After updating to Catalina my late 2012 iMac keeps restarting

Hello everyone. My late 2012 iMac keeps restarting after I upgraded to Catalina. (I know, I'm in the Stone Age.) I ran an EtreCheck report and it says there is a kernel problem. Does anyone understand this report and can suggest a way to fix the problem? Thanks.


Earlier Mac models

Posted on May 11, 2024 9:20 PM

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Posted on May 12, 2024 8:58 AM

What caught my attention is the size of your Mac's HDD, at 4 TBs. Looking at the report, I concur with the others that this iMac originally came with a Fusion Drive ... that is now split.


The 2012 iMacs had the option for this Fusion Drive, but the HDD portion only came with options for either a 1, 2, or 3 TB ... so did you or someone else replace the original HDD?


Some things you can try:

  • Temporarily remove an externally attached drives. Use your Mac in this configuration for a few days to see if the KPs return.
  • Reset both your Mac's NVRAM & SMC.


Ref:


Finally, I suggest that your run the Apple Hardware Test to see if it uncovers any issues.


Ref: How to use Apple Hardware Test on your Mac - Apple Support

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May 12, 2024 8:58 AM in response to Skyblue.Skyblue

What caught my attention is the size of your Mac's HDD, at 4 TBs. Looking at the report, I concur with the others that this iMac originally came with a Fusion Drive ... that is now split.


The 2012 iMacs had the option for this Fusion Drive, but the HDD portion only came with options for either a 1, 2, or 3 TB ... so did you or someone else replace the original HDD?


Some things you can try:

  • Temporarily remove an externally attached drives. Use your Mac in this configuration for a few days to see if the KPs return.
  • Reset both your Mac's NVRAM & SMC.


Ref:


Finally, I suggest that your run the Apple Hardware Test to see if it uncovers any issues.


Ref: How to use Apple Hardware Test on your Mac - Apple Support

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May 11, 2024 10:12 PM in response to Skyblue.Skyblue

Kernel Panics are difficul to troubleshoot because they can be caused by hardware or software or both! In your case, I my best hunch is hardware. The 2 major hardware issues that cause KP's are:


  • Incorrect RAM, Failing or Failed RAM, unseated RAM in either of these cases, remove the upgraded RAM that was added and run with the original that shipped with the computer.
  • The next most common cause is a failing hard disk. Your computer if it still has the original Fusion Drive which is a small SSD and a HD fused together with software, my guess is the HD portion is dying. To test it download DriveDX and test the HD (not the SSD, not the Fusion Drive, only the HD!!). If any errors appear that means my hunch is correct. On such an old computer, I would not spend money on it, I would recommend replacing it!!!
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May 12, 2024 10:27 AM in response to Skyblue.Skyblue

The 4T HDD that someone installed has also failed and it is causing the problem.


It is too old for an Apple brick and mortar store to repair, so your best bet is to take the iMac to your local Apple Authorized Service Provider and have the HDD replaced. see > Find Locations


Sadly that repair could cost more than the 12 year old iMac is worth, so this seems like good time to consider a replacement iMac instead.

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May 12, 2024 11:54 AM in response to Skyblue.Skyblue

Skyblue.Skyblue wrote:

Oh wow. The report says that I have a 4tb hard drive?

Yes, it states it here:

disk1 - ST3000DM001 4.14 GB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM)

Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA


I bought it used. It was running perfectly with OSX 10.14 so I’m not sure why 10.15 is having these problems.

Doing a quick Internet search on that kernel panic ...


panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff8021a13767): "AppleAHCIDiskQueueManager::se

tPowerState(0xffffff805c733480 : 0xffffff7fa2bac5d2, 3 -> 2) timed out


... came up with numerous posts that identified macOS Catalina on these early Macs was problematic when it came to either drive or sleep issues.


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May 12, 2024 12:35 PM in response to Skyblue.Skyblue

You're very welcome!


FWIW, I recently "retired" both my 2010 & 2011 MacBook Pro laptops, primarily due to logic board issues ... but, also because neither could run anything newer than macOS High Sierra.


Your 2012 iMac, fortunately, can run up to Catalina, but even that version is no longer getting updates from Apple. Apple basically only provides updates for the three most recent macOS versions. Currently, those would be: Monterey, Ventura, & Sonoma.


This is where you have to decide on how much you want to continue to invest in a obsolete Mac. If getting a newer model, even a refurbished one, it not an option, I would offer the following on what I would do with this Mac. Note that some of these would require opening your iMac ... not necessarily an easy task. You can go to the iFixit site to get an idea on what that would entail.


  • Remove or replace the existing SSD with one with a larger capacity. SSD prices have come down significantly in the recent years.
  • Remove or replace the existing HDD. Your current one is a 7200-rpm drive, and this is what you will want. What size will really depend on your needs.
  • Leave the current RAM configuration alone. 32 GB is plenty for just about anything you can want to use this Mac for.
  • Downgrade to macOS Mojave. I only recommend this because of the issues you are seeing with Catalina, otherwise, I typically never recommend downgrading. You can try external bootable SSD with various versions of macOS to see which works best for you. Ref: Use an external SSD as your startup disk … - Apple Community
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May 12, 2024 9:33 AM in response to Tesserax

Oh wow. The report says that I have a 4tb hard drive? That could be the problem. When I click the hard drive it says that it only has 140gb with 100gb of it being used. I haven’t done anything to the computer, I bought it used. It was running perfectly with OSX 10.14 so I’m not sure why 10.15 is having these problems.


Okay, great, thanks so much for the suggestions! I appreciate it.


-Sky




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May 12, 2024 9:38 AM in response to Skyblue.Skyblue

Oh, yes. I am getting a message that the hard drive cannot be read. It asks me if I want to initialize it or ignore. If I click initialize it says that the initializing failed. So I have always just clicked ignore and with 10.14 I could still use my computer with no problems after that. But now with 10.15 I am getting these constant restarts.

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After updating to Catalina my late 2012 iMac keeps restarting

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