Computer crashes randomly while using Final Cut Pro. Pink screen. Black screen. Then computer restarts on its own.

Yes, I am somewhat dubious as to whether deleting the preferences will help and urge you to follow Luis' advice.

Meanwhile a quick trawl of our friendly Artificial Intelligence suggests looking at the following:-

Random Crash Issues with FCP

Based on the search results, there are several potential causes and solutions for the issue you’re experiencing:

• Corrupted preference files: After prolonged use of Final Cut Pro, corrupted data can accumulate in the application’s preference files, leading to instability, crashes, and other issues. Try resetting your preferences by holding down the Option and Command keys while launching FCPX. This will open a window to reset preferences. Click “Reset,” then close the project immediately and re-open it.
• System overload or program force quitting: If your system is overloaded with activity or freezes, a bug may be saved in the system, causing Final Cut Pro to crash. Try restarting your Mac to resolve this issue.
• Resetting Final Cut Pro-related system resources: Restarting your computer and resetting the Final Cut Pro-related system resources may help resolve the crashing issue.
• System configuration and installation issues: In some cases, a clean installation of macOS on a new volume or setting up a test volume may help resolve the issue.

To minimize the occurrence of random crashes:

• Close other resource-intensive applications while using Final Cut Pro.
• Regularly save your project and close it to prevent data corruption.
• Consider upgrading your hardware or software to ensure compatibility and optimal performance.

Remember to restart your Mac periodically to clear any system bugs that may be contributing to the crashes. If the issue persists, it may be helpful to seek further assistance from Apple Support or a professional technical expert.

When FCP behaves weirdly it's a good idea to start by deleting the preferences/settings.

Assuming it is FCP causing the crashing I would suggest you start there.

Hold down the option and command keys as you launch FCP until a window appears. Click the Delete button.

Have you got at least 20% free space on your drives?

Deleting the preferences, as Ian suggested, is always a good thing to try when something goes wrong.

In this case, I think that there is more to it.

It is not just FCP crashing, it is a kernel panic.

An application per se cannot cause this. It can be caused by something running at a lower level, like a system extension or daemon, or it can be due to a hardware problem.

We need to know more. Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here. Use the "additional text" button and paste the report into the text box.

In connection with my query about free space you could delete the render files to free up storage.

Also see if this thread from 5 years ago can help.

Computer crashes when running Final Cut P… - Apple Community

Yes, it's free.

It was developed by a respected member of this community to help diagnose Mac problems.

https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html

What Luis said is absolutely correct. To expedite resolution of the actual problem, it's vital to understand this. There is no software code or bug in FCP which can be changed to avoid this problem.

This type of problem is a black-and-white issue. It's not the fault of FCP. The hardware-enforced separation of user mode and kernel mode virtually guarantees that. If there was a user-mode app bug that could crash or reboot the computer, then a nefarious actor could use the same technique (without admin privileges) to disrupt computers worldwide.

Prior to Apple Silicon Macs, such problems could be caused by a MacOS kernel extension. Those are disallowed on Apple Silicon, and instead, there is a system extension API that runs in user mode. This is part of Apple's ongoing effort to improve reliability. So there is generally no need to even suspect a kernel extension on Apple Silicon since they cannot be used.

Kernel panics can appear when running FCP or other stressful apps because the workload exposes a defect in the underlying system, whether that's the operating system, drivers or hardware. So it's perfectly natural for users of those apps to report the problems on the app forums, but we FCP users are not experts at deciphering MacOS kernel panics. Ideally, you should be talking to MacOS or hardware support.

That said, we want to help. If you can examine your MacOS logs and post the files for any kernel panics on a file sharing site we can access. Kernel panic files are in either /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports or in /var/db/PanicReporter.

It wouldn't hurt to check the Mac's cooling vents are not blocked and that there's at least 20% of free disk space on the system drive, but those things normally wouldn't cause a kernel panic.

If you have access to an Apple Store with a Genius Bar, they have overnight and multi-day stress tests which are more meaningful.

What the Apple FCP technician told you is incorrect based on your stated symptoms. If only FCP was crashing (not MacOS), checking for third-party FCP filter plugins would be a reasonable step. However, if MacOS is crashing, the problem is at a lower level. Those lower-level problems can sometimes be responsible for FCP crashing, but FCP is never at fault for MacOS crashing.

Yes, Etrecheck is free and safe to use. If you can post those results here, we can examine your system config for problems.

If you have outboard audio or video interfaces or a second monitor, as a troubleshooting step, you can try temporarily removing those.

If you can obtain and post on a file-sharing service the kernel panic files from /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports or /var/db/PanicReporter, I will personally examine those. However, those should really be examined by Apple MacOS support. I'd suggest you immediately copy those off to a safe location because otherwise, they can "age off" the system.

Those files should have a name ending in .panic and there may be a companion file of the same date/time ending in .ips.

Also check in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Archive/ because, after a period of time, the older panic files are put there. After more time passes or if the system is in need of disk space, they may be automatically deleted.

The M2Pro generally handles FCP well. From the current symptoms this is not an FCP problem. The MacOS kernel panics are not caused because FCP is overloaded, rather something is malfunctioning in the MacOS layer or hardware.

As a standard troubleshooting procedure, I'd recommend removing Chrome and associated keystone software. Chrome misuses the MacOS VideoToolbox framework and can destabilize other apps. I don't remember it being associated with a kernel panic, and in fact, this should never happen. But Chrome has caused so many problems it's a good idea to at least temporarily remove it for troubleshooting reasons.

See https://chromeisbad.com for a more detailed explanation and for how to remove them.