Post-update kernel panic (10.11.4)

Question

Level 1

14 points

Post-update kernel panic (10.11.4)

After installing 11.4, I got a kernel panic in the very early phase of startup. Recovery Disk reinstalling OS X did not help. Safe boot did not work. No logs that I could find. I reverted to 11.3 from a backup but is there any thought on how to diagnose / troubleshoot? I tried Disk First Aid to no avail.

This is a mid-2010 Mac Pro system, using an SSD to boot and a physical backup drive, both encrypted. 11.4 does not work, 11.3 does. No RAM issues (used a RAM tester). Everything tests out OK.

Posted on Mar 22, 2016 7:59 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 22, 2016 8:00 AM in response to Davert

Please post a copy of the kernel dump.

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Answer 2

Davert Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 22, 2016 8:10 AM in response to Allan Eckert

Where would I find this?

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Answer 3

Mar 22, 2016 8:12 AM in response to Allan Eckert

I have also posted on this problem. Exactly the same as far as I can see.

Like "Davert", I can see no way way to post a kernel dump since the MacBook will not start.

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Answer 4

Mar 22, 2016 8:12 AM in response to Davert

Read Mac OS X: How to log a kernel panic - Apple Support

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Answer 5

Davert Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 22, 2016 8:24 AM in response to Allan Eckert

Nothing was there.

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Answer 6

Mar 22, 2016 8:51 AM in response to Davert

Same problem after update, fails at early boot stage, totally locked out, no TM available (lesson learned!) 😟

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Answer 7

cdss

Level 1

41 points

Mar 22, 2016 9:23 AM in response to foxvidpro

I'm having exactly the same problem on a Late 2012 Mac mini, 10 Mid-2010 iMacs and a Mid-2011 iMac. I've had to revert to backups to get them going again.

Something very fishy, methinks!

=:~)

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Answer 8

Mar 22, 2016 9:35 AM in response to Davert

Same experience for us: Two iMacs will not boot after the 10.11.4 update.

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Answer 9

Mar 22, 2016 9:56 AM in response to Davert

This helped me: Go to safe mode and log in as main user. After log in update installation will continue. And after reboot you can normally use your Mac.

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Answer 10

Mar 22, 2016 9:57 AM in response to Martin Montgomery

SSame here, 2011 MacBook pro

time machine estimates 6.5 hours restore

iiPad is not a great substitute

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Answer 11

Davert Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 22, 2016 10:08 AM in response to kselmenskih

“This helped me: Go to safe mode and log in as main user. After log in update installation will continue. And after reboot you can normally use your Mac.”

Do you mean download the update in safe mode? Because I can't get to safe mode much less the login screen.

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Answer 12

Mar 22, 2016 10:15 AM in response to Davert

Not download, but finish the update in safe mode. It's weird, that you can't go to safe mode. For me it was easy: I clicked on my user name in login screen and then, updating was continued.

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Answer 13

twoprops

Level 1

4 points

Mar 22, 2016 11:53 AM in response to Davert

Exact same problem here on my MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014; FileVault II is active.). Yesterday, I tried the update to 10.11.4 from the App Store.

Subsequently got a kernel panic on every attempt to reboot. Won't boot into safe mode. No accessible logs of the kernel panic.

Spent two hours re-installing using recovery mode. Still the same kernel panic.

Spent six hours recovering a Time Machine backup, and I'm running again (on 10.11.3, of course).

Not much unusual about this machine. It's a stock MBP, 500GB internal SSD (Apple) and Apple-installed 8GB RAM. The system was originally installed from scratch a year ago.

I'll poke around this weekend when I can afford to be without the machine for hours and see if I can isolate a cause.

My bacon was saved by having both a Time Machine backup and a bootable clone.

--Ron

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Answer 14

Davert Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 22, 2016 11:59 AM in response to twoprops

I used Carbon Copy Cloner... but it comes down to the same thing. You spent a lot more time on it - but my backup drive is SATA which helps a bit! I am wondering if FileVault is the issue. I thought it was the age of the computer but apparently not. Maybe some third party software? Yet my Macbook upgraded fine.

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Answer 15

Mar 22, 2016 1:17 PM in response to gretchenfromma

Back in business after waiting hours for a Time Machine restore. Getting nagged about the update - I don't think so, thank you. I don't even want the iOS one now. I can live without passworded notes. Now a default font size that is not microscopic - that might be worth the risk.

I didn't get a kernel panic screen. I got the Apple logo and progress bar. It went to about 75% and then switched to a blank grey screen for about 30 minutes. I rebooted the machine. After that it would get to the same 75% progress on boot and then it would turn itself off. Maybe that's the ultimate kernel panic.

I checked the disk with Disk Recovery before I did the Time Machine restore and my disk has a clean bill of health.

Well, at least I know Time Machine works. Never used it before. I have a cloned image but it was almost a month old as opposed to the Time Machine version which was 1/2 hour old. Can also vouch for BackBlaze now. I was able to recover the file I was working on and use an old pc to continue working.

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