kernel panic at boot time

Question

Level 1

11 points

kernel panic at boot time

Hi, since some days ago, every time I boot my iMac late 2012 (27", 3.4 i7, 24GB ram 1600 DDR3, GTX 675MX 1024MB with 2TB+128Gb fusion drive) I get a kernel panic. After that I stop/start the iMac again and it works fine. Every singe time.

It does not even mount the disks so I just have a picture of the kernel panic, no logs.

It started doing this when I disconnected a thunderbolt disk that had been connected to the iMac for years.

Any idea of what is going on and how can I fix it?

Thanks

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), macOS Sierra (10.12.4)

Posted on Apr 8, 2017 11:19 PM

Reply

Answer 1

iwoensel

Level 1

4 points

Oct 13, 2017 5:30 AM in response to manuel201

I had exactly the same problem on my iMac with a 3TB Fusion drive (2 boots required). It started immediately after an OS update. Completely reinstalling the OS didn't help. But updating to High Sierra last weekend from the app store did solve the problem! And so far it looks pretty good.

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Answer 2

BobHarris

Level 9

56,819 points

Apr 9, 2017 8:22 AM in response to manuel201

Can you boot at all.

If not can you boot in Safe mode

<http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1564>

If you can get booted, please post the entire panic report (if more than 1 please post a few recent ones)

Kernel Panic reports: Finder -> Go -> Go to Folder -> /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports

<http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2546>

<http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT200553>

The panic report should have "panic" in the file name.

And once you have posted the Panic reports, please post the output from EtreCheck

<https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6174> or <https://etrecheck.com>

If, when trying to post the output, you get the error:

"The message contains invalid characters"

then try posting to PasteBin.com, and give us a pointer.

<http://pastebin.com/>

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Answer 3

BobHarris

Level 9

56,819 points

Jun 5, 2017 5:48 AM in response to ErasmusB

ErasmusB wrote:

I can confirm this problem on 2 different iMac 27 (Late 2012) systems, both configured with a fusion drive 3TB and without 3rd party RAM. For me, it started somewhere around the 10.12.4 update. The second boot attempt usually works fine, the first one gives the panic.

Please start a new Post in the Sierra forum.

Include a few kernel panic reports

Kernel Panic reports: Finder -> Go -> Go to Folder -> /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports

<http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2546>

<http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT200553>

The panic report should have "panic" in the file name.

Also

Please post the EtreCheck output

<https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6174> or <https://etrecheck.com>

If, when trying to post the output, you get the error:

"The message contains invalid characters"

then try posting to PasteBin.com, and give us a pointer.

<http://pastebin.com/>

.

EtreCheck is a tool that helps Apple Support Community volunteers debug problems without any access to the troubled computers. Debugging problems can be a difficult task even when the machine is in front of you. Attempting it via a discussion forum is extremely difficult. EtreCheck has been a great help.

Again, you should start you own new "Post" in the "Sierra" forum

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Answer 4

manuel201 Author

Level 1

11 points

Apr 11, 2017 10:45 AM in response to manuel201

Hi, this is the report. Everything looks normal except for some legacy things that I did not uninstall properly

If I connect the thunderbolt disk, the system boots normally every time.

EtreCheck version: 3.1.5 (343)

Report generated 2017-04-11 19:36:17

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 1:59

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Other problem

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac13,2

1 3,4 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-3770) CPU: 4-core

24 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX - VRAM: 1024 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440

System Software: ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12.4 (16E195) - Time since boot: about 11 hours

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE HDD ST3000DM001 disk1 : (3 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Recovery HD (disk1s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

Macintosh HD (disk2) / [Startup]: 3.10 TB (2.26 TB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 120.99 GB Online

Core Storage: disk1s2 3.00 TB Online

APPLE SSD SM128E disk0 : (121,33 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Boot OS X (disk0s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

Macintosh HD (disk2) / [Startup]: 3.10 TB (2.26 TB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 120.99 GB Online

Core Storage: disk1s2 3.00 TB Online

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Samson Technologies Samson Meteor Mic

APC Back-UPS ES 700G FW:871.O2 .I USB FW:O2

MediaTek Inc MT1956

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Unknown Files: ⓘ

~/Library/LaunchAgents/homebrew.mxcl.mosquitto.plist

/usr/local/opt/mosquitto/sbin/mosquitto -c /usr/local/etc/mosquitto/mosquitto.conf

