Can you help diagnose what is causing kernel panics on my imac?

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Can you help diagnose what is causing kernel panics on my imac?

I am having problems with my iMac randomly shutting down and restarting. The error logs seem to indicate kernel panics but I don't know how to interpret them further to try and identify the cause. I'm not sure what to do to resolve this. Can anyone help?

The crashes have been intermittent, maybe once or twice a month since May/June but have recently got more frequent. 4 in the last month.

I am an audio professional and the iMac is my studio computer so I have various peripherals (midi controller/keyboard, audio interface, multile hard drives etc) and a lot of audio software and plugins I have installed. I'm working a lot in Logic Pro at the moment and have noticed that it has been running slow and hanging/beachballing recently.

One thing that often seems to happen after the kernel panic is that I have problems with my audio interface (MOTU Ultralite AVB). Like it is not communicating properly with the computer. The sample rate is not set correctly and while the interface appears in the mac audio outputs, and I can send audio (I can monitor the signal arriving at the interface) but there is no audio output from the interface. Also the imac's fans sometimes kick in when I log in after a crash and it can take a while for the finder to be able to play audio in quick look. I end up having to do multiple restarts, disk repair in recovery mode, SMC reset, MOTU factory reset before I can get it working again.

Generally the kernel panics seem to happen when I'm not actually working. I'll leave the imac for a while or overnight and it goes to sleep and when I wake it up I discover it has crashed and restarted.

I;m on a 2020 imac running OS 12.7

Thanks.

iMac 27″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Sep 26, 2023 3:03 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

phonoscope Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 27, 2023 1:37 PM in response to John Galt

John Galt wrote:

  Antivirus software: Apple and Avira

Uninstall "Avira" in accordance with its instructions. Rule 1 of Macs is don't install junk.

After uninstalling it run EtreCheck again to ensure all its components are permanently and irrevocably eradicated from that Mac. That EtreCheck entry should be the following:

  Antivirus software: Apple

... and nothing else.

Then, please write back for additional help.

I have successfully removed Avira entirely from the system. EtreCheck confirms this.

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,422 points

Sep 27, 2023 3:12 AM in response to phonoscope

The very first thing to do is ensure ALL third party apps are up-to-date. Next, if you upgraded the RAM yourself uninstall the upgraded RAM and run with the original RAM for about a week. If the KPs disappear then you know it was the upgraded RAM.

in addition if you have any of the following types of third party apps installed please uninstall ASAP:

Antivirus

Security

Cleaning

VPN

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Answer 3

MartinR

Level 7

24,053 points

Sep 27, 2023 9:31 AM in response to phonoscope

You have a lot of stuff installed on this Mac and some of these apps have duplicate functions.

For example, you are running Dropbox, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, GetBackupPro & MEGAsync. Most if not all of them run sync processes in background and they are probably tripping over each other. You may have good reasons for using all five of these file sync apps but imho it would be better to choose only one, use it exclusively, and remove the others.

Little Snitch & Avira both constantly scan things on your computer. I strongly suggest getting rid of Avira - 3rd party antivirus apps have a history of causing problems on Macs and you don't really need them.

Other apps I'd get rid of, as they have historically been prone to causing issues -

Zoom

Google Chrome

AppCleaner

Also, verify that all your apps & plugins are fully Monterey compatible.

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Answer 4

John Galt

Level 10

154,868 points

Sep 27, 2023 5:30 AM in response to phonoscope

  Antivirus software: Apple and Avira

Uninstall "Avira" in accordance with its instructions. Rule 1 of Macs is don't install junk.

After uninstalling it run EtreCheck again to ensure all its components are permanently and irrevocably eradicated from that Mac. That EtreCheck entry should be the following:

  Antivirus software: Apple

... and nothing else.

Then, please write back for additional help.

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Answer 5

John Galt

Level 10

154,868 points

Oct 2, 2023 4:48 AM in response to phonoscope

The KP is essentially identical to the previous one. It suggests some external USB-connected hardware may be the cause. The only way to effectively rule that out is to disconnect it.

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Answer 6

John Galt

Level 10

154,868 points

Sep 26, 2023 5:11 PM in response to phonoscope

Can anyone help?

Not unless we see the kernel panic log, and even it might not conclusively identify a cause. Post the report.

For general recommendations: If your Mac restarts and a message appears - Apple Support

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

250,253 points

Sep 27, 2023 11:16 AM in response to phonoscope

Disable System Integrity Protection...

Disabling and Enabling System Integrity Protection | Apple Developer Documentation

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Answer 8

phonoscope Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 27, 2023 10:05 AM in response to MartinR

Thanks all for your input.

I'm trying to remove Avira but having removed it and run the uninstall command avira provide EtreCheck is still indicating it is installed. I've manually removed any remaining 'avira' files i found in my Library folders but one file remains in my Library/System extensions 'com.avira.scanservice.systemextension' that I can;t delete as 'the operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access some of the items. '

I've also been checking through all my apps and some were indeed needing updated others are no longer needed and have been deleted. I'll work through the plugins too.

Point noted on the backup sync apps. There not usually all running all the time e.g. GetBackUp is just for manual archiving. Some of the others could also be switched off until needed.

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Answer 9

phonoscope Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 27, 2023 2:22 AM in response to phonoscope

I've read the Apple general support advice but there are so many variables - software, plugins, external devices etc. As the kernel panics happen intermittently, trouble shooting by removing/disconnecting software and devices could leave me unable to work for weeks. I was hoping there may be something in the reports to at least direct me to possible culprits so I have a more directed approach to troubleshooting.

I have other error logs saved and I ran etreCheck which has highlighted a few things I can start looking at but just wondering if the error logs show anything i should prioritise?

Etrecheck Report

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Answer 10

phonoscope Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 2, 2023 4:32 AM in response to phonoscope

I've had another kernel panic. Here's the error log. It happened while I was on a break. I'd been working in Logic, the session was still open. Came back and when I woke up the imac it had crashed and restarted. I'm wondering if there's anything to indicate whether it is more likely software or hardware/peripherals issue? My MOTU interface usually automatically sets the sample rate to 48khz which is my usual rate for my audio work but after a crash/panic the Motu is set to 192khz and I have to manually reset it to 48khz using the Motu software. Because of this and the other audio issues I've experienced after the panics I was wondering if it might be an audio driver issue or the Motu itself? The firmware and drivers for the Motu are up to date and I tried resintalling the drrivers recently.

Panic error report

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