iMac 2019 - Keeps Crashing and Restarting – Need Advice

Question

Level 1

4 points

iMac 2019 - Keeps Crashing and Restarting – Need Advice

Hi everyone,

I have a 2019 iMac (27-inch, Retina 5K) with the following specs:

Processor: 3.0 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5
Graphics: Radeon Pro 570X 4GB
Memory: 16 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
Storage: 1TB Fusion Drive
macOS: Sonoma 14.4.1
Adobe Illustrator 28.1 installed

I’ve been experiencing persistent crashes. The system freezes up, shows the spinning beach ball, and often reboots by itself, giving the message: "Your computer restarted because of a problem." This happens even when I’m not using Adobe Illustrator. Some days, the crashing and rebooting happen so frequently that I can’t get any work done. I often have to shut it down and try again the following day.

Troubleshooting Steps I’ve Already Tried:

Ran First Aid in Disk Utility (including in Recovery Mode) – No errors (Exit Code 0, Operation Successful).
Ran Apple Diagnostics – No hardware issues found.
Reset PRAM/NVRAM and SMC – Didn’t resolve the issue.
Upgraded to macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 – Issue still occurs.
Checked power supply – Unplugged and waited before reconnecting, no change.

Is there anything else I should try before I consider repairs? Could it be a deeper software or hardware issue that’s causing the crashes? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

iMac (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Mar 28, 2025 3:35 PM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

146,906 points

Mar 28, 2025 9:56 PM in response to diannamk

Thanks for the report., The first thing I see is there is no backup of the computer, this is EXTREMELY dangerous and the #1 thing you need to address. If my hunch is correct you are very high risk of losing ALL of your data. So please read Back up your Mac with Time Machine and begin using Time Machine. This requires an External Hard Disk to backup to, the one many experienced users on these forums suggest is the OWC Mercury Elite Pro, get a 2-4 TB model. Why this drive, VERY high quality which equals reliability, reasonable cost and dead simple to setup and maintain. Please order today and have it delivered ASAP and back up.

What my hunch is, is that the internal HD is getting ready to fail!!!!!!

After you have received the new External Hard Disk and backed up for the first time with Time Machine then download DriveDX and test the internal HD. If ANY errors appear, that means my hunch of a failing HD is correct. At that point you have to decide what to do. You can have another HD installed or what I'd recommend is buying an external SSD and using that as your boot drive. Another option of course is replacing the computer, your 2019 still has some life in it so really that is something to think about.

Reply

Answer 2

diannamk Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 1, 2025 5:20 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Thank you for your help in troubleshooting last week. It's been extremely helpful. I backed up my Mac with Time Machine on an external drive we already had. I downloaded DriveDx and tested the internal HD. I don't see any errors, but I would really appreciate your interpretation. I haven't experienced any crashes but I haven't had it on very much either. Today I've had it on for about 4 hours while I was backing it up and running DriveDx. I'm attaching DriveDx report. Please let me know if there is anything else you need from me. Thanks again for all your help so far!

