3 days old... first kernel panic

ONE kernel panic and you're questioning your machine?

I've had one kernel panic, too. Otherwise, it's been hard at work since September. Don't worry so much.

 

At least dissect the System Log to see if the kernal panic is a 3rd party memory problem, Mac Pro problem, or software problem before you say the machine isn't reliable.

Could very well be the memory upgrade or a software issue. Though generally memory and USB/Firewire devices generally lead the pack in causing problems.

 

I've had 3 kernel panics on a (roughly) 4 month old macpro.

Once whilst runing Vine Server (VNC) which I blame on that, the other two whilst un-raring several large files at the same time from a raid array (again...I blame the program)

I've looked around the net, but can't really find any information on diagnosing kernal panics.

Anyone fancy giving a link up, or a rough guide on how to check what's going on behind the useless code.

 

Diagnosing kernel panics is largely voodoo. Sometimes the panic log provides evidence if one device is implicated but as often as not the returns are too vague and generalized to interpret. The "good" news is, from experience we know that kernel panics are overwhelmingly caused by hardware faults, usually bad RAM, followed by motherboards, then hard drives. So unless you've installed new software recently which involves a driver or a kernel extension, hardware is always the first place to look.

 

I've had quite a few kernal panics on a MacBook Pro I got a couple months ago, also suspiciously tied to a USB peripheral. There is a tendancy to have a panic if I unplug this Logitech keyboard I have. I'm still using the keyboard, but I put the machine to sleep before I disconnect it.

 

This may also sound like voodoo: A few days after I got my powermac, I kept getting kernal panics. I can't remember if I had anything attached or not... So I called up a tech guy at my former company to get some help. His recommendation was to reinstall the OS because, in his opinion, most factory installs are faulty. I reinstalled (a clean reinstall, btw) and never had the problem again, whatever it was. Since then, the first thing I do with a new machine is reinstall the os...

YT

 

Yup, that sounds like voodoo alright. I maintain three Macs with a combined OSX usage of close to 15 years, with not a single OS reinstall. Virtually all of the only kernel panics I've ever experienced during this time were related to bad RAM.

 

Removing certain USB devices is more precarious than removing others. Obviously, keyboards and mice are essential to the operation of the computer, so it would be more delicate.

It's been a very long time since I've seen a kernel panic but it happens. It's always a good idea to be cautious about what you put into the system.

 

It's the EyeTV hardware and software.

I have a Pinnacle HD Stick "TV For Mac" USB video recorder and use the pro version of the EyeTV software.

It is guaranteed to kernel panic a Mac Pro within a day or so of firing it up.

This is a well known problem and I've talked to several users who have bought USB video and now can't use it.

It's probably a combination of Apple USB layer bugs and bugs in the Elgato USB drivers that comes with EyeTV.

Several people have filed trouble tickets with Elgato, but from what I've heard they rarely even resond. They haven't responded to me either.

It's too bad too, because it was nice to have when it worked.

 

So would that be a specific, "Mac Pro" issue?

I bought their EyeTV Hybrid last MWSF and ran it just about 24/7 in my MBP for at least four months without any troubles.

 

It's the EyeTV/Drivers

I have had a EyeTV Hybrid for about 6 months. It will cause a kernal panic sooner or later on my Mac, usually when I am doing something over the USB bus (mouse, drive, iPod/iTunes). The following typical console error log would seem to support this:
0x4a55bfc8 : 0x19b21c (0x0 0x0 0x19e0b5 0x96fa4a8) Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0x0
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI(2.7.7)@0xbeb000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(2.7.7)@0x536000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x557000
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(2.7.7)@0x536000

I have gotten zero support from elgato so at this point I run at my own risk until I can find a more reliable product to replace. Too bad, I like their s/w but I won't buy anything from them again.