Since upgrading to Sonoma 14.0 on start up, my MacBook Air gives me an error message saying You shut down your computer because of a problem which I did not, I just shut it down normally. Is this happening to anyone else and if so have you fixed the problem?
MacBook Air 13″
Jagbird1 wrote:
Hi Encryptor5000
Thank you for replying to me. I can tell you that I do not get the error message in safe mode.
Good to know! In that case the error is very likely related to third-party software.
I see I need to download Etrecheck to run the report. I don't see it on the App Store so am a tad concerned. Is there a way of running the report without downloading the software? Also, can I ask, will the report provide a definitive solution?
EtreCheck is developed and maintained by @etresoft, a well-respected community member on these forums. It's one of the very few apps that is frequently recommended here, and it's properly signed and notarized (Apple's systems checked it for malware and found none).
The report won't provide a definitive solution, but it will report on the overall state and health of your Mac and note any major or minor problems it finds. Any personal info found is redacted in the report to protect your privacy.
I've been on again with Apple and they now say they want me to perform a back up, then wipe the Mac completely and do a brand new install. It seems a bit drastic and unnecessary.
Probably is a bit drastic. That said: a) it's worth a try if you can handle the downtime while your Mac restores from backup, and b) you should already have regular backups established. If not, set up a backup system now (like Time Machine) so that you can recover your data in case of catastrophe.
Is there anything else I can try before downloading the software you refer to?
Yes. When your Mac says it restarted because of a problem, choose Report, then expand the technical details and post them here. You might want to check the report for any sensitive details (such as your username) and redact them accordingly.
Apple also has a small article about that error message: If your Mac restarted because of a problem - Apple Support (CA)
Jagbird1 wrote:
Hi Encryptor5000
Thank you for replying to me. I can tell you that I do not get the error message in safe mode.
Good to know! In that case the error is very likely related to third-party software.
I see I need to download Etrecheck to run the report. I don't see it on the App Store so am a tad concerned. Is there a way of running the report without downloading the software? Also, can I ask, will the report provide a definitive solution?
EtreCheck is developed and maintained by @etresoft, a well-respected community member on these forums. It's one of the very few apps that is frequently recommended here, and it's properly signed and notarized (Apple's systems checked it for malware and found none).
The report won't provide a definitive solution, but it will report on the overall state and health of your Mac and note any major or minor problems it finds. Any personal info found is redacted in the report to protect your privacy.
I've been on again with Apple and they now say they want me to perform a back up, then wipe the Mac completely and do a brand new install. It seems a bit drastic and unnecessary.
Probably is a bit drastic. That said: a) it's worth a try if you can handle the downtime while your Mac restores from backup, and b) you should already have regular backups established. If not, set up a backup system now (like Time Machine) so that you can recover your data in case of catastrophe.
Is there anything else I can try before downloading the software you refer to?
Yes. When your Mac says it restarted because of a problem, choose Report, then expand the technical details and post them here. You might want to check the report for any sensitive details (such as your username) and redact them accordingly.
Apple also has a small article about that error message: If your Mac restarted because of a problem - Apple Support (CA)
If you're skittish about installing Etrecheck (no reason to worry about it, BTW), then I'd ask if you have installed:
If you have installed any of the above, then I'd recommend using the software publisher's uninstall program(s) to completely remove them from your Mac. Simply dragging the app to the trash doesn't get rid of all the support files and routines these apps use, and you may well still have issues. VPNs are typically only needed if your company requires you to connect to their servers via a secure tunnel. VPNs really don't provide any other security to most users.
But the best means of letting us see what might be causing the issue would be to run Etrecheck (allowing full disk access) and copying/pasting the report into the Additional Text in your reply. (That's the third icon from the right at the bottom of the Reply window).
I see you're still hesitant to run Etrecheck. It's the best means any of us have of identifying possible/probable causes of your issue. It's a truly benign app, but reveals a lot of issues many don't realize they have.
The only thing I can suggest is to provide a list of all the apps and utilities you have installed on your Mac. We could then examine the list and point out any known problem applications.
I would also ask if you have an external drive connected when you shut down your Mac and, upon reboot, see this message?
Hi MacMikeInOK and Encryptor5000
I have none of the above installed and the problem was starting to wear me down... so... it's a rainy day here and seemed a good opportunity to do the complete wipe and reinstall that Apple said was best. So it's done, and so far, the fault hasn't replicated. I've only downloaded the essential 3rd party software I really need and it seems to have done the trick. I tell you it's not so much the new install that's the time consuming element, it's all the other nonsense, the reinstall of all your files (music, docs, photos) (and why does iTunes always lose 50% of album artwork??) and getting the blooming printer to talk to the Mac! So it's taken the best of 5 hours to complete the task so that's it, you guys are the last job on the list and then I'm quitting for the day! Thank you to both of you your help has been appreciated.
It is happening all the time and had happened on every reboot after the Sonoma update. I've had a session with Mac support troubleshooting the problem, even reinstalling Sonoma but it's still happening after every reboot. Time to get back on with them again and het them to log it as an issue requiring a bug fix. Unless anyone has any different ideas?
Actually it's not all that uncommon, so yes, it's happens to most of us.
If it's only happen once, there's not necessarily anything to do ... things happen.
If it becomes a habit, then is the time to start troubleshooting.
Hi Jagbird1,
Hi Encryptor5000
Thank you for replying to me. I can tell you that I do not get the error message in safe mode.
I see I need to download Etrecheck to run the report. I don't see it on the App Store so am a tad concerned. Is there a way of running the report without downloading the software? Also, can I ask, will the report provide a definitive solution? None of my 3rd party software (not that I have much!) has ever caused an issue with any of the Mac versions before this, it's only since I updated it to Sonoma 14.0. I've been on again with Apple and they now say they want me to perform a back up, then wipe the Mac completely and do a brand new install. It seems a bit drastic and unnecessary. Is there anything else I can try before downloading the software you refer to?
Hi Encryptor5000
A couple of things to note:
Thanks for all your help here... it is very appreciated.
OK... so I've had a week free of the issue but now it's started again. It was fine yesterday, I haven't downloaded anything new or done anything out of the ordinary and this morning on boot up the message is back. Why??? Does this point to anything in particular? Anyone got any ideas?
Error message on start up after upgrading to Sonoma 14.0