DriveDx report

### SYSTEM INFORMATION ### Report Timestamp : April 1, 2025 5:52:08 PM MDT Report Timestamp (ISO 8601 format) : 2025-04-01T17:52:08 Application Name : DriveDx Application Version : 1.12.1.760 Application SubBuild : 0 Application Edition : Standalone Application Website : https://binaryfruit.com/drivedx DriveDx Knowledge Base Revision : 103/103 Computer Name : Dianna’s iMac Host Name : Diannas-iMac Computer Model : iMac19,1 OS Boot Time : 2025-04-01T15:27:24 Time Since Boot : 02h 24m 44s OS Name : macOS OS Version : 14.7.4 OS Build : 23H420 OS Kernel Version : Darwin 23.6.0 SAT SMART Driver Version : N/A ATA Command Support Tolerance : verypermissive N of drives in report : 2 ### DRIVE 1 OF 2 ### Last Checked : April 1, 2025 5:48:34 PM MDT Last Checked (ISO 8601 format) : 2025-04-01T17:48:34 Advanced SMART Status : OK Overall Health Rating : GOOD 100% SSD Lifetime Left Indicator : GOOD 100% Issues found : 0 Serial Number : S3DUNY0N405441 WWN Id : Volumes : Macintosh HD Device Path : /dev/disk1 Total Capacity : 28.0 GB (28,000,002,048 Bytes) Model Family : Apple/Samsung NVMe L-series SSD Model : APPLE SSD SM0032L Firmware Version : DXZ77A0Q Drive Type : SSD Power On Time : 4,962 hours (6 months 26 days 18 hours) Power Cycles Count : 2,512 Current Power Cycle Time : 2.4 hours === DEVICE CAPABILITIES === S.M.A.R.T. support enabled : yes DriveDx Active Diagnostic Config : Apple/Samsung NVMe SSD L-series config [ssd.nvme.apple.sm.0032l] Sector Logical Size : 4096 Sector Physical Size : 4096 Physical Interconnect : PCI-Express (PCIe) Logical Protocol : NVM-Express (NVMe) Removable : no Ejectable : no NVMe Revision Supported : 1.20 PCI Vendor Id : 0x144d Thermal Throttling Supported : no Volatile Write Cache Supported : yes Maximum Data Transfer Size : 256 Pages Log Page Attributes : 0x2 Format NVM Attributes : 0x3 Optional Admin Command Support : 0x0 Optional NVM Command Support : 0x1f (Compare, Wr_Unc, DS_Mngmt, Wr_Zero, Save/Sel_Feat) Number of Power States Supported : 2 Error Log Page Entries : 63 Keep Alive Support : 0 Total NVMe Capacity : 28,000,002,048 (28.0 GB) Unallocated NVMe Capacity : - Number of NVMe Namespaces : 1 I/O Path : IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/RP17@1B/IOPP/SSD0@0/IONVMeController/IONVMeBlockStorageDevice@1 [Known device ]: yes [Drive State Flags ]: 0x0 === CURRENT POWER CYCLE STATISTICS === Time since computer startup : 2 hours Data Read : 9,626,624,000 bytes (9.6 GB) Data Written : 4,731,478,016 bytes (4.7 GB) Data Read/Write Ratio : 2.03 Data Read/hour : 4.0 GB/hour Data Write/hour : 2.0 GB/hour Operations (Read) : 537,250 Read IOPS : 3,441 Operations (Write) : 157,783 Write IOPS : 1,011 Operations Read/Write Ratio : 3 Throughput per operation (Read) : 17.9 KB/Op Throughput per operation (Write) : 30.0 KB/Op Latency Time (Read) : 0 ns Latency Time (Write) : 0 ns Retries (Read) : 0 Retries (Write) : 0 Errors (Read) : 0 Errors (Write) : 0 === PROBLEMS SUMMARY === Failed Indicators (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) Failing Indicators (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) Warnings (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) I/O Error Count : 0 (0 / 0) === IMPORTANT HEALTH INDICATORS === ID NAME RAW VALUE STATUS 7 Data Units Written 5,751,156 (2.9 TB) 100% OK 14 Media and Data Integrity Errors 0 100% OK === TEMPERATURE INFORMATION (CELSIUS) === Current Temperature : 31 Power Cycle Min Temperature : 31 Power Cycle Max Temperature : 31 Lifetime Min Temperature : 31 Lifetime Max Temperature : 31 Recommended Min Temperature : 5 Recommended Max Temperature : 79 Temperature Min Limit : 5 Temperature Max Limit : 82 === DRIVE HEALTH INDICATORS === ID | NAME | TYPE | UPDATE | RAW VALUE | VALUE | THRESHOLD | WORST | LAST MODIFIED | STATUS 2 Composite Temperature Life-span online 31 (31 °C) 69 18 69 - 62.2% OK 3 Available Spare Pre-fail online 100 100 10 100 - 100% OK 5 Life Percentage Used Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 6 Data Units Read Life-span online 7,186,881 (3.7 TB) 100 0 100 - 100% OK 7 Data Units Written Life-span online 5,751,156 (2.9 TB) 100 0 100 - 100% OK 8 Host Read Commands Life-span online 163,952,643 100 0 100 - 100% OK 9 Host Write Commands Life-span online 123,660,841 100 0 100 - 100% OK 10 Controller Busy Time Life-span online 598 (598 minutes) 100 0 100 - 100% OK 11 Power Cycles Life-span online 2,512 100 0 100 - 100% OK 12 Power On Hours Life-span online 4,962 (4,962 hours) 100 0 100 - 100% OK 13 Unsafe Shutdowns Life-span online 225 100 0 100 - 100% OK 14 Media and Data Integrity Errors Pre-fail online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 15 Error Information Log Entries Pre-fail online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 16 Warning Composite Temperature Time Life-span online 0 (0 minutes) 100 0 100 - 100% OK 17 Critical Composite Temperature Time Life-span online 7,569 (7,569 minutes) 100 0 100 - 100% OK 101 Temperature Sensor 1 Life-span online 35 (35 °C) 65 18 65 - 57.3% OK 102 Temperature Sensor 2 Life-span online 31 (31 °C) 69 18 69 - 62.2% OK === DRIVE ERROR LOG === error log is empty ### DRIVE 2 OF 2 ### Last Checked : April 1, 2025 5:48:34 PM MDT Last Checked (ISO 8601 format) : 