Programs crashing daily. Before and after wipe / install. Next steps?

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Level 1

4 points

Programs crashing daily. Before and after wipe / install. Next steps?

A few weeks ago I noticed the browser tabs or browser (Firefox, Chrome, Brave) wouldn't load or crash on my 2019 iMac - Big Sur, sporadically. I was on a Zoom call the iMac made a Bzzz sound, went black and shut down. The computer crash happened at least 1 more time. And probably during the night as I awoke to an alert prompt that my computer restarted. I tried to update to Sequoia but halfway through it would stop. I worked with Apple support to update, there was a problem with updating but it got updated to Sequoia.

But then the crashes continued. Worked with Apple support a few times... first aid was used, I was told to reinstall Sequoia. But then it wouldn't reinstall. Tried the 3 different methods and got stuck on the last one which offerred Catalina install (I didn't understand at the time why that was being offered but I do now). And that wouldn't install. After several attempts, it was wiped and Sequoia was installed. But the Senior Advisor was needed because of a PK error and through terminal it got installed.

Unfortunately, the crashes continue after the wipe / install. It happens daily. With browser tabs (Firefox, Brave, Zen), browser app (Safari, Brave), mac apps (Pages, Notes), other app (Zoom). This happens a few times a day.

Any thoughts on what the issue is or what the next step should be? Should I contact Apple phone support again? I thought it might be malware / trojan but I thought after wipe / install that issue (if it existed) would go away.

iMac 27″, macOS 15.3

Posted on Mar 21, 2025 10:58 AM

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Answer 1

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steve626

Level 6

12,249 points

Mar 21, 2025 12:27 PM in response to AlChris86

That does not sound good ... if indeed those were the only things installed on a blank Mac with only the MacOS, none of those should cause those crashes and involuntary restarts. The whoosh sound you heard is a complete system crash (called a kernel panic) and shutdown, if it happens once a year, no big deal, if it is happening every week, that's a serious problem. With just browsers installed (but did you bring over any user settings, software, tools ... or were those browsers the only things installed?), this should not be happening.

Based on what you describe, it might be hardware. In which case it could be a bad memory module, a major item like the main logic board, main internal drive failing ... But just to make sure, you could download and run Etrecheck and post the (anonymous) report here for readers to check for anything other than hardware. See this for instructions: Using EtreCheck - Apple Community

This is worth doing because broken hardware likely means a new computer is needed, the most expensive outcome. Whereas Etrecheck can sometimes find a culprit that is easier (and much cheaper) to address.

If the internal boot drive is failing and causing this, you could try the solution mentioned here, which would cost only a few hundred $:

Use an external SSD as your startup disk … - Apple Community

To diagnose an unknown but likely hardware issue, I would take the Mac to an Apple Authorized Service Provider. These are independent shops that are certified by Apple and have more leeway than an Apple Store to repair or otherwise do work on an older Mac. I used one to put new internal SSDs in a 2013 MacBook Air and a 2015 iMac, both of which are running fine after 5+ years after the repairs. Before going to a repair shop, I would post the Etrecheck report here (Etrecheck and posting here are free) to get lots of additional eyes on the problem.

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Answer 2

steve626

Level 6

12,249 points

Mar 21, 2025 11:33 AM in response to AlChris86

Did you wipe the drive, e.g. full erase/format? Then was a fresh MacOS installed and tested before migrating over all your settings and preferences and software? It is possible that migrating back everything just brought back the cause of the problem again. So testing with a new generic admin user first is the acid test. If everything is "fixed," you can then migrate back just user accounts and files, but no software. Then retest. If ok, then you reinstall from scratch (new installers) one or two apps at a time, retesting after each, to make sure you have not brought back the problem.

If the problems reappeared before migrating anything from your old system and before installing any non-Apple software, then you have a hardware problem. If the problem only occurs after migrating your old account and previous software/apps, then it was more likely something that had been installed.

It's one or the other -- something installed, or hardware.

If it is hardware, it makes more sense to simply replace the computer rather than try to service/repair a 2019 iMac. But that's up to you. The kinds of issues you described can be expensive to fix (main logic board), although it could be a bad memory module. Some of these parts are soldered in and can be difficult to replace, and finding the right parts for an older Mac can also be hard.

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Answer 3

AlChris86 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 21, 2025 12:09 PM in response to steve626

Yes. It was complete wipe/erase of the drive via terminal (but tried before using disk utility, I think). Then Sequoia was installed from the internet recovery (I think that's what they called it). I had to download fresh internet browsers from the company's sites (Firefox / Brave / Zen). As well as Pages/Numbers from App Store. I didn't get a chance to save the bookmarks so I've not added any of that to the browsers.

Once the new install was up and running, the order of software downloaded went as follows Firefox, Brave. Brave crashed 2x. So I then trashed it. Then I added Arc browser (opened once then trashed it), and Zen. Then the next day added Pages, Numbers and Zoom. Zoom crashed 10 mins into a call. Then today, nothing added but Notes and Safari crashed, as well as tabs on Zen and Firefox. I'm not sure if that answers the question properly on migration order.

