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I am getting a message in the middle of my imac screen instructing me to hold down the on-off button and turn off the machine. The message is in several foreign languages beside english, and there is not way to get rid of it. The curser is inactive.

I am getting a message in the middle of my imac screen instructing me to hold down the on-off button and turn off the computer. The message is in several languages and completely takes over the computer disabling the mouse and all other functions. The only option is to unplug the computer or turn it off. I'm concerned that this is a virus. It does not look like it's related to Apple or the imac OS.

iMac, iOS 7.0.1

Posted on Oct 3, 2013 6:02 AM

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Posted on Oct 3, 2013 6:09 AM

That sounds like a kernel panic. These are generally hardware related, often caused by poorly seated or fauly RAM.


What is a Kernel Panic?


http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3742


and http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1892?viewlocale=en_US


http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/technotes/tn2002/tn2063.html


More details here:


http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html


Useful articles on how to avoid and eliminate kernel panics here:


http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10344626-263.html?tag=mfiredir


http://www.macworld.com/article/2027201/how-to-troubleshoot-a-kernel-panic.html# tk.nl_mwhelp

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Oct 3, 2013 9:23 AM in response to geoterm

As Klaus indicates, that's a kernel panic, not any kind of malware. Kernel panics are generally caused by one of three things: bad third-party kernel extensions, a badly corrupt system or bad hardware.


If you can post the contents of your latest kernel panic log, we can help point you towards a solution appropriate for your particular case. See:


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2546

I am getting a message in the middle of my imac screen instructing me to hold down the on-off button and turn off the machine. The message is in several foreign languages beside english, and there is not way to get rid of it. The curser is inactive.

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