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Kernel Panics - the iMac from ****

About a month ago I bought an iMac, i7, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSHDD.

There is a thread elsewhere discussing a similar problem I'm having with my iMac. I believe the bulk of that thread involves issues with memory but mine is not.

Almost as soon as I turned on the iMac after unpacking it, I began having kernel panics. These kernel panics would trigger a restart of the iMac.

The first Apple Tech Support rep I spoke with was absolutely convinced that my problem was hardware related and, most likely, caused by external peripherals connected to the iMac.

The devices I had connected were: a Western Digital Studio II 3TB HDD, a Cyberpower USB battery backup (I was using the UPS software built into System Preferences), an Apple USB keyboard, an Apple USB SuperDrive and a Dell 21" monitor.

So I disconnected all the devices.

Still had kernel panics. But in looking at the console logs I did notice that Google Chrome seemed to be involved just before the restarts. In the other thread someone suggested that was just because it was the last application open when the iMac restarted.

I decided to do a complete OS reinstall.

Still got kernel panics. Of course I did the PRAM and SMC resets and even ran a hardware diagnostic test that showed everything was working just fine! (Doesn't it always?)

Around St. Paddy's day I called Tech Support again (and this is when I started documenting my phone calls to Apple) and spoke with a very intelligent young woman who looked at my console logs and decided that, indeed, Google Chrome was attempting to access a .plist file, was being blocked, and then the restart occurred. So, we moved the file to the desktop to allow it to rebuild itself just in case it was corrupted. She did warn me, though, that if this didn't work an OS reinstall was next.

I started watching the console logs after that call was over and although I did not have a restart, I did see the log entries of Google Chrome Helper attempting to access that file (which had been "deleted" and rebuilt). So, clearly (?), removing the file was not fixing THAT issue.

But...then...the computer froze. Locked up tighter than a drum. The only option was to turn off the machine and restart it. When I did that the computer rebooted, got to the white screen with the Apple logo and spinning gear and froze up.

Another call to Tech Support got me to do an Erase and Reinstall of the OS (what the former rep suggested). That worked just great, everything was working, I reinstalled my apps (rather than migrating them - dowloaded them "fresh" from the app store)...for about two hours.

When I returned to the iMac after eating dinner, once again, it was frozen solid. I turned it off and restarted the iMac.

This time I got to a white screen with a "ghostbusters" sign. (I have found out there is no "official" name for the circle with a diagonal line through it - other than a "universal NO sign" - so I just call it the "ghostbusters" sign.)

I have learned, from my past 15 years of running a computer network for a small independent school, that behavior usually means the hard drive is toast.

So...called Apple again.

At this point I'm talking with "senior" reps - get to bypass the ground level techs.

First thing she asks is "How close are you to an Apple store?"

"100 miles", I respond.

So she sets me up with an on-site call - unfortunately they have to put it into the system and then the on-site third party has to call to set up an appointment. However, they will call me back within 24 to 48 hours. (Yeah, right!)

You see, Apple can't take my word for it that there is something seriously wrong, in spite of numerous calls. They have to "send someone" to "see for themselves." OK, I get that.

So, last night, in desperation, I thought I'd try one more time and did an internet restore (command + option + r). I got to disk utility and noticed that the Macintosh HD partition was grayed out under the SSHDD entry on the sidebar. I did a disk repair and the repair reported "Invalid content in Journal", but said it repaired the disk. Upon restart, still "ghostbusters". Tried one more time and got the same thing. I'm guessing (HOPING) that when the tech arrives (if he ever does) they won't be able to do an internet restore since the drive should not show up. I didn't try that, but will tonight (since I can't do anything else with the iMac).

So, now I patiently wait for 48 hours to pass and then call Apple again and tell them I didn't receive a phone call. (Jeez, I hope I'm wrong.)

In the meantime, my iMac is a worthless, but beautiful, piece of junk on my desk.

I'm absolutely convinced the problem is the flash ram on the motherboard and my iMac needs to be replaced!

Posted on Mar 25, 2014 10:17 AM

37 replies

Apr 11, 2014 3:29 AM in response to John.Orban.who.lives.in.USA

The problem is not renewed?

Apr 11, 2014 8:10 AM in response to VolkovNikita

KPs have ceased so far, but its only been 24 hours. I'm going to put the machine through a heavy duty workout this weekend - same kind of stuff that triggered KPs before. But I reinstalled the regular version of Chrome and even with the error messages in the console log, no KPs. Same thing with Creative Cloud. Spoke with the Apple tech yesterday and we're keeping the case open. If everything is still working by Monday, I'm going to cross my fingers and say the issue is resolved.

