Monterey crashes with WindowServer error after going full screen with YouTube

I had this issue when I first upgraded. Anytime I was using one of my own backgrounds, switching an app to full screen crashed the windowserver. Your steps helped me identify Bartender as the primary trigger, and since I've shut it down it's more or less fixed. I have one or two apps where the windowserver will crash after a while, however. So there's a bug somewhere.

I tried getting rid of my menubar extensions and it has since been fixed. You could try that!

Same thing happening here: mid-2015 MacBook Pro, Monterey 12.3.1. I was being plagued by this to the point that I thought it might be hardware. The machine was incredibly reliable under Mojave; problems have only started happening with Monterey.

To test, a few days ago I wiped the HD, reinstalled from recovery, created a new profile. Reset PRAM, SMC, etc. So this is as fresh as it can be.

I have installed the minimal software I need to work, nothing fancy (FileMaker Pro, BBEdit, Numbers ); the only third-party extensions are Dropbox, 1Password, and Surfshark – no Bartender, nothing pertaining to video, etc. Seemed good for a day or two, then last night, bang – crashed again, WindowServer.

Interestingly, earlier in the evening I had plugged the machine into my television via HDMI. Ran fine, but after disconnecting and the machine sat idle, it spontaneously crashed while I wasn't at the keyboard.

Also previous to the wipe, if I turned off automatic graphics switching, it would crash less.

Before the wipe, I would, when I really needed the machine to be stable, run in Safe Mode, and it would never crash.

So something in Monterey's standard set of extensions that gets omitted in Safe Mode is causing the problem.

I would say it's video drivers, since:

1. it's a WindowServer crash
2. happens more with graphics switching active
3. happens more consistently with external monitor connection/disconnection
4. graphic speed in Safe Mode – when it does not crash – is slow and clunky.

Conclusion: some native Monterey video driver that enhances graphic performance when not in Safe Mode is the culprit.

Frankly it's a relief to see it's happening to others; I thought my faithful MacBook Pro was on the way out.

It's clearly a problem for many with a variety of configurations (both Intel and M1), and I hope this detailed report can help Apple take it seriously and fix it.

I had the problem again today. I managed to avoid this issue for a couple of days and the only notable thing I did differently was to disconnect my monitor when I lock screen and walk away. Today I tempted fate and left it plugged in while I took a break ...and it crashed.

Key characteristics:

1. 1. It never happens while I'm sat here working, is always when I've stepped away and I usually lock my screen Ctrl + CMD + Q
   2. Seems to only happen while connected to my external monitor
   3. Always the same WinderServer ??? issue in report

So my conviction that this is related to using an external monitor, in my case Dell S3221QS, is strengthening.

Hello marcvv, 

Thanks for reaching out to the Apple Support Communities. We understand that you're having an issue where macOS Monterey is shutting down unexpectedly when you're trying to view YouTube in full screen mode. 

The next step would be to see if you encounter the same issue in Safari as you're seeing in Chrome. We are only able to assist you with troubleshooting Safari. 

If the same issue occurs, you'll want to then follow these troubleshooting steps to help being to isolate the issue:

1 - If the issue persists, restart in safe mode and test again: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac. 

2 - If still occurring in safe mode you’ll need to create a new user and test it out again. This article will show you how: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac.

If you still are experiencing the same issues with Safari, or if you’re seeing any additional error messages, let us know. 

All the best.

Just did some searches on this and looks like plenty of others are having this issue with a variety on external monitors:

Kernel panic crash with 2 external… | Apple Developer Forums

https://www.mac-forums.com/threads/macbook-pro-restarting-crashing-when-connected-to-external-monitor.363330/

I'll try just turning the monitor off rather than disconnecting next time, but this is looking like a Macbook graphics controller issue.

Good Day All

I called Apple support on this same type of issue. For me, it is on a Mac Studio Max with an Lg External display

After mentioning that I did see that this was an issue Others were seeing, I was told by a Senior Rep that they have been seeing reports of this issue and have had a reinstall of the OS fix it.

I am a bit skeptical about that as it seems to be something that does just need an update, but I am going to give it a try.

I tried updating to 12.5... it seemed to work, but didn't...

I installed 12.5 in another drive and migrated my files and still crashed...