Thanks for the help.

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Answer 4

AlChris86 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 21, 2025 12:48 PM in response to steve626

Well, the other 2 times it the computer crashed I didn't hear the sound (one of them I was asleep). I can post one of the computer crash reports, if that's helpful. I know, one of the Apple phone advisers said from that report there was a kernel issue. Or something like that. I actually don't remember anything else but her saying "kernel".

Nothing was brought over at first. I installed those apps (browsers than Pages/Numbers). Then I brought over some document files late yesterday (aka day 2 of the re-install) after the re-install. I'll work on the EtreCheck.

To clarify, in case there is a misunderstanding. The computer has NOT crashed since the reinstall. Thankfully. But, I am concerned it will. The crashes for now, have been software.

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Answer 5

AlChris86 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 21, 2025 1:22 PM in response to steve626

EtreCheck report

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.9 (68074) Report generated: 2025-03-21 16:06:08 Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com Runtime: 2:54 Performance: Excellent Problem: Apps are crashing Description: Browsers and browser tabs crash. 2019 iMac on Big Sur. Then on Zoom, t he computer crashed with a big Bzzzz sound. Tried to upgrade to Sequoi a, but stopped midway. With several Apple phone support calls, finally did upgrade through terminal but had to erase/wipe the machine then i nternet recovery re-install of Sequoia. After wipe/reinstall, downloaded 2 browsers from company’s sites. Brav e crashed on opening. Firefox ok. Then downloaded Zen. On day 2, Zoom, Page, Numbers downloaded. Zen tab, Firefox tab, Zoom and Pages crashe d. Day 3. Zen tab, Notes, Safari, and Firefox tab crashed. Major Issues: None Minor Issues: These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement. No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found. Apps crashing - There have been numerous app crashes. Limited permissions - More information may be available with Full Disk Access. Hardware Information: iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) Status: Supported iMac Model: iMac19,1 3.7 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-9600K) CPU: 6-core 8 GB RAM - Upgradeable BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR4 2667 BANK 1/ChannelA-DIMM1 - Empty BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR4 2667 BANK 3/ChannelB-DIMM1 - Empty Video Information: Radeon Pro 580X - VRAM: 8 GB iMac (built-in) 4096 x 2304 Drives: disk0 - APPLE SSD SM1024L 1.00 TB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes) Internal PCI-Express 8.0 GT/s x4 NVM Express S.M.A.R.T. Details: 5% used, 173.48 TB written, 100% health, 66 unsafe shutdowns disk0s1 - EFI [EFI] 315 MB disk0s2 [APFS Container] 1.00 TB disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 1.00 TB (Shared by 6 volumes) disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (17.51 GB used) disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (2.39 GB used) disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.31 GB used) disk1s4 (APFS) [Core Storage Container] (11.15 GB used) disk1s4s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) (11.15 GB used) disk1s5 - Update (APFS) (823 KB used) disk1s6 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (2.15 GB used) Mounted Volumes: disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data Encrypted Used: 17.51 GB Shared values Size: 1.00 TB Free: 965.52 GB Available: 967.00 GB disk1s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot Used: 2.39 GB Shared values Size: 1.00 TB Free: 965.52 GB Available: 967.00 GB disk1s3 - Recovery [Recovery] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /Volumes/Recovery Used: 1.31 GB Shared values Size: 1.00 TB Free: 965.52 GB Available: 967.00 GB disk1s4s1 - Macintosh HD Filesystem: APFS Mount point: / Read-only: Yes Used: 11.15 GB Shared values Size: 1.00 TB Free: 965.52 GB Available: 967.00 GB disk1s5 - Update Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update Used: 823 KB Shared values Size: 1.00 TB Free: 965.52 GB Available: 967.00 GB disk1s6 - VM [APFS VM] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM Used: 2.15 GB Shared values Size: 1.00 TB Free: 965.52 GB Available: 967.00 GB disk5s1 - Creedence11M6270.SECUREPKITRUSTSTOREASSETS_SECUREPKITRUSTSTORE_Cryptex Filesystem: APFS Disk Image Mount point: /System/Library/A******2/c*********************************e/p**********o/6********************************************t/.