Q: It keeps restarting, debugging panic
Hi,
I only have access to the serial number. So this is what I found online
MacBook Pro 15" - Mid 2009
Model Number A1286
RAM 4GB
Storage 320 GB
Processor: 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo
We have updated to OS X El Capitan about 1-2 months ago. I can't say for sure if it is the latest version.
This is my mom's computer. I asked her what happened. They were watching Netflix. The video was not playing, yet the audio was working. The application, firefox, was frozen. They did a forced shutdown. When they turned it on. The computer showed the loading the bar. It was going really slow which was unusual to my mom. They, my mom and her friend, had waited for a long time. Usually or normally it would be quicker according to her. I told her to try shutting it down again and turn it on again. And this time I told her to leave it until it loaded all the way even if it takes all night, and if it doesn't work then there is a serious problem.
So later in the night my mom said she saw that the loading bar reached the end but then
I spoke with an Apple Technician (I don't know the proper title) and he walked with me to the do the following steps:
1. Access Safe Mode Hold Shift --took 5-7 minutes to reach 60% load then proceeded to restart--
2. Clear the NVRAM Hold Command, Option, P and R -- the computer did restart instantly as supposed to with this action, but at 60% load it also restarted.
3. Start up in Recovery Mode Hold Command and R -- took 20 minutes to load to 100% but it is frozen/stuck there for 8 minutes. The fans are on high, and the laptop feels hot to touch --
On my own, I accessed Verbose mode with Command and V. -- this did work!!! -- I looked through the text to look for any errors. The 4th from the bottom line read: disk0s2: I/O error
I looked this up online, including here on the apple support forum, and I got a general sense or idea of what could be wrong and what could fix it, and also the possibility that it can't be fixed.
Right before the computer would restart it would display a message on the left hand side. It was really quick/short, 20 secs, so I decided to take a video of it so I can view the still frames. I took a still frame of the picture to upload here.
I notice that it would display something slightly different if I would leave it to restart a second time.
I looked up the following code because they seemed significant:
Process 1 exec of /sbin/Launched failed, errno 8"@/Library
I also looked up the meaning of Debugger panic
I also tried the following on my own:
Open Diagnostics Tool Hold D ---Didn't open, same problem as above--
I haven't tried starting in Singular user mode yet. At this point I wanted to share what I have found, to get help.
On one website I read that having the storage space that reaches its capacity, can lead to a Panic Kernal
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/lackofram.html
Based on what I know of my mom, and how she uses the computer, it is a possibility she might have used the storage space to a dangerously low level for work. The only lines of code that could suggest this is the case is this:
Failed to open swap file 30
vm_swap_create_file failed @ 133 secs
Failed to open swap file 30
vm_swap_create_file failed @ 222 secs
Debugger called <panic>
I know that vm stands for Virtual Memory. The Above code appeared as an addition within the code in the above picture, however it only appeared when I left it to restart.
During my tests, the following screen and message appeared 2-3 times, not every time: Your computer restarted because of a problem. Press a key or wait a few seconds to continue start up. OS X: When your computer spontaneously restarts or displays "Your computer restarted because of a problem." - Apple Supp…
What steps shall I try next?
Is it worthwhile reinstalling El Capitan? Is that even possible given the state of my computer? If it is worthwhile how do I do it? Should I bring this into the Apple Repair and they can do it?
Is there a way to test/know what the storage space is left on the computer, to rule out that as a cause?
What are things I haven't considered yet?
Because I was able to access Verbose Mode, one time (I haven't tried again), is there a way to use this to do something, to test something out, fix something, or to gather more information? However, I had 3 minutes in Verbose mode before the computer continued to restart itself.
Thank you Kindly,
Yogan
MacBook Pro, El Capitan.
Posted on May 31, 2016 12:27 PM
