Kernel panic error appears on my iMac every morning, how to fix it

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docweif Author

Level 1

14 points

Kernel panic error appears on my iMac every morning, how to fix it

Morning good people..

I have a panic crash every morning, on iMac 2019, Sonoma.

I have searched here previously and so have:

Checked for updates, (and again in safe mode)

Can't find any Safari add-ons

No third party cleaners, vpn's, optimisers,

I've ran the Diagnostics with a good result.

I do have an external SSD for Time Machine and have installed aftermarket RAM - could either of these be the issue? (They've been there for a year or more without any issues).

Any help would be gratefully received!

Keith

panic(cpu 10 caller 0xffffff802069189b): userspace watchdog timeout: no successful checkins from logd (2 induced crashes) in 120 seconds

service returned not alive with context : unresponsive dispatch queue(s): com.apple.firehose.io-wl

logd has not exited since first loaded

service: logd (2 induced crashes), total successful checkins in 86557 seconds: 8643, last successful checkin: 120 seconds ago

service: WindowServer, total successful checkins in 86512 seconds: 8651, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago

service: opendirectoryd, total successful checkins in 86557 seconds: 8654, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago

service: configd, total successful checkins in 86557 seconds: 8655, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 27″, macOS 14.3

Posted on Feb 16, 2024 1:30 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

docweif Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 11, 2024 2:35 AM in response to docweif

Just to close this off - it's been a month since I ran disc utility on the external SSD (Time Machine), and there's been no panics since, so it looks like that was the problem.

Many thanks to John and all for your help!

Keith

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

92,626 points

Feb 16, 2024 8:07 AM in response to docweif

docweif wrote:

I have a panic crash every morning, on iMac 2019, Sonoma.

Work thru the two test that John Galt has suggested first.

1) Leave the external drive disconnected and test for a cycle or two.

2) Reinstall only the original RAM modules and test for a cycle or two.

If those do not help, the issue could be related to Automatic computer sleep.

3) Turn on "Prevent automatic sleeping when display is off" and only allowing the display to turn off.

Then leave the iMac on with display off and/or shutdown over night.

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Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

156,518 points

Feb 16, 2024 4:45 AM in response to docweif

I do have an external SSD for Time Machine and have installed aftermarket RAM - could either of these be the issue?

Sure, that's possible. The easiest thing to do is to disconnect the external SSD and leave it disconnected until drawing a conclusion regarding it as a possible cause. If the crashes persist then reinstall that Mac's originally installed memory, and test again.

Apple Diagnostics does little more than test for the presence of operable hardware. Diagnosing intermittent or rarely occurring faults is always a tedious and time-consuming endeavor.

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Answer 4

docweif Author

Level 1

14 points

Feb 18, 2024 12:21 AM in response to John Galt

Thanks john,

I ran the disc utility first aid on it yesterday. It failed a few times, but eventually ran and this morning ... no panic.

So fingers crossed that's fixed it.

Many thanks for your help.

Keith

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Answer 5

docweif Author

Level 1

14 points

Feb 17, 2024 1:40 AM in response to John Galt

Thanks John,

I unplugged the SSD yesterday and this morning - no Panic!

So I guess that may be the problem.

Issue now is, do I have to format the SSD, which has all my Time Machine back-ups on it?

Many thanks

Keith

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Answer 6

John Galt

Level 10

156,518 points

Feb 17, 2024 5:19 AM in response to docweif

Don't reformat it; that might not help anyway. Set it aside for the time being, and obtain another backup drive. It doesn't have to be a SSD — their speed advantage is totally irrelevant with Time Machine. Just get any inexpensive USB backup drive and start a new set of backups on it. One and only one backup device doesn't comprise a robust backup strategy anyway. The reason is that you never want to be without any backups at all, even for a short time.

After you have at least one complete, restorable backup on another device, reintroduce the SSD and determine if the KPs return. If they do, consider reformatting the SSD.

If the SSD came with any so-called "drive manager" utilities or anything like that, don't install it. They are not required. Same goes for hard disk drives. If you installed something of that description it may have been the cause of the KP, so uninstall it. The SSD itself might be perfectly ok.

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Kernel panic error appears on my iMac every morning, how to fix it

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