2025-04-01T17:48:34 Advanced SMART Status : OK Overall Health Rating : GOOD 97.4% Overall Performance Rating : GOOD 97.4% Issues found : 0 Serial Number : Z4YH1GCN WWN Id : 5 000c50 0c61213ea Volumes : Macintosh HD Device Path : /dev/disk0 Total Capacity : 1.0 TB (1,000,204,886,016 Bytes) Model Family : Apple (Seagate-based) HDDs Model : APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 Form Factor : 3.5 inches Firmware Version : AQ04 Drive Type : HDD 7200 rpm Power On Time : 12,119 hours (16 months 24 days 23 hours) Power Cycles Count : 2,498 Current Power Cycle Time : 2.4 hours === DEVICE CAPABILITIES === S.M.A.R.T. support enabled : yes DriveDx Active Diagnostic Config : Apple (Seagate-based) HDDs config [hdd.seagate.apple] Sector Logical Size : 512 Sector Physical Size : 4096 Physical Interconnect : SATA Logical Protocol : SATA Removable : no Ejectable : no ATA Version : ACS-2, ACS-3 T13/2161-D revision 3b SATA Version : SATA 3.1, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s) I/O Path : IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@17/AppleIntelPchSeriesAHCI/PRT0@0/IOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlockStorageDevice Attributes Data Structure Revision : 10 SMART Command Transport (SCT) flags : 0x10bd SCT Status supported : yes SCT Feature Control supported : yes SCT Data Table supported : yes Error logging capabilities : 0x1 Self-tests supported : yes Offline Data Collection capabilities : 0x73 Offline Data Collection status : 0x0 Auto Offline Data Collection flags : 0x0 [Known device ]: yes [Drive State Flags ]: 0x0 === CURRENT POWER CYCLE STATISTICS === Time since computer startup : 2 hours Data Read : 31,420,348,928 bytes (31.4 GB) Data Written : 1,704,837,120 bytes (1.7 GB) Data Read/Write Ratio : 18.43 Data Read/hour : 13.0 GB/hour Data Write/hour : 706.7 MB/hour Operations (Read) : 290,589 Read IOPS : 64 Operations (Write) : 39,971 Write IOPS : 9 Operations Read/Write Ratio : 7 Throughput per operation (Read) : 108.1 KB/Op Throughput per operation (Write) : 42.7 KB/Op Latency Time (Read) : 0 ns Latency Time (Write) : 0 ns Retries (Read) : 0 Retries (Write) : 0 Errors (Read) : 0 Errors (Write) : 0 === PROBLEMS SUMMARY === Failed Indicators (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) Failing Indicators (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) Warnings (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) Recently failed Self-tests (Short / Full) : 0 (0 / 0) I/O Error Count : 0 (0 / 0) Time in Under temperature : 0 minutes Time in Over temperature : 0 minutes === IMPORTANT HEALTH INDICATORS === ID NAME RAW VALUE STATUS 5 Reallocated Sector Count 0 100% OK 187 Reported Uncorrectable Errors 0 100% OK 197 Current Pending Sector Count 0 100% OK 198 Offline Uncorrectable Sector Count 0 100% OK 199 UDMA CRC Error Count 0 100% OK 241 Total LBAs Written 4,818,774,269 (2.5 TB) 100% OK === TEMPERATURE INFORMATION (CELSIUS) === Current Temperature : 36 Power Cycle Min Temperature : 19 Power Cycle Max Temperature : 37 Lifetime Min Temperature : 18 Lifetime Max Temperature : 49 Recommended Min Temperature : 3 Recommended Max Temperature : 62 Temperature Min Limit : 0 Temperature Max Limit : 65 === DRIVE HEALTH INDICATORS === ID | NAME | TYPE | UPDATE | RAW VALUE | VALUE | THRESHOLD | WORST | LAST MODIFIED | STATUS 1 Raw Read Error Rate Pre-fail online 0x7BF2970 117 6 99 4/1/25 5:48 PM 97.4% OK 3 Spin Up Time Pre-fail online 0 97 0 97 - 97.0% OK 4 Start Stop Count Life-span online 5,206 95 20 95 - 93.8% OK 5 Reallocated Sector Count Pre-fail online 0 100 36 100 - 100% OK 7 Seek Error Rate Pre-fail online 0xD85815 71 30 60 4/1/25 5:48 PM 100% OK 9 Power On Hours Life-span online 12,119 87 0 86 4/1/25 5:35 PM 87.0% OK 10 Spin Retry Count Pre-fail online 0 100 97 100 - 100% OK 12 Power Cycle Count Life-span online 2,498 98 20 98 - 97.5% OK 184 End-to-End Error Life-span online 0 100 99 100 - 100% OK 187 Reported Uncorrectable Errors Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 188 Command Timeout Life-span online 1 100 0 99 - 100% OK 189 High Fly Writes Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 190 Airflow Temperature Celsius Life-span online 37 63 45 51 4/1/25 5:35 PM 32.7% OK 191 G-Sense Error Rate Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 192 Power-Off Retract Count Life-span online 229 100 0 100 - 100% OK 193 Load Cycle Count Life-span online 7,736 97 0 97 - 97.0% OK 194 Temperature (Celsius) Life-span online 37 63 35 51 4/1/25 5:35 PM 43.1% OK 197 Current Pending Sector Count Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 198 Offline Uncorrectable Sector Count Life-span offline 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 199 UDMA CRC Error Count Life-span online 0 200 0 200 - 100% OK 240 Head Flying Hours Life-span offline 15,688 100 0 253 4/1/25 5:35 PM 100% OK 241 Total LBAs Written Life-span offline 4,818,774,269 (2.5 TB) 100 0 253 4/1/25 5:48 PM 100% OK 242 Total LBAs Read Life-span offline 689,142,014,162 (352.8 TB) 100 0 253 4/1/25 5:48 PM 100% OK === DRIVE ERROR LOG === error log is empty === DRIVE SELF-TEST LOG === # | LIFETIME (H) | TEST TYPE | PROGRESS | STATUS | LBA of 1st error 1 12119 Short offline 100% Completed without error -