~/Library/LaunchAgents/org.freedownloadmanager.fdm5.helper.plist

/usr/bin/open -a /Applications/Free Download Manager.app/Contents/MacOS/fdm --args --minimized

2 unknown files found. [Check files]

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Applications/Splashtop Streamer.app

[loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-06-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.splashtop.driver.SRXDisplayCard (1.6 - SDK 10.9 - 2015-06-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.splashtop.driver.SRXFrameBufferConnector (1.6 - SDK 10.9 - 2015-06-14) [Support]

/Applications/Tunnelblick.app

[not loaded] net.tunnelblick.tap (20141104 (Tunnelblick build 4790) - 2017-01-31) [Support]

[not loaded] net.tunnelblick.tun (20141104 (Tunnelblick build 4790) - 2017-01-31) [Support]

/Applications/VMware Fusion.app

[not loaded] com.vmware.kext.vmci (8.5.6 - 2017-04-05) [Support]

[not loaded] com.vmware.kext.vmioplug.15.2.0 (8.5.6 - 2017-04-05) [Support]

[not loaded] com.vmware.kext.vmnet (8.5.6 - 2017-04-05) [Support]

[not loaded] com.vmware.kext.vmx86 (8.5.6 - 2017-04-05) [Support]

/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (5.1.6 - 2016-09-25) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (5.1.6 - 2016-09-25) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (5.1.6 - 2016-09-25) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (5.1.6 - 2016-09-25) [Support]

/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.AndreaElectronics.driver.SamsonUSBAudioPlugin (1.1.0 - SDK 10.9 - 2017-04-07) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon-software.filesystems.ntfs (14.3.318 - SDK 10.5 - 2017-04-07) [Support]

[not loaded] com.wch.usbserial (1.1.1 - SDK 10.9 - 2017-04-07) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.macxdvd.driver.goodSysAudioCapture (1.0 - SDK 10.10 - 2017-04-07) [Support]

[not loaded] com.makemkv.kext.daspi (1.5 - 2017-04-07) [Support]

Startup Items: ⓘ

noip2: Path: /Library/StartupItems/noip2

Startup items no longer function in OS X Yosemite or later

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 6 Apple tasks

[loaded] 171 Apple tasks

[running] 105 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[failed] com.apple.postfix.master.plist (2017-03-23)

[not loaded] 36 Apple tasks

[loaded] 178 Apple tasks

[running] 105 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusagent.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusnotifications.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusstatus.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

[failed] com.fujitsu.pfu.ScanSnap.AOUMonitor.plist (2014-11-15) [Support] - /Applications/ScanSnap Online Update.localized/AutoOnlineUpdater.app/Contents/MacOS/AOUMonitor.app/Contents/M acOS/AOUMonitor: Executable not found!

[running] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2016-09-25) [Support]

[running] com.paragon-software.NTFS.fsnotify.agent.plist (2016-12-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon-software.facebook.agent.plist (2016-12-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon-software.ntfs.automount.plist (2016-11-29) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon.updater.plist (2016-12-01) [Support]

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist (2016-10-26) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.AndreaElectronics.kext.SamsonUSBAudioPlugin.plist (2014-07-23) [Support] - /System/Library/Extensions/SamsonUSBAudioPlugin.kext/Contents/PlugIns/SamsonUSB AudioPlugin.not/Contents/MacOS/SamsonUSBAudioPlugin: Executable not found!

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon.plist (2016-11-23) [Support]

[running] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (2017-02-26) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2010-09-08) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2016-06-22) [Support]

[running] com.paragon-software.NTFS.fsnotify.daemon.plist (2016-11-29) [Support]

[running] com.paragon-software.installer.plist (2016-12-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon.NTFS.launch.plist (2017-03-23)

[loaded] it.murus.murusfirewallrules.plist (2015-03-18) [Support]

[loaded] net.tunnelblick.tunnelblick.tunnelblickd.plist (2017-01-31) [Support]

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist (2016-10-26) [Support]

[not loaded] org.serviio.server.plist (2017-03-23)

[not loaded] org.virtualbox.startup.plist (2016-09-25) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2017-01-14) [Support]

[running] homebrew.mxcl.mosquitto.plist (2016-11-20) [Support]

[running] jp.co.pfu.ScanSnap.SearchablePDFConverter.plist (2017-01-23) [Support]

