Kernel Panic Troubleshooting

[n8saffle]

Hey everyone,

I’m compiling a generic list of troubleshooting steps when a Mac has “an unexpected reboot” or kernel panic. No particular device, just one that would reasonably be in use now, so both for Intel & M1 Macs. Beyond this list, any other things you would recommend?

• Reboot (duh)
• remove any peripherals attached
• clear PRAM (CMD+Option+P+R at boot)
• Run Apple Diagnostics (D or CMD+D at boot)
• boot to safe mode to try and duplicate panic
• run disk utility first aid & repair permissions
• look in startup items for possible problem software
• run software updates if possible
• boot to known good external drive (CMD+Option at boot)
• Attempt reinstall of just OS
• Use iStat or something similar to monitor
• look in console logs for clues

These are not in a particular order. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Sounds like a nice project...any particular reason, or just for your own troubleshooting files?

A few others are:

• Reset SMC
• Replace any third-party RAM with original Apple OEM RAM
• Run surface scan of drive
• Use DiskWarrior to repair disk catalog
• Try another user account/Guest user

C