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Answer 3

diannamk Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 1, 2025 10:33 PM in response to rkaufmann87

@rkaufmann87 You are absolutely right! Thanks for pointing that out. I'm attaching the report for the hard drive.

I’m really hoping to avoid taking it to a repair center. The costs would likely be more than I can afford right now. So, I’m looking for the simplest and most affordable way to fix this issue. I’m enrolled in an Adobe Illustrator course but due to this issue I have not been able to make any progress. :(

I truly appreciate your help—it means a lot. Thank you!

DriveDx HD report

### SYSTEM INFORMATION ### Report Timestamp : April 1, 2025 11:00:23 PM MDT Report Timestamp (ISO 8601 format) : 2025-04-01T23:00:23 Application Name : DriveDx Application Version : 1.12.1.760 Application SubBuild : 0 Application Edition : Standalone Application Website : https://binaryfruit.com/drivedx DriveDx Knowledge Base Revision : 103/103 Computer Name : Dianna’s iMac Host Name : Diannas-iMac Computer Model : iMac19,1 OS Boot Time : 2025-04-01T19:56:41 Time Since Boot : 03h 03m 42s OS Name : macOS OS Version : 14.7.4 OS Build : 23H420 OS Kernel Version : Darwin 23.6.0 SAT SMART Driver Version : N/A ATA Command Support Tolerance : verypermissive N of drives in report : 1 ### DRIVE 1 OF 1 ### Last Checked : April 1, 2025 10:59:53 PM MDT Last Checked (ISO 8601 format) : 2025-04-01T22:59:53 Advanced SMART Status : OK Overall Health Rating : GOOD 100% Overall Performance Rating : GOOD 100% Issues found : 0 Serial Number : Z4YH1GCN WWN Id : 5 000c50 0c61213ea Volumes : Macintosh HD Device Path : /dev/disk1 Total Capacity : 1.0 TB (1,000,204,886,016 Bytes) Model Family : Apple (Seagate-based) HDDs Model : APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 Form Factor : 3.5 inches Firmware Version : AQ04 Drive Type : HDD 7200 rpm Power On Time : 12,124 hours (16 months 25 days 4 hours) Power Cycles Count : 2,502 Current Power Cycle Time : 3.1 hours === DEVICE CAPABILITIES === S.M.A.R.T. support enabled : yes DriveDx Active Diagnostic Config : Apple (Seagate-based) HDDs config [hdd.seagate.apple] Sector Logical Size : 512 Sector Physical Size : 4096 Physical Interconnect : SATA Logical Protocol : SATA Removable : no Ejectable : no ATA Version : ACS-2, ACS-3 T13/2161-D revision 3b SATA Version : SATA 3.1, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s) I/O Path : IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@17/AppleIntelPchSeriesAHCI/PRT0@0/IOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlockStorageDevice Attributes Data Structure Revision : 10 SMART Command Transport (SCT) flags : 0x10bd SCT Status supported : yes SCT Feature Control supported : yes SCT Data Table supported : yes Error logging capabilities : 0x1 Self-tests supported : yes Offline Data Collection capabilities : 0x73 Offline Data Collection status : 0x0 Auto Offline Data Collection flags : 0x0 [Known device ]: yes [Drive State Flags ]: 0x0 === CURRENT POWER CYCLE STATISTICS === Time since computer startup : 3 hours Data Read : 15,582,169,600 bytes (15.6 GB) Data Written : 2,232,438,784 bytes (2.2 GB) Data Read/Write Ratio : 6.98 Data Read/hour : 5.1 GB/hour Data Write/hour : 729.2 MB/hour Operations (Read) : 584,417 Read IOPS : 108 Operations (Write) : 54,415 