apple Store could not replicate the problem [in a limited amount of time]
- This happens a lot less with Windows in BootCamp (if it even happens)
- Sometimes it goes down right after login
Is there anything I've missed here, other than cracking the unit open and checking the thermal paste? This quitting/sleeping/crashing is driving me crazy. Post 10.14 is not an option due to needing to run certain 32-bit legacy software (mainly to run scanners).
The best I can come up with is that the incidence is higher with TB drives attached, particularly a LaCie Rugged 500Gb SSD, but this also happens with no TB devices attached. And it seems to happen less when the screen is off. Seems.
And it doesn't look like Apple fixes this model anymore?
Thanks!
iMac 27″, macOS 10.14