But I do thank the folks in Engineering who recognized it as a potential memory issue and Michelle (Apple tech) who has been holding my hand through all this - kudos to her!

I'll post again on Monday.

elympia

Level 1

0 points

Apr 12, 2014 7:37 PM in response to John.Orban.who.lives.in.USA

Hi there, i've read through this thread and have a lot in common with your setup.

new top-of-the-line iMac Late 2013, max RAM, etc. 3TB Fusion Drive.

I also run Adobe Creative Cloud, and Chrome all the time (many tabs open)

I've had about 15 kernel panics now since getting the machine two months ago.

running all the latest versions of everything, and also FlexiGlass (window layout app) - which is the only other thing i can imagine might be causing issues.

have run all the diagnostics, memory checks, hardware checks, etc. all A-OK.

it SEEMS that Chrome is the current app when i have a crash, but not 100% sure of that.

also i leave my machine on (goes to sleep eventually) often, and in the morning i notice it has crashed sometimes.. generates the report (saved all of those), but isn't really detailed enough to pinpoint the cause.

been on Support Chats with Apple twice now - they suggest checks/tests and then removing Chrome / Flexiglass, etc.

have you ruled out a software / memory leak issue - perhaps in Adobe CC updater / Chrome refresh (gmail open in a tab) or conflict with other 3rd party apps (like my FlexiGlass) ?

also - is there any way to have Apple review a collection of our reports ( mine are always submitted under the same Anonymous UUID) - would that not help to zero in on this common problem ?

Apr 13, 2014 8:31 AM in response to elympia

Another 24 hours and no more KPs. Still crossing my fingers, but I really gave the iMac a workout yesterday. Worked in Photoshop, Illustrator, watching videos, all the stuff that would have triggered a KP by now. I'm pretty sure it was the memory that was the problem. As I stated before, I don't know what the heck the markings on the memory chips mean, but it's clear they are NOT the same memory. If I had to guess based on some stuff I read on other threads (way more technical than I like) the timing of the new chips is different (slower?) than the original chips.

I would bet that your problem is memory as well. I think it's ludicrous that we should not be allowed to run software that worked before and works on other machines.

I ran hardware diagnostics and Rember for about 12 hours and they showed nothing. That only tells me that the tests weren't stressing out the part of memory that was bad, or it wasn't a stressful enough test.

You need to get to tier 2 support. I'd demand it since you've had this problem since you bought the iMac and it's not going away. PERHAPS, to satisfy tech support you COULD do a reinstall of the OS, unplug all peripherals, install nothing but Apple software (iWork, etc.), and wait...

Or you could tell tech support you want the same log dump I had and have engineering confirm it's a memory issue. Apple will send you the program, you wait until there is a KP, then run the program. It captures all the log files on your machine and then sends them to Apple. You have to notify your tech support rep that the capture has been sent. Evidently they get a lot of these every day and unless they know to look out for yours it could get lost.

That's why you need to get to the next level of support. The first line techs probably don't even know the program exists.

Send them the link to this thread if they doubt this problem exists. The other thread I mentioned early on also has an extensive discussion of memory related issues with 32GB iMacs.

andyBall_uk

Level 7

20,516 points

Apr 13, 2014 8:44 AM in response to John.Orban.who.lives.in.USA

>>Another 24 hours and no more KPs...

That's good; I hope it continues.

elympia

Level 1

0 points

Apr 17, 2014 11:47 PM in response to John.Orban.who.lives.in.USA

hi John,

curious if your issues have gone away ? since my post i've had another few crashes - even though i quite out of Adobe CC updater and Flexiglass - the two i suspected of contributing... funnily enough it was only after i had DreamWeaver running for a few hours that i had another crash... hmmm... Adobe perhaps ?

but if your new memory has totally sorted it - i'm inclined to push down that route...

Apr 18, 2014 10:02 AM in response to elympia

Problems have all gone away. I've closed the case with Apple. New RAM was the solution. I'd suggest you call AppleCare support, reference this thread, and tell them you need new RAM. Stick to your guns until they relent. Get to Tier Two support - the techs you get at Level 1 just run you through the simple stuff. Just because the hardware diagnostics say there is nothing wrong with the machine, I now know that's NOT TRUE.

Reseating the old RAM did not work. You should NOT be getting Kernel Panics. It's, most likely, RAM!

Good luck!

Kernel Panics - the iMac from ****