********a Read-only: Yes Size: 4 MB USB: USB 3.1 bus PixArt - Lenovo USB Optical Mouse Apple Inc. - FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) USB 3.1 bus <Empty> Network: Interface en0: Ethernet Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge Interface en1: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Firewall: Blocked apps: None Stealth mode: Enabled System Software: macOS Sequoia 15.3.2 (24D81) Installed 2025-03-19 Time since boot: About 2 days Security: Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers System Integrity Protection: Enabled Antivirus software: Apple System Launch Daemons: [Not Loaded] 42 Apple tasks [Loaded] 175 Apple tasks [Running] 189 Apple tasks [Other] 4 Apple tasks System Launch Agents: [Not Loaded] 22 Apple tasks [Loaded] 183 Apple tasks [Running] 241 Apple tasks Launch Daemons: [Loaded] us.zoom.ZoomDaemon.plist (Zoom Video Communications, Inc. - installed 2025-03-20) Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/us.zoom.ZoomDaemon Launch Agents: [Not Loaded] us.zoom.updater.login.check.plist (Zoom Video Communications, Inc. - installed 2025-03-20) Command: /Applications/zoom.us.app/Contents/Library/LaunchAgents/ZoomUpdater.app/Contents/MacOS/ZoomUpdater --login-check [Loaded] us.zoom.updater.plist (Zoom Video Communications, Inc. - installed 2025-03-20) Command: /Applications/zoom.us.app/Contents/Library/LaunchAgents/ZoomUpdater.app/Contents/MacOS/ZoomUpdater --update User Login Items: [Not Loaded] PasswordsMenuBarExtra (Apple - installed 2025-03-06) Modern Login Item /System/Applications/Passwords.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PasswordsMenuBarExtra.app [Not Loaded] WeatherMenu (Apple - installed 2025-03-06) Modern Login Item /System/Applications/Weather.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/WeatherMenu.app Applications: 781 Apple apps 36 3rd party apps 7 x86-only apps No unsigned apps App Extensions: QuickLook Previews: [Loaded] EtreCheckQuickLook - ~/Downloads/EtreCheckPro.app com.etresoft.etrecheck4 *.etrecheck Backup: Time Machine information is limited without Full Disk Access Performance: System Load: 0.92 (1 min ago) 0.88 (5 min ago) 0.95 (15 min ago) Nominal I/O usage: 1.95 MB/s File system: 18.87 seconds Write speed: 2047 MB/s Read speed: 2946 MB/s CPU Usage Snapshot: Type Overall System: 2 % User: 9 % Idle: 89 % Top Processes Snapshot by CPU: Process (count) CPU (Source - Location) EtreCheckPro 33.36 % (Etresoft, Inc.) WindowServer 6.60 % (Apple) launchd 2.30 % (Apple) kernel_task 0.95 % (Apple) bluetoothd 0.38 % (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Memory: Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location) EtreCheckPro 953 MB (Etresoft, Inc.) com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (4) 554 MB (Apple) AppleSpell 258 MB (Apple) MTLCompilerService (23) 176 MB (Apple) Safari 159 MB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use: Process (count) Input / Output (Source - Location) mDNSResponder 48 MB / 3 MB (Apple) netbiosd 26 KB / 18 KB (Apple) apsd 7 KB / 23 KB (Apple) com.apple.WebKit.Networking 9 KB / 18 KB (Apple) trustd 19 KB / 3 KB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use: Process (count) Energy (0-100) (Source - Location) WindowServer 4 (Apple) bluetoothd 1 (Apple) sharingd 0 (Apple) rapportd 0 (Apple) nearbyd 0 (Apple) Virtual Memory Information: Physical RAM: 8 GB Free RAM: 741 MB Used RAM: 5.34 GB Cached files: 1.94 GB Available RAM: 2.66 GB Swap Used: 552 MB Software Installs (past 60 days): Install Date Name (Version) 2025-03-19 macOS 15.3.2 (15.3.2) - Software update 2025-03-19 XProtectPlistConfigData (5290) - Software update 2025-03-19 Gatekeeper Compatibility Data (1.0) - Software update 2025-03-19 MRTConfigData (1.93) - Software update 2025-03-19 XProtectPayloads (151) - Software update 2025-03-20 Numbers (14.3) - App Store 2025-03-20 Pages (14.3) - App Store 2025-03-20 Keynote (14.3) - App Store 2025-03-20 Zoom Workplace (6.4.0.51205) - Installer Diagnostics Information (past 60 days): 2025-03-21 01:10:21 plugin-container Crash (2 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-20 00:47:50 Executable: /Applications/Zen.app 2025-03-20 18:43:55 zoom.us Crash Executable: /Applications/zoom.us.app Details: libsystem_c.dylib: abort() called 2025-03-20 16:16:01 CGPDFService Crash (2 times) Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/CGPDFService.xpc/Contents/MacOS/CGPDFService Details: libsystem_c.dylib: abort() called 2025-03-20 16:08:53 mds_stores Crash (2 times) Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mds_stores 2025-03-20 13:10:08 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent Crash (7 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-19 13:56:48 Details: Safari 2025-03-20 12:36:07 com.apple.WebKit.Networking Crash Details: Safari 2025-03-20 01:55:19 Zen.app High CPU Use Executable: /Applications/Zen.app 2025-03-20 00:07:35 accountsd Crash (2 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-20 00:04:13 Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/Accounts.framework/Versions/A/Support/accountsd 2025-03-19 21:58:12 identityservicesd Crash Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/IDS.framework/identityservicesd.app 2025-03-19 18:52:37 mediaanalysisd Crash Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MediaAnalysis.framework/Versions/A/mediaanalysisd 2025-03-19 15:05:19 SystemUIServer Crash Executable: /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemUIServer.app 2025-03-19 09:26:48 lsd Crash (4 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-19 09:18:51 Executable: /usr/libexec/lsd End of report

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Programs crashing daily. Before and after wipe / install. Next steps?