[loaded] net.tunnelblick.tunnelblick.LaunchAtLogin.plist (2017-01-30) [Support]

[loaded] org.freedownloadmanager.fdm5.helper.plist (2017-03-23)

[not loaded] org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist (2016-09-25) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

iTunesHelper Aplicación (2017-03-23)

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

ClipMenu Aplicación

(/Applications/ClipMenu.app)

Tunnelblick Aplicación

(/Applications/Tunnelblick.app)

ScanSnap Manager Aplicación Hidden

(/Applications/ScanSnap/ScanSnap Manager.app)

witchdaemon Aplicación

(/Applications/Witch.app/Contents/PlugIns/Witch.prefPane/Contents/Helpers/witch daemon.app)

OneDrive Volumen Hidden

(/Volumes/OneDrive)

Plex Volumen Hidden

(/Volumes/Plex)

[redacted] Volumen Hidden

(/Volumes/[redacted])

Dropbox Volumen Hidden

(/Volumes/Dropbox)

GoogleDrive Volumen Hidden

(/Volumes/GoogleDrive)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

Silverlight: 5.1.50901.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-10-14) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2017-03-31)

Unity Web Player: UnityPlayer version 5.3.7f1 - SDK 10.6 (2017-02-22) [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 101 build 13 (2016-09-25) Check version

VLC Plugin: 2.2.1 (2015-04-21) [Support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.7.2 - SDK 10.6 (2017-03-17) [Support]

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

f5 sam inspection host plugin: 7000.2012.1127.1 (2014-07-05) [Support]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

uBlock - Chris Aljoudi - https://chrismatic.io/ (2016-10-12)

Audio Plug-ins: ⓘ

Hear: 1.1.3 - SDK 10.5 (2013-05-13) [Support]

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Java (2016-06-22) [Support]

Paragon NTFS for Mac® (2016-12-01) [Support]

SamsonEffects (2014-07-23) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 3.10 TB Disk used: 836.37 GB

Destinations:

Timemachine [Network]

Total size: 30.71 TB

Total number of backups: 51

Oldest backup: 29/1/17 21:04

Last backup: 11/4/17 19:17

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 30.71 TB > (Disk size 3.10 TB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

2% WindowServer

2% fontd

1% mds

1% kernel_task

0% iStat Menus Status

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

1.25 GB kernel_task

1.10 GB softwareupdated

246 MB mds_stores

197 MB media-indexer

172 MB assistant_service

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

18.30 GB Available RAM

12.45 GB Free RAM

5.70 GB Used RAM

5.85 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Apr 11, 2017, 08:11:26 AM Self test - passed

Apr 10, 2017, 07:55:36 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent_2017-04-10-195536_[ redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Details]

/System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.We bKit.WebContent.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

Apr 9, 2017, 09:02:00 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Xcode_2017-04-09-090200_[redacted].hang

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/MacOS/Xcode

Reply

Answer 5

BobHarris

Level 9

56,819 points

Apr 11, 2017 11:01 AM in response to manuel201

I suspect you have 3rd party RAM

24 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

As Apple does not tend to ship Macs with different sized DIMMs.

Suggest running 'Rember" overnight to see if maybe a RAM problem has developed.

Rember

<http://www.kelleycomputing.net/rember/>

Quit as many apps and background tasks as you can (such as menu bar items) so more RAM is available for testing. Booting into Safe mode <http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1564> can also free up more RAM for testing, by not loading any 3rd party additions you may have installed.

Set Loops: [X] Maximum

and run overnight

You never mentioned if the problem occurs if you boot into Safe mode?

<http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1564>

Safe mode will not load any 3rd party drivers. It will clean out some kernel caches. It will load more conservative macOS drivers. This is a diagnostic to see if Safe mode changes behavior. Safe mode is not a long term running mode, if for no other reason, the more conservative drivers affect overall performance.

I do not think the multiple virtual machines have anything to do with this, but you might review the list of 3rd party additions in the EtreCheck report and do some house cleaning if you no longer use any of the stuff listed. Use the vendor's uninstall instructions if you are going to remove anything.

Reply

Answer 6

manuel201 Author

Level 1

11 points

Apr 9, 2017 11:12 PM in response to BobHarris

Hi, yes, I can boot, but always the second time I try.

