Multiple kernel panics per day, MacBook Pro with no peripherals installed.

This is seriously driving me crazy. Not only do I have multiple kernel panics per day, but neither Chrome nor Safari browser seems able to store "remember this device" / "don't ask again for this device" cookies, despite being enabled. Chrome could be the culprit as it's always crashing but I only have one extension loaded (a reputable password manager). I'm wondering if there is some kind of User library file corruption for all of this but any advice will be gratefully received.

EtreCheck report attached.

Thanks!


MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 14.2

Posted on Jan 4, 2024 7:51 PM

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Posted on Jan 5, 2024 7:27 PM

Uninstall CleanMyMac by following the developer's instructions. Anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software are not needed on a Mac and they usually cause more problems than they solve since they interfere with the normal operation of macOS. CMM in particular is notorious on these forums for causing all sorts of problems and is almost considered a piece of malware by many here due to all the problems it causes people.

Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community


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Jan 5, 2024 7:27 PM in response to S_a_r_a_h

Uninstall CleanMyMac by following the developer's instructions. Anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software are not needed on a Mac and they usually cause more problems than they solve since they interfere with the normal operation of macOS. CMM in particular is notorious on these forums for causing all sorts of problems and is almost considered a piece of malware by many here due to all the problems it causes people.

Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community


Jan 6, 2024 8:03 AM in response to S_a_r_a_h

Remove ExpressVPN with a provided uninstaller if possible. There are some files that launch on startup that are 11 years old and may have worked OK at that time, but you could expect a conflict without an update for that long. To get rid of the files that could be causing the problems post screenshots of these 3 file locations by going to Finder > Go > Go to Folder and pasting each one there.

/Library/LaunchDaemons

/Library/LaunchAgents

~/Library/LaunchAgents


The goal here is to return your Mac to a state without Kernel panics by not having to do a clean install of your computer, which would remove all files. Once you are free from the Kernel Panics you can install the software that you think you need one at a time to verify your computer is still stable.



Jan 13, 2024 8:35 AM in response to S_a_r_a_h

Sorry you are still having this issue. Understand that if you just get too frustrated with these troubleshooting steps and just want to start fresh to verify if it is a Hardware or Software problem, you can reset to factory settings to see if the problem goes away. It appears you have a backup for your files, so a clean install may be needed to prevent the problem files from being loaded back and cause the same problems. After the system is stable, you could then transfer files from your backup and install your needed software to determine if anything causes the problem again.


Anyways, I am willing to continue on this journey to offer further suggestions so you do not have to go through the trouble of restoring your OS from the backup. First here are 2 hardware tests that may be able to determine if it could be Hardware related.

Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support

How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility - Apple Support


Since you had suspected a Google issue in your previous posts and your EtreCheck reports are consistent with High CPU and High Memory usage of Google processes, we could try and remove anything Google from your System files and you can also remove Google Drive and Google Chrome just to remove that possibility. The best way to view the Google files on your System is to post screenshots of these 3 file locations. You can get there by going to Finder > Go > Go to Folder, and pasting each of these locations there:

/Library/LaunchDaemons

/Library/LaunchAgents

~/Library/LaunchAgents

Jan 11, 2024 12:25 PM in response to S_a_r_a_h

Sorry for being late replying, but I have been out sick this week. The others have done a great job here.


With the updated EtreCheck app, we got a lot better details on the logs & crashes.


It is hard to say if your Mac is cured yet since there were several Kernel Panics referencing "x86 CPU CATERR detected" which is referring to a CPU CATastrophic ERRor which usually will be a hardware issue. Plus this computer had 72 other Kernel Panics that were not "watchdog" related, but with the third party software already mentioned....they may have played a partial or complete role in them. It is not worth looking at those older panic logs since that software likely played a part.


Best you can do now is wait to see if you get any more Kernel Panics. If you do, then posting several of those most recent Kernel Panic logs would be useful.


Hopefully this has really resolved these issues. Good luck.


And thank you @chdsl & @Mac Jim ID for jumping in.

Jan 15, 2024 7:48 AM in response to S_a_r_a_h

Your RAM memory is quite small compared to the high-end tasks you are doing.


Ordinarily, that would just produce some slowness. The excess RAM required would be simulated in a file on your boot drive. However, to run this way, your Mac needs LOTS of free disk space. Your disk is almost FULL, and you need to move some files off it to allow it to work properly. to simulate a shortfall of 64 GB requires a bit more than 64 GB of drive space.


For reference, MacOS consumes over 9 GB going from cold start to up and running.

Jan 17, 2024 10:56 AM in response to S_a_r_a_h

that is only a portion of the complete panic report. From what you posted, initproc died, which suggests your Mac was just starting up when this happened. The rest of the report might tell why.

Kernel Panic Reports are stored in the Folder at:

/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports


If you copy and paste that string into:

Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder


it will take you to the Folder where those reports are stored.


Kernel panic reports 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.

Jan 13, 2024 10:58 AM in response to S_a_r_a_h

Does your MacBook crash, when you are not using any 3rd party apps, such as Microsoft, Adobe, Dropbox, Zoom etc at the same time? Or, does it crash, for example, if you use only one of those 3rd party apps, but not the others?


I have a feeling that either one of those apps, or all together takes up most of the memory, so that there's not enough free memory for the macOS to work safely. Check Activity Monitor > Memory tab how much it takes, when you have those apps open.

For example, I have only Safari and Books open,

My MBP has 16GB memory, and it still uses more than half.

Jan 13, 2024 10:17 AM in response to S_a_r_a_h

You have turned off Apple security updates. That means you are not getting any virus check updates from Apple automatically. You should re-enable those automatic updates.


Much to the checking readers have been helping you with was to eliminate obvious Bad Actors and troublesome add-ons.


you still have obscure kernel panics that Etrecheck does not identify automatically. It would be very helpful if you could run Etrecheck, look for the line-item suggesting you have panics, and retrieve a report, and copy and paste that report back here.


alternatively, Kernel Panic Reports are stored in the Folder at:

/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports


If you copy and paste that string into:

Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder


it will take you to the Folder where those reports are stored.


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

If you find one, please copy the entire report, and PASTE 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.


Jan 15, 2024 1:08 AM in response to S_a_r_a_h

System Settings > Battery > Options > disable Wake for network access


Also, when you put your Mac to sleep, better if you plug it in. Actually, I found that it is always better to keep the Mac plugged in, and in optimised charging mode enabled. My MBP stays plugged in always, and the battery is staying at 80% for days. This 80% means it is actually around 76%.

System Settings > Battery >"I"

Hope this will help.


Regarding that fileproviderd, some info here, Fileproviderd is using over 100% CPU. - Apple Community

You can find lot of replies on fileproviderd in the search bar in this forum.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Multiple kernel panics per day, MacBook Pro with no peripherals installed.

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