But i noticed something, I changed settings for the display to take longer to turn off and the crashed seem to delay.

Yesterday i moved the slider in power setting further right so the display won't turn off, and did not have any crashes since then.

Maybe the issue has something to do with display controller or card, and crashes when the display turns on or off, or when switching to different modes... i don't know... i'll let you know if the crashes stop with this settings.

Just updated to 12.4 and also made a couple of tweaks: Changed settings in my LR pref for the graphics and removed all extension's off Google Chrome....will start there.

So far............ so good....we'll see.

I too am suffering this issue on my 2019 Macbook Pro 16" - OS Monterey updated to 12.4 yesterday in the hope there was a bug fix for it, but that's not the case as it crashed again today. I am seeing at least one crash per day at the moment and it is usually when I'm away from my desk. If I lock the screen and go for lunch I find I come back to a non-responsive Mac.

No screen, lights anything - it has had a complete shutdown, then it slowly comes back and the crash report is always the same 'WindowServer' crash ...but doesn't help identify what might be causing the issue (to me at least - see below).

On some of the apps mentioned here, I have never used Bartender but I do use FileMaker daily and Dropbox is always running. Though I am wondering if this relates to an external monitor. I also have a Mac mini M1 and have noticed neither Mac plays particularly well with my Dell monitors (I have one 4K and one 1440p). My Macbook Pro is usually connected to the 4K, this is mostly ok but I do sometimes see flickering on the 4K and the Macbook runs hot while connected to it, even while in lock screen. That said I never experienced crashes prior to Monterey.

I'll try disconnecting the monitor when I walk away for any length of time to see if it continues to crash. Path, version and process are always ??? in my reports:

-------------------------------------

Translated Report (Full Report Below)

-------------------------------------

Process: WindowServer [-1]

Path: ???

Identifier: WindowServer

Version: ???

Code Type: 00000000 (Native)

Parent Process: ??? [Unknown]

User ID:

Date/Time: 2022-05-27 13:32:33.9223 +0100

OS Version: macOS 12.4 (21F79)

Report Version: 12

It happened again, with original error message.

I'll update my time machine backup (it had autobackup activated) and will keep the external hard drive disconnected to see what happens.

The edited error is this:

panic(cpu 2 caller 0xffffff8013d6799f): userspace watchdog timeout: no successful checkins from WindowServer in 120 seconds
service returned not alive with context : is_alive_func returned unhealthy : WindowServer initialization not complete (post IOKitWaitQuiet)
service: logd, total successful checkins since load (27270 seconds ago): 2728, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago
service: WindowServer, total successful checkins since load (27210 seconds ago): 2709, last successful checkin: 120 seconds ago
service: opendirectoryd, total successful checkins since load (27270 seconds ago): 2727, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago

Panicked task 0xffffff97054c23b0: 4 threads: pid 117: watchdogd
Backtrace (CPU 2), panicked thread: 0xffffffa56ad87540, Frame : Return Address
0xffffffe58d5cb690 : 0xffffff8010881c8d 
0xffffffe58d5cb6e0 : 0xffffff80109e1596 
0xffffffe58d5cb720 : 0xffffff80109d0963 
0xffffffe58d5cb770 : 0xffffff8010821a70 
0xffffffe58d5cb790 : 0xffffff801088205d 
0xffffffe58d5cb8b0 : 0xffffff8010881816 
0xffffffe58d5cb910 : 0xffffff8011115223 
0xffffffe58d5cba00 : 0xffffff8013d6799f 
0xffffffe58d5cba10 : 0xffffff8013d675f2 
0xffffffe58d5cba30 : 0xffffff8013d66971 
0xffffffe58d5cbb60 : 0xffffff8011083a8c 
0xffffffe58d5cbcc0 : 0xffffff80109872e6 
0xffffffe58d5cbdd0 : 0xffffff801085c9ab 
0xffffffe58d5cbe60 : 0xffffff80108731f9 
0xffffffe58d5cbef0 : 0xffffff80109b35aa 
0xffffffe58d5cbfa0 : 0xffffff8010822256 
      Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
         com.apple.driver.watchdog(1.0)[D6F8B92D-3418-34BA-B42B-F553E0C44C29]@0xffffff8013d65000->0xffffff8013d67fff

