2016 MacBook repeatedly restarting?

[Charles101]

Hey, I keep getting the 'your mac has encountered an error and has to restart' problem. It has happened when i'm streaming video on youtube on chrome 3 times in the last hour, but one time was when it was just idling with nothing open.

Here is the latest panic report if this helps.

http://pastebin.com/GN2Yqcc6


Hopefully someone can suggest something!

I tried restarting and pressing D to do a system check and it found no issues.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome,

-From you panic report, this is a MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) running macOS Sierra 10.12.3, correct?
-Are you running the latest version of Chrome - 56.0.2924.76 (64-bit)?
-Do you have Adobe Flash installed?
-Do you have any third-party utilities like MacKeeper/CleanMyMac or an antivirus app installed?
-Did the issue just start happening recently?

C

 

[Charles101]

Yes
Was using 55, just updated
Yes
Not that I know of
It started happenign recently.

Also my laptop has begun restarting and turning on with the flashing question mark folder.

I got a small temperature istat utility just now to check my temps and it seems to be rather high when using chrome. Should I use a different browser?

 

[honestone]

Yes
Was using 55, just updated
Yes
Not that I know of
It started happenign recently.

Also my laptop has begun restarting and turning on with the flashing question mark folder.

I got a small temperature istat utility just now to check my temps and it seems to be rather high when using chrome. Should I use a different browser?

I use Chrome on my two machines (late 2012 Mac Min, and mid 2013 13" MacBook Air), and it is not hot at all. But, you could try Firefox or Opera. Firefox is somewhat slow, and Opera is, in terms to speed, between Firefox and Opera.

 

[Charles101]

I've been using safari for the last day or so and the temperature definitely isn't as high (40-50s instead of 70s when using chrome) but I have still been having the restarting with flashing question mark error.

Any ideas? Im thinking i might just take it into an apple store and see what they come up with

 

[Charles101]

Keeps happening, new panic log:
http://pastebin.com/wGfTQcSd

 

[honestone]

First, wonder if a complete clean installation of OS 10.12.3 would resolve your issues? That seems to be a distinct way to go.

Secondly, what exact third party software do you have on your Mac? And if you have any, is it compatible with Sierra?

 

[Harry Trent]

The fact that this happens sometimes when you aren't doing streaming video but "when just idling sometimes" suggests to me the problem is not with the Chrome browser or a plug in.

Often these things are caused by a buggy or corrupted device driver. Alternatively, it could be caused by a failing hardware component such as a hard drive, memory module or a bad capacitor on the motherboard.

I certainly would do a clean install of Sierra and delay adding in any unnecessary software until you have had time to determine if this fixed the problem. Then I would add things back in one at a time so as to catch any one of them that might turn out to be the culprit.

 

[honestone]

Well said, Harry! For the reasons you stated (plus others), that is why it is just about imperative that one 1) does daily disk cleanup, 2) does periodic disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, 3) does periodic backups, and 4) insures that they have the latest versions of whatever third party software they are using.

 

[honestone]

Charles101,

1) Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs?

2) Are you making backups to an external device? And if you are, what software are you using?

3) Are you making sure that any third party software you are using is compatible with Sierra?

Harry Trent is correct, in that a clean installation of Sierra (OS 10.12.3 is the latest version) would be the pertinent thing to do. Unfortunately, due to the unknown what caused the issue, it will be necessary to follow his suggestion and do a one-by-one installation of any third party software you have (again making sure you have the correct version for each program for Sierra compatibility).

 

[Harry Trent]

What you want to do in so far as possible, Charles, is eliminate the software component as the cause of system instability. If you reinstall the OS and then leave off any add on software and still find you have instability then you can take the machine under warranty back to Apple and say, "fix this, please." If you don't eliminate the add on software as a potential problem then Apple tech may try to blame it on that.

