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User profile for user: meghantptbo
meghantptbo Author
User level: Level 1
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constant random freeze and restart

hi everyone,


i have a 13" macbook pro. i believe it's a 2013 model.

for the past two months it has been randomly freezing and then restarting. sometimes it will freeze for a millisecond, sometimes it was stay frozen and if i'm watching a video or listening to music, the audio will skip almost like a skipping CD. then it will shut down and restart. sometimes it will restart again before it even boots up to the login page. sometimes it even freezes on the apple logo during start up and i have to hold the power button to shut it down. either way, it always suddenly shuts down and restarts.


i've run the diagnostic test three times and it says there's nothing wrong. i've checked the activity logs and it's not operating anywhere close to full capacity. usually i only have like google chrome and pages running and that's it. this happens at least five times a day, most of which i'm in class for, so it's become extremely frustrating.


taking it into best buy or apple for a diagnostic test is like $100 so if there's anything i could do to at least find out what's wrong with it, that would be great.

this is probably unrelated but last year i did have a wire related to the start up replaced, but that was a whole different thing (the computer wouldn't even turn on because it couldn't locate the start-up disk or something like that).



does anyone have any insight on what may be the problem? thanks a lot.

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 20, 2016 6:21 PM

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1 reply
User profile for user: pedro d
pedro d
User level: Community Specialist

Jan 22, 2016 6:32 AM in response to meghantptbo

Hello there, Meghantptbo.




It seems you're having issues with intermittent restart with your MacBook Pro. It sounds like you are having what is called a recurring Kernel Panic. The following Knowledge Base article offers up some great information and steps to try for troubleshooting wether it's software or hardware based:




OS X: When your computer spontaneously restarts or displays "Your computer restarted because of a problem."




Troubleshooting a recurring kernel panic

Diagnosing a recurring kernel panic can be difficult. If you need help with this process, consider bringing your Mac to a Genius at an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for help. If you plan to visit an Apple Retail store, you can make a reservation (available in some countries only).

Tip: To help diagnose recurring kernel panics, record the date and time it occurs, and any information that appears with the kernel panic message.

  • Was the computer starting up, shutting down, or performing a particular task when the recurring kernel panic happened?
  • Is the kernel panic intermittent, or does it happen every time you do a certain thing? For example, were you playing a particular game, or printing at the time?
  • Does it occur only when a certain external device is connected, or a device is connected to a certain port?

Isolate hardware or software as the cause of the issue

To try to figure out if the issue is related to software or hardware, use the computer with a fresh installation of OS X on an external drive.
  1. Start the Mac from OS X Recovery.
    If a kernel panic still occurs when started from Recovery, there is likely a hardware issue. See the "Hardware troubleshooting" section below for additional information.
  2. Open Disk Utility and use "Repair Disk" on your Mac's internal hard drive (named Macintosh HD by default).
    Important: If Disk Utility is unable to repair the internal drive, you should back up your important data immediately and if possible, reformat the drive. Consider bringing the Mac to a Genius at an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for further diagnosis. Be sure to ask that, if the drive needs reformatting or replacing, they contact you about escalating your case to a special data recovery service. If you plan to visit an Apple Retail store, you can make a reservation (available in some countries only).
  3. Connect an external drive with at least 10 GB of free space. Note: Make sure the external drive does not cause kernel panics, and is the only device on its USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt port. Connecting the external drive and its cables to another Mac can help make sure the drive does not cause kernel panics.
  4. Install OS X on the external drive.
  5. Start up from the external drive.
  6. Use Software Update to install all updates until it reports "Your software is up to date."
  7. Don't install additional software on the external drive, but instead use the Apple applications to surf the web, view QuickTime movies, email, print, scan, and/or other activities. Continue using your Mac for the amount of time it would usually take for the issue to occur.
  8. If a panic occurs, select the "Hardware troubleshooting" section below to further diagnose the issue.
    If a panic does not occur, select the "Software troubleshooting" section below article to further diagnose the issue.

Hardware troubleshooting

Disconnect the external drive used in the above test to determine if the kernel panic is due to a hardware issue.

Check peripheral devices first

Go to the next section if you have no devices attached to your Mac.
  1. Turn off your Mac.
  2. Disconnect all peripheral devices. If you have a desktop Mac, make sure all you have connected is a display and Apple keyboard with Apple mouse or trackpad.
  3. Turn on your Mac.
  4. Use your Mac for the amount of time it would usually take for a kernel panic to occur.
  5. If a kernel panic does occur: Proceed the next section to check the internal RAM and third-party hardware.
    If a kernel panic does not occur: Power down the Mac and connect one peripheral device at a time and test until a kernel panic occurs.

    Note: A combination of peripherals may be the cause of a kernel panic. Disconnect one peripheral at a time to see if it causes a kernel panic by itself. If the kernel panic does not occur, continue to add peripherals until you find the other peripheral needed to cause the kernel panic.

Check internal RAM and third-party hardware

  1. Turn off your Mac.
  2. Reseat the Apple RAM, and remove third-party RAM and third-party internal hardware. If you do not have the Apple RAM that came with the system, reseat the third-party RAM.
  3. Turn on your Mac.
  4. Use your Mac for the amount of time it would usually take for a kernel panic to occur.
  5. If the kernel panic does not occur: The third-party RAM or internal third-party hardware may need to be replaced.
    If a kernel panic does occur: Bring your Mac to an Apple Store, or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for service and support. Be sure to ask that, if the drive needs reformatting or replacing, they contact you about escalating your case to a special data recovery service. If you plan to visit an Apple Retail store, you can make a reservation (available in some countries only).

Software troubleshooting

Disconnect the external drive used in the above test to determine the kernel panic is due to a software based issue.
  1. Start the Mac from OS X Recovery and reinstall OS X on your Mac.
  2. Start from the installation of OS X you just created.
  3. Use Software Update to install all updates until it reports "Your software is up to date."
  4. Download and install any third-party software updates before reinstalling third-party software, especially drivers and kernel extensions.
    Examples include:
    • Virtualization software
    • Drivers for add-on third party display cards
    • Anti-virus software
    • Networking software (especially software which enables third party network devices)
    • Add-on file system support software; for example, software that lets your write to NTFS formatted media.
If the issue continues, you will need to erase and install OS X as follows:
  1. Start the Mac from OS X Recovery.
  2. Complete a disk image backup via Disk Utility of the internal drive to an external drive with enough free space.
  3. Erase the internal drive using Disk Utility.
  4. Install OS X.
  5. Start from the internal drive.
  6. Use Software Update to install all updates until it reports "Your software is up to date."
  7. Re-install your third-party apps and copy your user data from the disk image backup you created in step 2.
    Note: Avoid copying data from the /Library and /System folders on your backup disk image.



Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.




Kind Regards.

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constant random freeze and restart

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