Process name corresponding to current thread (0xffffffa56ad87540): watchdogd

Mac OS version:
21F79

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 21.5.0: Tue Apr 26 21:08:22 PDT 2022; root:xnu-8020.121.3~4/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 3C587984-4004-3C76-8ADF-997822977184
KernelCache slide: 0x0000000010600000
KernelCache base:  0xffffff8010800000
Kernel slide:      0x0000000010610000
Kernel text base:  0xffffff8010810000
__HIB  text base: 0xffffff8010700000
System model name: iMac18,2 (Mac-77F17D7DA9285301)
System shutdown begun: NO
Panic diags file available: YES (0x0)
Hibernation exit count: 0

System uptime in nanoseconds: 27333203415305
Last Sleep:           absolute           base_tsc          base_nano
  Uptime  : 0x000018dc01e153db
  Sleep   : 0x0000000000000000 0x0000000000000000 0x0000000000000000
  Wake    : 0x0000000000000000 0x00000008fa1341cd 0x0000000000000000
Compressor Info: 0% of compressed pages limit (OK) and 6% of segments limit (OK) with 1 swapfiles and OK swap space
Zone info:
  Zone map: 0xffffff909e05e000 - 0xffffffb09e05e000
  . PGZ   : 0xffffff909e05e000 - 0xffffff909f05f000
  . VM    : 0xffffff909f05f000 - 0xffffff956bac5000
  . RO    : 0xffffff956bac5000 - 0xffffff9705391000
  . GEN0  : 0xffffff9705391000 - 0xffffff9bd1df7000
  . GEN1  : 0xffffff9bd1df7000 - 0xffffffa09e85d000
  . GEN2  : 0xffffffa09e85d000 - 0xffffffa56b2c3000
  . GEN3  : 0xffffffa56b2c3000 - 0xffffffaa37d2a000
  . DATA  : 0xffffffaa37d2a000 - 0xffffffb09e05e000
  Metadata: 0xffffff806e6be000 - 0xffffff808e6be000
  Bitmaps : 0xffffff808e6be000 - 0xffffff80916be000

last started kext at 322428657155: >usb.cdc.acm	5.0.0 (addr 0xffffff7fa961d000, size 12288)
last stopped kext at 27322382653525: >!ABacklightExpert	1.1.0 (addr 0xffffff7fa7f3b000, size 8192)
loaded kexts:
>!ATopCaseHIDEventDriver	5450.8
>AudioAUUC	1.70
>X86PlatformShim	1.0.0
>AGPM	129
>!APlatformEnabler	2.7.0d0
>!AUpstreamUserClient	3.6.9
@kext.AMDFramebuffer	4.0.8
@filesystems.autofs	3.0
@kext.AMDRadeonX4000	4.0.8
>!AHDA	340.2
@kext.AMDRadeonServiceManager	4.0.8
>!AGFXHDA	140.3
>!A!IPCHPMC	2.0.1
>!A!IKBLGraphics	18.0.7
>eficheck	1
>!AGraphicsDevicePolicy	6.5.7
@AGDCPluginDisplayMetrics	6.5.7
>!AThunderboltIP	4.0.3
>pmtelemetry	1
|IOUserEthernet	1.0.1
>usb.!UUserHCI	1
>!AHV	1
>!ADiskImages2	126.100.13
@kext.AMD9500!C	4.0.8
>!ASMCLMU	212
>!A!ISlowAdaptiveClocking	4.0.0
>!A!IKBLGraphicsFramebuffer	18.0.7
>!AMCCSControl	1.16
|SCSITaskUserClient	456.121.3
>!AFileSystemDriver	3.0.1
@filesystems.tmpfs	1
@filesystems.lifs	1
@filesystems.apfs	1934.121.2
@filesystems.hfs.kext	583.100.10
@BootCache	40
@!AFSCompression.!AFSCompressionTypeZlib	1.0.0
@!AFSCompression.!AFSCompressionTypeDataless	1.0.0d1
>AirPort.BrcmNIC	1400.1.1
|!ABCM5701Ethernet	11.0.0
>!ASDXC	3.2.1
>!AAHCIPort	351.100.4
@private.KextAudit	1.0
>!AACPIButtons	6.1
>!ARTC	2.0.1
>!ASMBIOS	2.1
>!AACPIEC	6.1
>!AAPIC	1.7
@!ASystemPolicy	2.0.0
@nke.applicationfirewall	402
|IOKitRegistryCompatibility	1
|EndpointSecurity	1
@Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X	7.0.0
@kec.!AEncryptedArchive	1

