After installing Monterey 12.3 (on an external SSD), the system went into a boot loop caused by a panic:
Using Monterey 12.2.1 to inspect, the 12.3 system volume has a broken seal which is likely the source of the problem:
Has anyone experienced this issue and, if so, is there a solution (I've already tried re-installing 12.3 several times with similar results)?
- Pie Lover
Mac mini 2018 or later
Referred to this in earlier posting regarding Carbon Copy Cloner and here is the actual quotation from same source. Beginning to believe this may somehow be related ?
" Apple's APFS replication utility fails on Apple Silicon Macs running 12.3
Tasks configured to use the Legacy Bootable Copy Assistant will fail on Apple Silicon Macs running 12.3 due to a "bless" failure that is internal to Apple's replication utility.
We reported this issue to Apple on February 4, 2020 (FB9880164). Apple acknowledged the report, but did not give an indication that they are working to resolve it.
Workaround: Don't configure your tasks with the Legacy Bootable Copy Assistant, configure a Standard Backup instead. Standard Backups are simpler, more flexible, and have more functionality than bootable copies of the system. Standard Backups are also compatible with Migration Assistant for performing complete restores of your system.
Update: In earlier beta builds of 12.3, this failure rendered the destination unmountable. In the final release of 12.3, that failure is now innocuous. CCC 6.1.1 will ignore the error and completes the task. That update will be available soon. If you'd like to verify the fix, you can download the beta build of 6.1.1 from here. "
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I installed Monterey 12.2.1 on the internal SSD (upgraded from 12.0.1=>12.1=>12.2=>12.2.1). As a test, I also successfully installed Monterey 12.2.1 (installed using a bootable installer) to the (same) external SSD without problems.
BTW, it seems that only the snapshot of the system volume is actually sealed.
- Pie Lover
Yup - Thank you.
Using it but the " Legacy Clone " still not working.
I tried to make one using CCC 6.1.1 and sure enough the Error Mike Bombich mentioned did occur.
Had to Format the drive to revive it again and start a fresh with new Standard Clone.
Thanks for the additional information. I'm expecting a callback from Apple Support later today. I'll report back if there's a useful update, especially if there's a workaround.
To my knowledge, a volume has to be blessed (as well as sealed) to be bootable. So perhaps the two issues are related. Bear in mind, though, that my machine is Intel based.
- Pie Lover
Thanks for that information. I had tried a "fresh" installation several times without success. Last night, I tried installing the newly released Monterey 12.3.1 update. I observed exactly the same behaviour (i.e. kernel panic) as with 12.3. I did notice, however, that iBridge was updated in the process (to 19.16.14243.0.0,0).
If I may, what Mac and SSD models are you using? Also, did you do anything special like disconnecting all non-essential peripherals before the installation?
I'm using a Mac mini (2018) and Samsung T5 500GB SSDs (connected via USB 3.1 Gen 2).
- Pie Lover
Thanks for the update. While it's reassuring to hear that I'm not the only one experiencing this issue, the problem must occur fairly rare since it's being treated with a low priority.
I spoke with an Apple Support advisor again yesterday. The advisor said that she would try to get more information from the engineering team. So far, the response has been that they can't see anything wrong it the logs. This is possibly because the failure occurs during booting.
I have already forwarded all the information that I had collected. Engineering had asked for the so-called recovery diagnostic file but I suspect that it's not available at the time that the kernel panic occurs.
- Pie Lover
There is information in Is Big Sur’s system volume sealed? which suggests that the broken seal should not be an issue as long as the system volume's corresponding APFS snapshot is itself sealed. That said, what could be causing the Operation not permitted error seen (in the verbose logs) while booting Monterey 12.3.1 which leads directly to a kernel panic?
- Pie Lover
Could it be that the cause of your issue is different despite the similar symptoms? I find it hard to believe that booting 12.3 would corrupt 12.3.1. Other the other hand, there could still be an issue with 12.3 if the root cause is related to the firmware update (for 12.3 and 12.3.1).
Perhaps you could discuss with Apple Support. For my part, I asked that my findings be documented and the case closed.
- Pie Lover
BlueberryLover wrote:
Perhaps you could discuss with Apple Support. For my part, I asked that my findings be documented and the case closed.
- Pie Lover
I see if I have time to do so. But will do. Problem is that one usually gets an agent that knows little and one needs to talk to that one for a long time before they are willing to escalate you to a 2nd level agent. My worry is they are suggesting a safe boot pram reset etc.
I understand exactly as I've had similar experiences.
BTW, my workaround was not stable. After being able to switch back and forth several time between 12.2.1 and 12.3.1, I eventually encountered the same kernel panic when trying to boot 12.3.1 (even though the diskutil apfs list shows 12.3.1 volume as sealed). I am convinced that resolving this issue will require a detailed investigation and comprehensive solution to address the root cause. However, I am not at all confident that the issue will receive the appropriate attention from the Apple support team.
- Pie Lover
My experience over time (first mac was a Lisa) is that the service declined slowly. And the agents in the callcenter are less capable and seems to work form a handbook rather than from knowledge. My fear too is Apple will not put it on the top of the list.
Also, corresponding local snapshot size is Zero bytes...
Good work and investigation :-)
Do keep us posted on developments - time permitting .
For information Carbon Copy Cloner release version 6.1.1 is now out.
Did do a backup yesterday and get the same error.
Hopefully somebody has a solution. I am talking to the CS people, if they send me a solution I post back.
yes reassuring but boring or? Thanks for the heads-up. I could not find anything in the logs either. So suspect you are right as it is a boot problem.
Broken Monterey System Volume Seal
