SL keeps causing kernel panic crashes on my Mac

[Aramis Calcutt]

SL keeps causing kernel panic crashes on my Mac. What might be the problem?

[Marigold Devin]

What exactly makes you think it's SL causing the kernel panic problem ?

Please post your computer specifications here, and any messages you get that come up on your screen in relation to when you are using Second Life.  

[Aramis Calcutt]

I think it's SL, because it happens only when I'm running SL.

Mac OSX v. 10.6.8

MacBook 2.1, 2.16 GHz, 2 GB, 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, Intel Core 2 Duo

[Aramis Calcutt]

No messages on the screen ... just gradual slowing down, pausing, and "skipping" that lead to the kernel panic. Doesn't happen with any other application. And it happens with SL viewer and Phoenix viewer.

[Jenni Darkwatch]

Any kind of OS crash is generally not any applications' fault. SL tends to crash computers because it taxes the hardware and often causes it to fail when no other software does. My money is on a faulty driver or a hardware issue.

[Marigold Devin]

Hi again, Aramis. I've been thinking more about your problem while I've been offline for a while, and although your computer specifications look good, I'm guessing the Mac isn't a brand new computer, and it is possible, over time, as Jenni has said, general wear and tear may have caught up with your system. 

I hesitate to offer suggestions, because I don't use a Mac, so am not familiar with their reliability.  All I do know is when you mentioned kernel panic crashes, it took me back to 2008 when I could no longer run SL without my whole system going into meltdown, and a persistent kernel 32 message flashed on the screen even when a techie from Dell was running diagnostics. He diagnosed a corrupted hard drive, was unable to reinstall the operating system, and I ended up with a replacement motherboard (thankfully free of charge as part of the Dell guarantee!)

Hopefully some Mac users will be along to offer some helpful advice.

(Have you looked inworld for any Mac-related user groups? You might be able to obtain some help that way.)

 



[Strida Lyle]

I am having the same issues,  I have macbook pro. about 1 year old.  A few months ago SL started causing panics.  No other programs i run cause panic.  And it doesnt matter what viewer i am using,  Firestorm, phoenix and imprudence all have expreienced kernel panics.  Usually while i am panning around the view but not always  sometimes just  doing nothing     Would be nice to have this problem solved.     Thanks  

[Madelaine McMasters]

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Aramis Calcutt wrote:

No messages on the screen ... just gradual slowing down, pausing, and "skipping" that lead to the kernel panic. Doesn't happen with any other application. And it happens with SL viewer and Phoenix viewer.

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Aramis, this reminds me of problems I had on my old MacBook Pro, which I ultimately traced to dust in the GPU cooling fan, preventing it from spinning. When Mac OS sees the GPU temperature rising, it will increase fan speed. When it can't increase fan speed more, it will then start throttling back the GPU clock. SL gets very unhappy when this happens. You might try one of the freeware tools for displaying GPU/CPU temperatures and fan speeds. If you see the GPU fan indicating maximum speed, but your Mac seems quiet, and the GPU temperature is high, you may have a blocked/stalled fan.

Good luck!

[Strida Lyle]

I had the same issue.  Drove me crazy, Kernel panic with every viewer, and randomly.  Seems the issue is the graphics switching.  When MacBook goes to the Nvidia card it soon crashes.  there is a fix that seems to be working for me which allows me to turn off the switching.  gfxcardstatus,    Stay with the integrated graphics,  i know that sounds stupid  but it keeps it from crashing. Hopefully apple will find a solution for this. 

http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus

[om Charron]

I am using an Imac 24-in early 2008
3.06 GHz Intel core 2 duo
4 gb 800MHz DDR2 SDram
Graphics..NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS 512 MB
Os X 10.8.2
I did a clean Instal of the new Firestorm. When i try to run the new Firestorm it shuts down and cause the computer to have a kernal Panic.

The SL Viewed does not cause Kernal Panics..

the Exodus Viewer Does not cause Kernal Panics.. T

he older Firestorm.. did not cause kernal Panics.

[Strida Lyle]

Problem solved,  Seems that the problem was with the Mac Logic board and the Nvidia graphics.  mid 2010 macbooks have had a large number with this problem and Apple has decided to fix it even if out of warranty. What happens is that for SLviewers and the high performance needed, the GPU switches to the NVIDA graphics which causes the panic and crashes the computer. For awhile i used an app called GFX which you can keep the NVIDIA for switching on and remaining in the integrated graphics mode.  But now apple has fixed it by replacing the logic board and all is well.