Write IOPS : 10 Operations Read/Write Ratio : 11 Throughput per operation (Read) : 26.7 KB/Op Throughput per operation (Write) : 41.0 KB/Op Latency Time (Read) : 0 ns Latency Time (Write) : 0 ns Retries (Read) : 0 Retries (Write) : 0 Errors (Read) : 0 Errors (Write) : 0 === PROBLEMS SUMMARY === Failed Indicators (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) Failing Indicators (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) Warnings (life-span / pre-fail) : 0 (0 / 0) Recently failed Self-tests (Short / Full) : 0 (0 / 0) I/O Error Count : 0 (0 / 0) Time in Under temperature : 0 minutes Time in Over temperature : 0 minutes === IMPORTANT HEALTH INDICATORS === ID NAME RAW VALUE STATUS 5 Reallocated Sector Count 0 100% OK 187 Reported Uncorrectable Errors 0 100% OK 197 Current Pending Sector Count 0 100% OK 198 Offline Uncorrectable Sector Count 0 100% OK 199 UDMA CRC Error Count 0 100% OK 241 Total LBAs Written 4,824,156,013 (2.5 TB) 100% OK === TEMPERATURE INFORMATION (CELSIUS) === Current Temperature : 32 Power Cycle Min Temperature : 30 Power Cycle Max Temperature : 32 Lifetime Min Temperature : 18 Lifetime Max Temperature : 49 Recommended Min Temperature : 3 Recommended Max Temperature : 62 Temperature Min Limit : 0 Temperature Max Limit : 65 === DRIVE HEALTH INDICATORS === ID | NAME | TYPE | UPDATE | RAW VALUE | VALUE | THRESHOLD | WORST | LAST MODIFIED | STATUS 1 Raw Read Error Rate Pre-fail online 0x15D168 120 6 99 4/1/25 10:59 PM 100% OK 3 Spin Up Time Pre-fail online 0 98 0 97 4/1/25 10:59 PM 98.0% OK 4 Start Stop Count Life-span online 5,211 95 20 95 4/1/25 10:59 PM 93.8% OK 5 Reallocated Sector Count Pre-fail online 0 100 36 100 - 100% OK 7 Seek Error Rate Pre-fail online 0xD9AD65 71 30 60 4/1/25 10:59 PM 100% OK 9 Power On Hours Life-span online 12,124 87 0 86 4/1/25 10:59 PM 87.0% OK 10 Spin Retry Count Pre-fail online 0 100 97 100 - 100% OK 12 Power Cycle Count Life-span online 2,502 98 20 98 4/1/25 10:59 PM 97.5% OK 184 End-to-End Error Life-span online 0 100 99 100 - 100% OK 187 Reported Uncorrectable Errors Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 188 Command Timeout Life-span online 1 100 0 99 - 100% OK 189 High Fly Writes Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 190 Airflow Temperature Celsius Life-span online 32 68 45 51 4/1/25 10:59 PM 41.8% OK 191 G-Sense Error Rate Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 192 Power-Off Retract Count Life-span online 229 100 0 100 - 100% OK 193 Load Cycle Count Life-span online 7,741 97 0 97 4/1/25 10:59 PM 97.0% OK 194 Temperature (Celsius) Life-span online 32 68 35 51 4/1/25 10:59 PM 50.8% OK 197 Current Pending Sector Count Life-span online 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 198 Offline Uncorrectable Sector Count Life-span offline 0 100 0 100 - 100% OK 199 UDMA CRC Error Count Life-span online 0 200 0 200 - 100% OK 240 Head Flying Hours Life-span offline 15,693 100 0 253 4/1/25 10:59 PM 100% OK 241 Total LBAs Written Life-span offline 4,824,156,013 (2.5 TB) 100 0 253 4/1/25 10:59 PM 100% OK 242 Total LBAs Read Life-span offline 689,174,656,463 (352.9 TB) 100 0 253 4/1/25 10:59 PM 100% OK === DRIVE ERROR LOG === error log is empty === DRIVE SELF-TEST LOG === # | LIFETIME (H) | TEST TYPE | PROGRESS | STATUS | LBA of 1st error 1 12119 Short offline 100% Completed without error -

