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Level 1

15 points

mac pro late 2013 freezes with spinning wheel

i bought a mac pro (late 2013) 50 days ago, os is yosemite 10.10.3. I often get the spinning wheel of death and the mac freezes, i.e. it doesn't react to mouse click or keyboard. it happens on average 1 time a day. When it happens i have to restart the machine by pressing the computer's power button.

I have already contacted apple support by phone, i have made many reset operations under their control, but nothing changed.

After the restart, when i examine the console log the last message before the reboot is often the following one

windowserver: surface testing disallowed updates for 10 sequential attempts

By searching this message on google i found that the problem might be related with the energy saving settings, i.e. it happens when the mac wakes from sleep. So i changed those settings to prevent the mac going on stop state, and today the problem did not happen, but i'm not sure what wil happen tomorrow ... so i'm looking for information/advice about this kind of problem.

Mac Pro (Late 2013), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on May 16, 2015 12:19 PM

213 replies

Jun 29, 2015 7:29 PM in response to mauro16

More research tends to indicate those are stubs left over from iOS, they do nothing on the Mac, and not to worry. Sorry to alarm you for what seems to be nothing.

Jul 23, 2015 1:52 PM in response to mauro16

Hi mauro16,

is there any new information about your problem so far?

I have the same problem with my new MacPro 2013.

The log states:

Jul 01 11:55:11 Shiva kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

...

Jul 01 13:27:39 Shiva kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

...

Jul 02 23:02:00 Shiva kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

...

Jul 08 09:17:44 Shiva kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

...

Jul 08 18:34:51 Shiva kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

...

Jul 09 09:18:05 Shiva kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

...

Jul 23 11:54:05 Shiva kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

occasionally in different working conditions. Overall i had about 20 freezes over the last 40 days.

Today it happened again after 14days.

The Mac works fine, all shares are available, all attached clients can use the printer and even login in via SSH is fine.

When i first encountered the error i rebooted the MAC via SSH or by pushing the power button. I even tried killing the windowServer.

I now found a way to deal with the problem:

The Mac sleep mode does the trick. When it turns off the Monitor, pressing a key on the keyboard works wonders.

The Monitor lights up and everything works fine after that.

... until the next time...

Apple support urged me to bring it to an authorized service partner which I did. They didn't find anything.

Maybe someday some1 finds a solution.

Mac Pro (Late 2013), OS X Yosemite (10.10.4) AMD Fire Pro D300

mauro16 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jul 24, 2015 2:16 PM in response to Mac_Gyver

I'm not sure to understand how you deal with the problem. When i get the freezing, i cannot put the mac in sleep mode because it doesn't respond to mouse click and keyboard.

I am still getting the freezing, typically in the log i find something like the following (it's the one i got today, but it's always the same)

Jul 24 18:17:52 Mac-Pro-di-Mauro kernel[0]: process WindowServer[153] caught causing excessive wakeups. Observed wakeups rate (per sec): 916; Maximum permitted wakeups rate (per sec): 150; Observation period: 300 seconds; Task lifetime number of wakeups: 292187

Jul 24 18:17:52 Mac-Pro-di-Mauro com.apple.xpc.launchd[1] (com.apple.ReportCrash.Root[619]): Endpoint has been activated through legacy launch(3) APIs. Please switch to XPC or bootstrap_check_in(): com.apple.ReportCrash.DirectoryService

The problem always happens when i am connected to the internet, and typically when i am browsing the internet. I used the mac without an internet connection for two days and the problem did not happen. Of course it may depend on the fact that when i am not using the internet my activities do not put the mac under stress, or it might depend on some unknown problem in my internet configuration.

I read this discussion

Only specific OS freezes on certain internet connections

where that author suggests to turn off ipv6. Actually under network > .. > tcp/ip i found three options 'Automatically', 'Manually', 'Link-local only'. I cannot find the 'off' option. I tried to select 'Link local' but i continue to get the error. I also reconfigured the modem-router and i continue to get the error.

