Repeated WindowServer / GPU kernel panics. Mac won’t boot now.

Johnned wrote:

MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021, M1 Pro)

macOS Tahoe 26.1 (fresh DFU restore)

Summary of the issue:

- My Mac randomly shuts down while using it.

- The first time my Macbook shut down - it gets into a state where it won’t power on at all.

FYI, it won't power on until you force a complete shutdown & power off condition. You need to press & hold the power button for 10 seconds to force a complete power off.

It is very difficult to determine when these M-series Macs are completely powered off. Things that can help:

• Press the Caps Lock LED so the Caps Lock LED is lit. When that Caps Lock LED goes dark, then it means the laptop has powered off completely.
• Using another Mac running macOS 26.x or macOS 15.x and using Apple Configurator, you can launch the Apple Configurator app which may provide some clues to the state of the "broken" Mac such as it is in DFU Mode, or if it is powered on/off.

Keep in mind connecting/disconnecting any external devices may cause the laptop to power back on. Touching any key or even the Trackpad may cause the laptop to power back on as well. And you may not see any indicators on the screen depending on the problem the laptop is experiencing.

- In that state, MagSafe blinks, USB-C charging doesn’t work, and it can’t enter DFU or Recovery mode.

Yep, I've seen this occur. I have no clue what it means, although it could indicate the laptop is in DFU Mode, but you are using the wrong USB-C port or cable. Also, make sure to disconnect all other external devices. A Mac in DFU Mode requires using the DFU Port for a DFU Firmware Revive or Restore. Unfortunately Apple did not standardize on the placement of the DFU Port, so you must read the very confusing Apple documentation to determine which USB-C port is the DFU Port for your exact model Mac.

How to identify the DFU port on Mac - Apple Support

- The only time it turned on is about 3-4 days later (thankfully didnt have work yet) when battery drained completely to 0%. After that it charges and turns on again.

And that will also damage your battery. It also indicates the Mac is not completely powered off during those 3-4 days.

- When I turn it back on, it often shows WindowServer / GPU errors and sometimes kernel panic logs.

- It becomes unstable for a while (freezes, black screen with backlight, unexpected shutdowns).

Post several of those Kernel Panics. Kernel Panic logs have file names containing "kernel" and/or "panic" and are located in the "/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports" folder. Post several of the complete Kernel Panic logs here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper on the forum editing tool bar.

Also, try running the third party app EtreCheck and post its complete report here so we examine it for clues.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting an EtreCheck Report - Apple Community

- I already did a full DFU restore, erase, and reinstall. It worked normally for over a week. Then I turned on Chrome Hardware acceleration a few hours ago - now my Macbook wont turn on again at all. This is the second time this has happened.

Perhaps you should not enable Chrome's GPU Hardware Acceleration feature. Just saying.

What I’m trying to figure out:

Is there still any method I can try at home to revive it again, or does this behavior mean the logic board / PMU is failing and I really have no choice but to bring it in?

A DFU Firmware Restore is as drastic as you can go on your own.

If you are restoring from a backup, then perhaps you are bringing the problem back again. Next time when restoring from a Time Machine backup, just uncheck everything except for your macOS user account(s).....perhaps even uncheck "Settings" even within your macOS user account (when restoring from TM backup). Manually download & install your third party apps one at a time and only the most essential ones. Make sure to test the system for issues after installing each app so you may be able to identify a particular app causing the problem.

Avoid installing all anti-virus apps, third party cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software including VPNs since these types of apps probably cause 90% of issues being reported on this forum.

Chrome is the most resource-intensive Mac application that is not outright malware. You should seriously re-consider using Chrome on a Mac. Appropriate use of Chrome generally requires a Chromebook.

Chrome is particularly resource-intensive because it installs Google which renders your Mac a full time information-harvesting and -uploading "bot" for Google's purposes. Those processes can't be turned off or disabled, even if you quit the Chrome browser. Even without knowing what else is installed on that Mac it is all but assured a multitude of Google's automatically updating virus-like processes are causing your Mac to work overtime. 

Get rid of it. No one needs Chrome. Follow these removal instructions.

—senior contributor John Galt

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95319?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop#zippy=%2Cmac

https://chromeisbad.com/

The indicators on the MagSafe connector are ONLY set by commands from the computer. Blinking MagSafe indicators suggest charge system trouble, but computer still able to do simple housekeeping tasks, like blink the lights. If it gets even more discharged, the computer can't run and it will lose the ability to even blink the lights.

When the charging system is not working properly at the moment, it can only trickle-charge, which is very slow and may not show any lights. It can take overnight to several days of trickle-charging before it gets strong enough to start to do housekeeping chores.. Only after the computer has minimal charge will it be able to do the housekeeping to enable the charger to properly charge the battery.

Your issues COULD be caused by running the battery too low, too often. That computer is a battery-CAPABLE device, It is not optimized as a battery-operated device (it is not an iPhone.)

In general, you should ALWAYS connect a power source when it is possible to do so, and only run on batteries (which could be somewhat slower) when no power sources are at hand. Modern Macs maintain optimum battery charge levels under program control, and will NEVER over-charge.