Kernel Panic Help

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Kernel Panic Help

I'm working on a MacBook Pro (11,4). I keep getting the panic(cpu # caller...) message at boot. The system is stuck in a boot loop and switches between cpu#2 and 6. Here is what I've tried to make any headway:

Internet recovery - I can get into this, select my network, it'll load through and at the very end I'll get the -5101 error. I looked it up to be a network issue but I've tried this on 3 different networks with no luck.
Hardware Test - The test runs fine and mentions my battery might not be charging well, but the charger seems fine and I swapped it with another and got the same error. When prompted to boot into safe mode, the system falls back into the boot loop
Removeable boot drive - I made a boot drive with TransMac (I'm on a windows machine) with an El Capitan image, set the partitions (EFI to make it a bootable drive) in both the command line and in TransMac, but the MacBook won't view it. This is most likely on me missing something. I tried to reset the PRAM with the command-option-P-R reset and no luck.

Recovery mode / safe mode wont boot at all and falls back to boot loop.

The main error thread that pops up is (after the panic chunk):

"Process 1 exec of /sbin/ launchd failed, errno 2"@/Library/Caches/com.apple.xbs/Sources/xnu-3248.70.3/bsd/kern/kern_exec.c:4584

The Mac OS Version on the panic screen shows at "Not yet set" as well.

If I can provide any more info from my boot loop screens let me know!

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Mar 17, 2023 11:47 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 17, 2023 2:02 PM in response to ChaBoi8

It appears you have a MBPro 15" (mid 2015) model.

Unfortunately the snippet of the Kernel Panic doesn't help. Usually the first line (not always) says "panic" will give an error, then there are a couple other items in the middle of the report which may be significant.

Make sure to use Command + Option + R to access Internet Recovery Mode, otherwise if you just use Command + R, it may be using the local recovery partition to launch which may have issues. Try a PRAM Reset to see if you can get Internet Recovery Mode to work since the NVRAM may retain a former boot attempt and cause problems. It also never hurts to try an SMC Reset, but doubt it will help you here since the laptop is powering on & attempting to boot.

To see whether the laptop is able to boot at all, try creating & booting a Knoppix Linux USB stick. You can create this using any computer or OS. Download the Knoppix v8.6.1 or v9.x DVD .iso file with "EN" in the name for ENglish (I think v8.6.1 may be the better one to try). Use the downloaded .iso file as a source for Etcher (Mac/Windows/Linux) which will create the bootable Knoppix USB stick. Option Boot the Knoppix USB stick. If it boots, at least it means the laptop is basically functional since Linux may be accessing the hardware in a slightly different way than macOS. If Knoppix does not boot, then it likely means there is a hardware issue.

Unfortunately TransMAC does not work anymore for creating a bootable macOS USB installer...I have not seen any success stories in recent years.

Apple makes it difficult by not allowing or providing a method to create a bootable macOS USB installer from any computer or OS. In order to create a bootable macOS USB installer, you need access to another compatible Qualifying Mac in order to follow the instructions in this Apple article:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

A Qualifying Mac is one which is compatible with the OS installer you are trying to create. For a 2015 model, a Qualifying Mac you can generally use is from 2008 to 2021. You can confirm compatibility of a Qualifying Mac by using the information in this article:

https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility

macOS 10.11 -- 2008 to 2015

macOS 10.13 -- Late 2009 to 2018

macOS 12.x -- 2015 to 2021

I did stumble across a non-Apple forum thread where there were instructions to use the command line to extract & create a bootable macOS USB installer (I think for 10.11, but don't recall), however, the moderators removed it the last time I posted it. The instructions were similar to what I had used previously so I am fairly certain they would work.

Try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.

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Answer 2

Mar 17, 2023 1:59 PM in response to ChaBoi8

MacBook Pro 11, models are from about 2013, but there is no MacBook Pro 11,4 model.

Kernel Panic Reports are stored at:

/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports

If you copy and paste that string into:

Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder

it will take you to where those reports are stored.

They are named with Date&Time and start or end in ‘panic’

If you find one, please post the entire report here, by using the “additional text” Icon in the reply footer (looks like a paper with writing).

Please don’t post more about 20 lines of any other types of reports — they are interminable, and any information useful for this purpose is on the first screenful.

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Kernel Panic Help

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