Someone suggest to use the command line to turn off ipv6, like this

networksetup -setv6off wi-fi

networksetup -setv6off ethernet

Maybe i will also try this, anyway some articles suggest that turning off ipv6 is wrong, so i don't know.

Other things i found are

- typically the freezing happens after 5-6 hours from the boot time

- when the freezing happens i can manage it by removing the display cable from the thunderbolt port and then reconnect it. At this point if i open the activity monitor i see for some seconds processes like 'kernel_task' and WindowServer with thousands of idle wake ups. Then i have to reboot the mac because it has a bad performance.

I recently reinstalled the os but it didn't solve the problem.

mauro16 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jul 24, 2015 2:27 PM in response to mauro16

my modem-router is a tp-link archer d7, it's advertised as compatible for mac, i don't now if i should try another modem-router or an airport ...

Jul 25, 2015 9:45 AM in response to mauro16

mauro16 wrote:

I'm not sure to understand how you deal with the problem. When i get the freezing, i cannot put the mac in sleep mode because it doesn't respond to mouse click and keyboard.

I'm not really dealing with it at the moment. I just let it happen. I just write down the time of the freeze and what my last actions were.

So far I haven't a clue what causes the problem.

Here is what i do/did:

First of all i turned on the display of the clock in the menu bar. This gives me exact information about when the freeze starts. When the mac is alive again i can use this time for search in the console. Furthermore:

In System preferences ==> Energy saver I adjusted "Turn display off" to 5 mins.

Make sure to deactivate "Prevent computer from sleeping..."

and in "Date & Time" Clock I activated "Show date and time in menu bar" including the option "Display the time in seconds"

Then I leave my desk, get a cup of coffee and when i return, the monitor and MAC are in standby.

Then i push a key on the keyboard or press the mouse button and.... TADAA My 3000$ MacPro is ready for work again.

I know, it's not a real solution to prevent it happen but it works for me so far.

I found

process WindowServer[153] caught causing excessive wakeups...

in my log file as well but they are not the cause for the freeze. Just a result of a previous error.

In my case it's

Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

mauro16 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jul 25, 2015 1:29 PM in response to mauro16

other things to add are

- the freezing never happened in safe boot, in safe boot sometimes it happened that the session was disconnected and i was sent to the login page

- the freezing may happen some hours after the boot, or it may happen immediately after the boot when the boot is a reboot or the last of a series of reboots

- there are some articles on the web about similar problems, some of them describe the problem as an Operating System problem (related to the windowserver process). For instance the following one

http://osxdaily.com/2015/04/06/windowserver-high-cpu-usage-mac-os-x/

They suggest to tune various settings, anyway, as far as i can currently see, those configuration changes have no significant effect in my case.

mauro16 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jul 25, 2015 2:41 PM in response to mauro16

and another useful resource is the following discussion in this forum

Guide: How to solve Yosemite memory leaks and CPU usage

though as far as i can see this doesn't provide a solution but just the way to correctly reboot the system after a freezing. I also follow those steps but clearly it's not properly a solution.

Aug 27, 2015 3:09 PM in response to mauro16

I am experiencing the exact same issue as reported by mauro16. Intermittently, my Mac Pro (Late 2013) will freeze with a spinning beach ball and I am able to move the ball around with the touchpad, but no keyboard functions work. I also discovered that unplugging the Thunderbolt video cable unfreezes my computer. The freezes happen about 3-6 times per week. Finally, I have noted the time, checked my system logs and found the similar messages:

8/27/15 4:12:36.899 PM WindowServer[152]: Surface testing disallowed updates for 10 sequential attempts...