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

146,906 points

Mar 28, 2025 3:51 PM in response to diannamk

Thanks for the info on your system however without an EtreCheck report there isn’t a great deal we can tell. Please download EtreCheck, run the report, save it to your Desktop and then attach the report to your reply to this message. We can then tell what has been installed (don’t worry ZERO personal information is included). We can also look to see more about how the computer has been confirgured, backup plan, the software that you have installed etc…

If you have questions about EtreCheck please feel free to ask them.

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Answer 5

Kat921

Level 1

18 points

Mar 29, 2025 4:45 AM in response to diannamk

I'm not the sharpest tool in the box, but you should definitely start using Time Machine. Try un-downloading all apps that weren't available when you first got it (basically the apps you have when you factory reset), especially if its one from the web.

If you just so happen to have another MacBook, (whether it be your siblings, or someone else's) log into that one with your Apple ID and etc until you can figure out how to Revive your MacBook. (hint:you need another MacBook, and you can get an easy explanation on how to do a revive with the magic thing called "SearchLabs") (also you'd need to log into someone else's if its a hardware/software issue with your MacBook itself)

Or if you're like me just boot into safe mode until you figure out the rest and hope it doesn't start breaking down before your eyes😀👍

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Answer 6

Allan Jones

Level 9

73,892 points

Apr 1, 2025 6:00 PM in response to diannamk

In spite of what DriveX shows, this kernel panic entry:

2025-03-26 01:13:08 Kernel Panic (5 times)

First occurrence: 2025-03-22 22:33:56

Details:

panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff800c8db356): nvme: ". Controller fatal bit

set. Write. fBuiltIn=1 MODEL=APPLE SSD SM0032L FW=DXZ77A0Q CSTS=0x3 US

[1]=0x0 US[0]=0xdf VID=0x144d DID=0xa806 CRITICAL_WARNING=0x0.\

Panicked task 0xffffff9085aff1d8: 241 threads: pid 0: kernel_task

suggests a hardware fault with the solid-state drive portion of your Fusion Drive system. You drive speeds in the EtreCheck support my suspicions of a drive issue.

Performance:

System Load: 2.16 (1 min ago) 2.66 (5 min ago) 3.52 (15 min ago)

Nominal I/O usage: 0.05 MB/s

File system: 65.55 seconds

Write speed: 389 MB/s

Read speed: 1265 MB/s

That incarnation of Apple's Fusion Drive is, based on reports from healthy drives, expected to show Write speeds at 600-900 MB/sec, and Reads over 1300 MB/sec. In addition, the File System score for a healthy drive system should be under about 40 seconds. Yours is 65 seconds. Fail is around 120 seconds.

Fusion has turned out to be not the great in-between storage solution once thought. You have the option of using the external SSSD boot volume solution rkaufmann87 mentions if you are not ready to replace this computer or pay high labor charges to have is serviced. It can be done at home without opening the case.

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Answer 7

rkaufmann87

Level 10

146,906 points

Apr 1, 2025 6:31 PM in response to diannamk

The report you provided is only for the SSD portion of your Fusion Drive, the part I am concerned about is the HD. Please provide that DriveDX report. If you cannot then the next step is taking it to your local Apple Authorized Service Provider.

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Answer 8

rkaufmann87

Level 10

146,906 points

Apr 1, 2025 11:53 PM in response to diannamk

Well I may be incorrect the HD looks okay, however Allan found something that I missed (it's wise to have multiple sets of eyes review reports) please re-read his post.

My suggestion is to take the computer to your local Apple Store to be professionally diagnosed. Apple does not charge for this service. You can let them know what Allan found and have them check what he thinks is wrong. If he is correct and it is a hardware failure Apple will provide you with a repair estimate and then you can decide what to do. However, not doing anything is a recipe for disaster and simply is like hiding your head in the sand thinking that will protect you somehow.

Please ensure you backup before you do anything as your data is in serious risk. We get users all the time about how to get their data off of their failed computer. And to be honest, they never like what they hear because it's almost always very bad news.

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Answer 9

diannamk Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 2, 2025 1:45 PM in response to rkaufmann87

@rkaufmann87 Thanks again for helping me troubleshoot this issue. I re-read Allan's post and will make an appointment with local Apple Store and hope for the best diagnosis.

I have a question though. In your most current reply, you mentioned making sure my data is backed up. Are you referring to using Time Machine and backup to an external drive? If that's the case I have already used Time Machine and backed up to an external drive thanks to your suggestion in one of your previous replies. I also have all files backed up to icloud. My concern is there may be another type of backup I need to perform that I am unaware of? Sorrry if it's a dumb question. I'm still a novice at all things computer! I appreciate your help!

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Answer 10

diannamk Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 2, 2025 1:53 PM in response to Allan Jones

Hi Allan. Thanks for your input. I will be scheduling an appointment with the Apple Store to help diagnose the problem(s). I plan on sharing your findings. Hopefully without too much cost I can have this figured out soon! I will post their diagnosis.

Thanks again!

Reply

Answer 11

rkaufmann87

Level 10

146,906 points

Apr 2, 2025 3:02 PM in response to diannamk

Glad you are using Time Machine, please remember to leave it plugged in and let it backup hourly. Additional backup is generally a good idea, why because backups can fail too. However before you go down that road, please remember that iCloud is NOT backup. It is designed to sync files between your devices. It is great for things like your photos, everyday documents, music etc… however iCloud does not save settings, Mac OS or any of your third party apps.

If you want to add a true additional backup, a lot of experienced users use either Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! Which are both apps that make clones of your internal storage. I use Time Machine on 1 external HD and SuperDuper! On an additional external HD. NEVER EVER put 2 backup systems on the same external drive. The reason for this is ALL HDs die and you don’t want to lose all of your backups when one does. External Hard Disk’s are not expensive so if you decide on a 2 backup strategy then get a second External Hard Disk.