In the morning when I boot the iMac I get the error. Then I switch off the iMac with the button and it boots normally.

When It boots, there is not panic log in the /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports directory, everything is normal. I guess that the first time it boots it cannot even access the disk.

It has been a consistent behavior for a month.

Reply

Answer 7

manuel201 Author

Level 1

11 points

Apr 11, 2017 1:54 PM in response to BobHarris

Hi, I tried booting in safe mode and I get the same behavior.

I run the memory test and it worked, no memory errors.

I had this problem already with OS X 10.10. I had at that time 7 USB disks, and If I started the system with them connected it would go to kernel panic. I tried different USB hubs with and without power supply and all of them gave similar problems.

Now I just connected the Thunderbolt disk again and it boots ok every time. I guess that Mac OS in the late 2012 iMacs has some problems with the external disks. It gets confused and It cannot access the boot disk.

I will leave the disk connected.

Thanks a lot for your help.

I go on holidays so I will not be able to try more things for a while.

Reply

Answer 8

leedos

Level 1

76 points

May 19, 2017 6:21 PM in response to manuel201

I am having a very similar problem with another late 2012 iMac. As soon as it attempts to start booting (no Apple logo or progress bar yet) I get a similar kernel panic. Powering down and booting up again seems to get it going again. The system with this error has the same storage configuration as yours, 128GB SSD and a 3TB hard drive setup as a Fusion Drive.

The kernel panic was the start of the problems, but it became more frequent. The system eventually got to a point where it would lockup during the boot process. If by chance I was able to login, the system would get the pinwheel and the force quit window would not open. The first time the kernel panic showed up was after upgrading to Sierra. I'm not sure if this is related, but worth a mention. Reinstalling MacOS Sierra didn't change anything, after that I suspected hard disk problems.

I took the machine to the Genius Bar and the 3TB hard drive failed their basic diagnostics. There was an Apple quality program that replaced these 3TB Seagate drives for free, but it's no longer available according to my Apple store. My machine was one that was affected, but I didn't get the memo in time so I had to pay the $280 for parts and labor to get it replaced.

I dropped off the computer at 1pm and it was ready by 8pm (surprisingly quick turnaround!). I picked up the computer the next day and on the first boot I got the familiar kernel panic, very disappointing. Powered down, then booted it up again and made it to the MacOS setup process and began the process of restoring from a Time Capsule. The Apple store wiped the computer and reloaded MacOS Sierra from scratch so I wouldn't suspect an OS problem unless this is a bug with the Sierra boot loader. I'm restoring from a Time Machine backup so I can't test if the other problems have been fixed. I suspect the kernel panic when cold booting will remain a problem. The Seagate ST3000DM001 hard drive doesn't have the best reliability record so I'm disappointed to see that the same model was used to replace the failed drive.

My guess on this problem is that when the Mac goes to boot, the SSD is ready to go but the hard drive isn't quite ready and this is what causes the kernel panic. Rebooting again and the hard drive is ready this time around. As for why it works when your Thunderbolt drive is connected, I would think the extra time it takes for Apple firmware to initialize your Thunderbolt drives give the internal hard disk enough time to get to it's "ready" state. A new drive from Apple didn't fix this problem for me, but it's the same make / model drive as the old one. My machine passed the extended diagnostics test with no errors. I ran Disk Utility first aid from a USB MacOS Sierra installer and it didn't find any problems. However, the Genius bar's diagnostics picked it up the SMART drive failure right away. I'm surprised that SMART diagnostics shows no problems in Disk Utility, but Genius bar diagnostics recognize that it’s failing. This is not very helpful to the end user.

One way or another I will fix this problem, with or without Apple's help. Four years is a bit short of the lifespan I was expecting. Apple, if you are charging a premium for Apple parts, don't kick me the same garbage that caused my problems the first time around. I used Apple for the repair since I believed they might cover the problem since it was a known defect. If I had to do it again, both SSD and the HDD would be removed and a 1TB Samsung SSD installed. The cost would have been about the same.

Reply

Answer 9

ErasmusB

Level 1

8 points

Jun 4, 2017 11:53 PM in response to manuel201

I can confirm this problem on 2 different iMac 27 (Late 2012) systems, both configured with a fusion drive 3TB and without 3rd party RAM. For me, it started somewhere around the 10.12.4 update. The second boot attempt usually works fine, the first one gives the panic.

Reply