I’ll turn off Time Machine automatic backups, I think is the only hourly thing that happens… I’ll let you know if that solves it

I have a related problem though not restricted to full screen youtube -- it seems to happen sporadically. WindowServer crash has happened 3 times since upgrading to Monterey. I run 2 monitors (34in ultrawide and 19in). 2019 macbook pro.

-------------------------------------
Translated Report (Full Report Below)
-------------------------------------

Process:               WindowServer [-1]
Path:                  ???
Identifier:            WindowServer
Version:               ???
Code Type:             00000000 (Native)
Parent Process:        ??? [Unknown]
User ID:               

Date/Time:             2021-11-18 13:52:12.7869 +0000
OS Version:            macOS 12.0.1 (21A559)
Report Version:        12
Anonymous UUID:        562DB29A-633A-FC82-15B4-3BD8BCE29D84



System Integrity Protection: 

Notes:
resampled 521 of 3367 threads with truncated backtraces from 0 pids: 
resampled 0 of 68 images missing from 148 pids: 73,83,92,100,111,115,124,126,142,169,199,219,221,228,231,246,253,254,258,316,318,321,322,326,332,333,334,343,346,347,349,358,360,389,393,401,403,410,414,415,419,420,421,422,425,439,440,442,443,444,447,449,452,456,466,473,479,482,488,525,547,560,585,591,600,613,631,632,633,637,642,677,716,718,720,721,740,1151,1166,1168,1169,1310,1656,1658,1710,1718,3022,3030,3595,3596,5661,6659,6971,7088,9269,9647,9652,9655,10664,11048,11899,13611,13748,21936,25264,26942,27772,27773,29779,29780,29793,29794,95031,95081,95710,95725,96025,96026,96109,96119,96305,96382,96383,96385,96387,96410,96455,96483,96682,96822,96859,97149,97712,97728,97733,97767,97771,97775,97781,97822,97830,97833,97867,97879,97925,97926,97958,99742
34 unindexed user-stack frames from 2 pids: 96025,96026
This is a watchdog-triggered termination event, and not expected to be well-represented in the legacy crash format

Crashed Thread:        Unknown

Exception Type:        

Termination Reason:    Namespace WATCHDOG, Code 1 monitoring timed out for service
(1 monitored services unresponsive): checkin with service: WindowServer returned not alive with context:
unresponsive work processor(s): WindowServer main thread
40 seconds since last successful checkin, 10666 total successsful checkins since wake (0 induced crashes)

Error Formulating Crash Report:
resampled 521 of 3367 threads with truncated backtraces from 0 pids: 
resampled 0 of 68 images missing from 148 pids: 73,83,92,100,111,115,124,126,142,169,199,219,221,228,231,246,253,254,258,316,318,321,322,326,332,333,334,343,346,347,349,358,360,389,393,401,403,410,414,415,419,420,421,422,425,439,440,442,443,444,447,449,452,456,466,473,479,482,488,525,547,560,585,591,600,613,631,632,633,637,642,677,716,718,720,721,740,1151,1166,1168,1169,1310,1656,1658,1710,1718,3022,3030,3595,3596,5661,6659,6971,7088,9269,9647,9652,9655,10664,11048,11899,13611,13748,21936,25264,26942,27772,27773,29779,29780,29793,29794,95031,95081,95710,95725,96025,96026,96109,96119,96305,96382,96383,96385,96387,96410,96455,96483,96682,96822,96859,97149,97712,97728,97733,97767,97771,97775,97781,97822,97830,97833,97867,97879,97925,97926,97958,99742
34 unindexed user-stack frames from 2 pids: 96025,96026
This is a watchdog-triggered termination event, and not expected to be well-represented in the legacy crash format

Backtrace not available

No thread state (register information) available

Binary Images:
Binary images description not available