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Answer 12

diannamk Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 28, 2025 8:35 PM in response to rkaufmann87

EtreCheck Report

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.9 (68074) Report generated: 2025-03-28 20:50:31 Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com Runtime: 4:31 Performance: Good Problem: Computer is restarting Description: I’ve been experiencing persistent crashes. The system freezes up, sho ws the spinning beach ball, and often reboots by itself, giving the me ssage: “Your computer restarted because of a problem.” This happens ev en when I’m not using Adobe Illustrator. Major Issues: Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention. Kernel panics - This system has experienced kernel panics. This could be a sign of hardware failure. 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 with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage. Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems. They should be reviewed. Limited permissions - More information may be available with Full Disk Access. Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future. Hardware Information: iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) Status: Supported iMac Model: iMac19,1 3 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-8500) CPU: 6-core 16 GB RAM - Upgradeable BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR4 2667 BANK 1/ChannelA-DIMM1 - Empty BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR4 2667 BANK 3/ChannelB-DIMM1 - Empty Video Information: Radeon Pro 570X - VRAM: 4 GB iMac (built-in) 5120 x 2880 Drives: disk0 - APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM) Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB disk0s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 1000.00 GB disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 1.03 TB (Shared by 6 volumes) disk2s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (42.80 GB used) disk2s2 (APFS) [APFS Container] (16.64 GB used) disk2s2s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (16.64 GB used) disk2s3 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (4.33 GB used) disk2s4 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.24 GB used) disk2s5 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (1 MB used) disk2s6 - Update (APFS) (70 MB used) disk1 - APPLE SSD SM0032L 28.00 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes) Internal PCI-Express 8.0 GT/s x2 NVM Express S.M.A.R.T. Details: 0% used, 2.93 TB written, 100% health, 225 unsafe shutdowns disk1s1 - EFI [EFI] 315 MB disk1s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 27.69 GB disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 1.03 TB (Shared by 6 volumes) disk2s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (42.80 GB used) disk2s2 (APFS) [APFS Container] (16.64 GB used) disk2s2s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (16.64 GB used) disk2s3 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (4.33 GB used) disk2s4 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.24 GB used) disk2s5 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (1 MB used) disk2s6 - Update (APFS) (70 MB used) Mounted Volumes: disk2s1 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data Fusion drive Used: 42.80 GB Shared values Size: 1.03 TB Free: 958.08 GB Available: 965.16 GB disk2s2 [APFS Container] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update/mnt1 Fusion drive Used: 16.64 GB Shared values Size: 1.03 TB Free: 958.08 GB Available: 965.16 GB disk2s2s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: / Fusion drive Read-only: Yes Used: 16.64 GB Shared values Size: 1.03 TB Free: 958.08 GB Available: 965.16 GB disk2s3 - Preboot [APFS Preboot] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot Fusion drive Used: 4.33 GB Shared values Size: 1.03 TB Free: 958.08 GB Available: 965.16 GB disk2s5 - VM [APFS VM] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM Fusion drive Used: 1 MB Shared values Size: 1.03 TB Free: 958.08 GB Available: 965.16 GB disk2s6 - Update Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update Fusion drive Used: 70 MB Shared values Size: 1.03 TB Free: 958.08 GB Available: 965.16 GB USB: USB 3.1 bus 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 Interface en4: iPhone System Software: macOS Sonoma 14.7.4 (23H420) Installed 2025-03-20 Time since boot: About 4 hours Notifications: Creative Cloud.app one notification Security: Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers System Integrity Protection: Enabled   Antivirus software: Apple Unsigned Files: Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/jp.co.canon.MasterInstaller.plist Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/jp.co.canon.MasterInstaller Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK Kernel Extensions: /Library/Extensions [Not Loaded] BJUSBLoad.kext - jp.co.canon.bj.print.BJUSBLoad (Canon Inc., 16.60.21 - SDK 11) System Launch Daemons: [Not Loaded] 41 Apple tasks [Loaded] 180 Apple tasks [Running] 179 Apple tasks [Other] 4 Apple tasks System Launch Agents: [Not Loaded] 20 Apple tasks [Loaded] 195 Apple tasks [Running] 210 Apple tasks Launch Daemons: [Running] com.adobe.acc.installer.v2.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2025-01-16) Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.adobe.acc.installer.v2 [Loaded] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2025-02-21) Executable: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/AdobeGCClient/AGSService [Loaded] jp.co.canon.MasterInstaller.plist (Not signed - installed 2025-01-13) Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/jp.co.canon.MasterInstaller Launch Agents: [Running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2025-01-16) Command: /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Creative Cloud/ACC/Creative Cloud.app/Contents/MacOS/Creative Cloud --showwindow=false --onOSstartup=true [Not Loaded] com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2025-02-21) Command: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/AdobeGCClient/agcinvokerutility -mode=logon [Loaded] com.adobe.ccxprocess.