8/27/15 4:14:32.000 PM kernel[0]: process WindowServer[152] caught causing excessive wakeups. Observed wakeups rate (per sec): 666; Maximum permitted wakeups rate (per sec): 150; Observation period: 300 seconds; Task lifetime number of wakeups: 322311

My Mac Pro has been checked and serviced by the Apple Store twice and another time with a third-party partner. During the second visit, the third-party partner reinstalled the OS, but that didn't solve the problem. I also rebuilt the machine again another time without restoring it from a time machine backup. The third time I brought it to the Apple Store one of my memory sticks was failing, but the other two times I had it serviced no hardware tests failed. They replaced the memory stick and one of my graphics cards even though it didn't fail any tests. The problem still persists even after the memory stick and one of the graphics cards were replaced.

mauro16 Author

Level 1

15 points

Aug 28, 2015 2:47 PM in response to danielfrommoore

in my case it now freezes on average every 3 days. The days when i am using the computer, I start up it in the morning and shut down in the evening when i have finished. I am supposing the problem might be related with bookmarks in safari. I cleaned the folder where safari stores bookmarks and i got it to work for maybe 4 or 5 days without any freezing. Then i added a bookmark and 15 minutes later i had a freezing.

I am thinking to install windows and see what happens, maybe there is no freezing with windows ... have you (or somebody else) tried this?

Sep 7, 2015 7:00 AM in response to danielfrommoore

The same problem here.

Had it checked from an Apple service proved center but they didn´t find anything.

Problem just happens if I´m running Pro Tools.

I found out: If PT is running as an active window it will freeze between 10min and 10h but if PT is running hidden then there is no problem at all.

Very strange.

mauro16 Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 7, 2015 12:38 PM in response to Wolfgang E

I suppose Pro Tools is external software, i.e. it doesn't come with Mac Os. As for me, i am not running pro tools. Currently the only two external apps i have installed are ms office and google chrome. Anyway the freezing happens also with no external software installed. If i run the computer for a number of hours and frequently browse the internet, open different panels in the browser then it is likely to happen. If it doesn't happen the first day, it happens the second, or the third. At best it may take 4-5 days, and then the freezing happens.

Another thing to add is that the typical message at the moment when the freezing happens is the following

Sep 5 14:24:59 Mac-Pro-di-Mauro kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

Sep 5 14:25:00 Mac-Pro-di-Mauro.local WindowServer[150]: Surface testing disallowed updates for 10 sequential attempts...

or alternatively it's a gpu hang like the following

Aug 18 17:01:03 Mac-Pro-di-Mauro kernel[0]: Sound assertion - 1002:aab0 FIFO error (Stream 0)

Aug 18 17:01:09 Mac-Pro-di-Mauro kernel[0]: [6:0:0] GPU HangState 0x00000000, HangFlags 0x00000004: IndividualEngineHang 0, NonEngineBlockHang 0, FenceNotRetired 1, PerEngineReset 0, FullAsicReset 1

Aug 18 17:01:09 Mac-Pro-di-Mauro kernel[0]: ** GPU ASIC Log Start **

The message about 'wakeups' usually comes some minute later and so seems not meaningful.

Sep 7, 2015 2:49 PM in response to mauro16

Yes, Pro Tools is an external program but it´s the only program I´m using on this Mac.

And the messages are exact the same (except the sound assertion).

Sep 7, 2015 5:58 PM in response to mauro16

Hi Mauro,

I have the same problem with my Mac Pro, if it freezes, I have to disconnect thunderbolt cable, after reconnected it, Mac restart but it's very very slow, then I have to reboot it.

Can you tell me if you have some external drive USB connected (like me).

I've read on forums that USB external drive can cause this type of issue.

Max

PS: Are you italian?

mauro16 Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 8, 2015 12:04 AM in response to maxcarella

No USB external drive connected. And yes I'm from Italy.

Sep 9, 2015 1:37 AM in response to mauro16

Do you have a Fastweb router connected to Mac Pro? It is generate an "Windows Like" computer in Shared Network, on Finder.

I have to investigate if the task called "Windows etc.." that breaks Mac is in relationship with router.

Now I've tried to disconnect it, passing trough Airport Base instead directly from router.

I'll let you know if the problem will persist.

We keep in touch.

Max

mac pro late 2013 freezes with spinning wheel