Kernel Error, Missing "mach_kernel"

Are you still running on the boot where the move occurred, or has this shown up on an attempt to boot after the dislocation of the file? The options are pretty limited if the machine has been shut down, as it will certainly not boot. If the machine has not been shut down, then you will need to locate the file (if possible) in one of two trash folders using Terminal and move it back to the mount point. (This might be doable from another Mac by putting the machine into Target Disc mode and using Terminal to access the boot volume.)

Just for general curiosity, how did you manage to trash the file?

ido.mime wrote:

Sorry to say the computer was indeed shut down after trashing the file. Any suggestions?

I'm still not certain how the file found it's way out of the systems folder (is the file even supposed to be visible?)

The file is not supposed to be visible and it is actually not in the System folder but actually at the root directory level. There may be a possibility of getting the file reloaded, but frankly, it's bound to be pretty involved. What I would suggest is to do an "Archive and Install" of the system, which should at least get you back up and running and preserve your user data and accounts. You will probably have to go back through the updating process wqith Software Update...annoying but necessary.

adding to an old post as I had a similar issue that was easily resolved

Missing mach_kernel? How to replace/restore?

Thanks for the report. 🙂