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2025-02-21) Command: /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Creative Cloud Experience/CCXProcess/CCXProcess.app/Contents/MacOS/CCXProcess --openAtBoot User Launch Agents: [Loaded] com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2025-02-21) Command: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/AdobeGCClient/agcinvokerutility -mode=scheduled [Loaded] com.google.GoogleUpdater.wake.plist (Google LLC - installed 2025-03-25) Command: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleUpdater/Current/GoogleUpdater.app/Contents/MacOS/GoogleUpdater --wake-all --enable-logging --vmodule=*/components/update_client/*=2,*/chrome/enterprise_companion/*=2,*/chrome/updater/*=2 [Not Loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Not signed - installed 2024-05-13) <Empty> [Not Loaded] com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist (Not signed - installed 2024-05-13) <Empty> User Login Items: [Not Loaded] CIJSUAgent (Canon Inc. - installed 2025-01-13) Modern Login Item /Applications/Canon Utilities/IJ Scan Utility/Canon IJ Scan Utility2.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/CIJSUAgent.app Applications: 664 Apple apps 61 3rd party apps 31 x86-only apps No unsigned apps App Extensions: Finder sync extensions: [Loaded] Adobe Content Synchronizer Finder Extension - /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Sync/CoreSync/Core Sync.app QuickLook Previews: [Loaded] EtreCheckQuickLook - /Applications/EtreCheckPro.app com.etresoft.etrecheck4 *.etrecheck Internet Plug-ins: AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 (Adobe Inc. - installed 2025-01-16) Backup: Time Machine information is limited without Full Disk Access Performance: System Load: 2.16 (1 min ago) 2.66 (5 min ago) 3.52 (15 min ago) Nominal I/O usage: 0.05 MB/s File system: 65.55 seconds Write speed: 389 MB/s Read speed: 1265 MB/s CPU Usage Snapshot: Type Overall System: 3 % User: 11 % Idle: 87 % Top Processes Snapshot by CPU: Process (count) CPU (Source - Location) Creative Cloud UI Helper (Renderer) 29.26 % (Adobe Inc.) EtreCheckPro 16.12 % (Etresoft, Inc.) WindowServer 11.34 % (Apple) Creative Cloud UI Helper (GPU) 4.50 % (Adobe Inc.) ScreenTimeWidgetExtension 4.02 % (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Memory: Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location) com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (5) 1004 MB (Apple) EtreCheckPro 848 MB (Etresoft, Inc.) Creative Cloud UI Helper (Renderer) 641 MB (Adobe Inc.) MTLCompilerService (12) 231 MB (Apple) AppleSpell 220 MB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use: Process Input / Output (Source - Location) exchangesyncd 7 MB / 8 MB (Apple) mDNSResponder 12 MB / 215 KB (Apple) com.apple.WebKit.Networking 4 MB / 121 KB (Apple) netbiosd 1 MB / 1006 B (Apple) apsd 114 KB / 802 KB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use: Process (count) Energy (0-100) (Source - Location) Creative Cloud UI Helper (Renderer) 4 (Adobe Inc.) WindowServer 3 (Apple) Creative Cloud UI Helper (GPU) 2 (Adobe Inc.) Safari 1 (Apple) com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (5) 1 (Apple) Virtual Memory Information: Physical RAM: 16 GB Free RAM: 625 MB Used RAM: 7.83 GB Cached files: 7.56 GB Available RAM: 8.17 GB Swap Used: 0 B Software Installs (past 60 days): Install Date Name (Version) 2025-01-29 XProtectPlistConfigData (5286) - Software update 2025-02-05 XProtectPlistConfigData (5287) - Software update 2025-03-10 XProtectPlistConfigData (5289) - Software update 2025-03-10 XProtectPayloads (151) - Software update 2025-03-16 XProtectPlistConfigData (5290) - Software update 2025-03-18 macOS 14.7.4 (14.7.4) - Software update 2025-03-20 macOS 14.7.4 (14.7.4) - Software update 2025-03-22 MRTConfigData (1.93) - Software update 2025-03-25 XProtectPlistConfigData (5291) - Software update Diagnostics Information (past 60 days): 2025-03-28 16:37:31 spotlightknowledged - High CPU Use (4 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-27 18:31:19 Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreSpotlight.framework/spotlightknowledged 2025-03-28 16:22:07 knowledgeconstructiond - High CPU Use (3 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-22 19:40:11 Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/IntelligencePlatformCore.framework/Versions/A/knowledgeconstructiond 2025-03-28 16:13:13 photoanalysisd - High CPU Use (4 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-23 01:24:24 Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PhotoAnalysis.framework/Versions/A/Support/photoanalysisd 2025-03-28 01:09:09 Adobe Illustrator.app - Hang (4 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-27 23:09:21 Executable: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2024/Adobe Illustrator.app 2025-03-26 01:13:08 Kernel Panic (5 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-22 22:33:56 Details: panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff800c8db356): nvme: ". Controller fatal bit set. Write. fBuiltIn=1 MODEL=APPLE SSD SM0032L FW=DXZ77A0Q CSTS=0x3 US [1]=0x0 US[0]=0xdf VID=0x144d DID=0xa806 CRITICAL_WARNING=0x0.\ Panicked task 0xffffff9085aff1d8: 241 threads: pid 0: kernel_task End of report

Here is my EtreCheck report as requested. Thanks for your help!

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iMac 2019 - Keeps Crashing and Restarting – Need Advice