 

[honestone]

Again, Harry, well said! If there were no issues, and he wanted to do a clean, "virgin" installation of OS 10.12.3, then he would be given the opportunity, via Migration Assistant, to "migrate"/copy needed "stuff" from a backup. But in this case, your statements are accurate, as there is definitely some unknown issue going on. Thus, the problematic "file/files" could be on the backup.

 

[Harry Trent]

Charles would certainly want to backup his data beforehand and then do a "destructive" fresh install of the OS. By "destructive" I mean creating new partitions as opposed to an "in place" install that keeps programs and data. I am new to the Mac world but in the Windows environment the hard drives of OEM computers have a "restore" partition that enables you to restore the machine to factory condition with the original OS and programs in place that the computer shipped with. All that stuff is stored in an ISO file on the restore partition. I mention this because for Charles to just go to the Apple store and download the Sierra OS for installation would not achieve a destructive install. It would keep all his stuff in place, including, perhaps, the problem. Of course, if his machine did not ship with Sierra then he would need to do a restore and then repeat the upgrade to Sierra. By the way, reintroducing data that has been backed up would not reintroduce potential problems since infections are tied to executable program files, not data.

 

[honestone]

In the Mac "world", there are two popular methods of backing up. One is to use Time Machine that comes with the Mac OS, and the other is to use a backup/cloning program like either SuperDuper! (it's the one I use; costs $27.95), or Carbon Copy Cloner (costs $39.95). Both of those two products make a bootable backup, whereas Time Machine does not.

Regarding a "destructive" installation of the latest version of Sierra (ie, not needing to first install the prior OS, and then upgrade to Sierra), with either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner, one can boot their Mac from either of those bootable backups, use Disk Utility there to Erase, Format, and if necessary, Partition the internal drive, then launch the file "Install macOS Sierra" (that is what will be in the Applications Folder after downloading it from the App Store (it is also an excellent idea to make a copy of it in another location)). That gives a fresh, "virgin" installation of Sierra.

This can "kind of be done" with a Time Machine backup, but one must first boot their Mac to the (hidden) Recovery HD partition. This link describes how to boot to it, and what it contains:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

Note that the 4th menu entry is Disk Utility. However, I prefer (and always have used) the method I describe above with SuperDuper!.

 

[Harry Trent]

Thanks for the explanation. Essentially works the same way when doing a "virgin" install of Windows from usb or optical media which creates a ramdisk (virtual disk in memory) for the installation process and then gives you the choice of deleting old partitions and creating new ones on the system drive as part of the installation process.

 

[honestone]

It's "kind of" like the "virgin" install of Windows. The difference is that the SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner backup is to an external drive, and as I stated, it is bootable. Thus, it's almost the same as having another machine. In fact, if one's internal drive and/or software on it went "bad", one could boot their machine from that external, bootable backup, and still function fine.

Also, just to clarify, the difference between the two is that Carbon Copy Cloner also backs up the (invisible) Recovery HD partition, whereas SuperDuper! does not. But, that is not a detriment, as 1) that partition gets created on a clean, "virgin" installation of the OS, 2) it can easily be re-created in other ways, and 3) for myself, I have a superior disk cleanup/maintenance/program in TechTool Pro, and it does more than Disk Utility.

 

[teedeeau]

Hey, I keep getting the 'your mac has encountered an error and has to restart' problem. It has happened when i'm streaming video on youtube on chrome 3 times in the last hour, but one time was when it was just idling with nothing open.

Here is the latest panic report if this helps.

http://pastebin.com/GN2Yqcc6


Hopefully someone can suggest something!

I tried restarting and pressing D to do a system check and it found no issues.

Don't know how helpful or relevant this will be but... I have been having your problem on a 2007 MBP/15"/500GB/4GB/10.11.6 but only since connecting directly via ethernet cable to fibre optic broadband with a Sagemcom Gateway modem (through Optus Australia). Connecting via wifi with this modem is fine so the issue lies in the modem, network settings, MBP software, etc (hopefully)