Got a Kernel Panic...should i panic?

[daneoni]

Last night my iPod finished charging but i left it in the dock (safely disconnected) for some time whilst i continued to use my PB. When done, i decided to listen to some tunes while on my bed and proceed to pluck the iPod from the dock and close my laptop.

I plucked the iPod and proceed to close the computer, but as i reach out to close, i see the kernel panic message pop up asking me to restart. I do so and repeat the whole process leading to the panic but didn't get another and haven't had one since.

However, i was wondering if i should be worried, i.e are kernel panics ever a one-time/one-off incident or is there something wrong with my machine?.

PS i checked the panic log and i think it said something about a USB HCI error thingy......Any thought?

 

[mad jew]

Generally I let the first one go but make a mental note of what I was doing/using at the time.

 

[PlaceofDis]

as mad jew says...

the first one isn't a big deal. it happens.
if they become a re-occrring event then be worried and look into it more.
a one-time event isn't anything to be concerned about though. your system could likely have just been confused.

 

[mad jew]

Of course, if you're bored you can try logging it.

 

[Shadow]

Its fine. OS X does still crash, just not as often (if ever) as Windows XP. If it happens on a continous basis, something is probably wrong.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

correct me if im wrong, but aren't kernel panics related to the PRAM?

If so, restart, and hold down Command+Option+P+R. Your computer will make the bong noise again, and then let it boot normally. I don't know if its coincidence or resetting the PRAM, but i don't get another panic after i reset PRAM.

by the way, the thread title should have been "Got a Kernel Panic... should i panic?"

 

[daneoni]

correct me if im wrong, but aren't kernel panics related to the PRAM?

If so, restart, and hold down Command+Option+P+R. Your computer will make the bong noise again, and then let it boot normally. I don't know if its coincidence or resetting the PRAM, but i don't get another panic after i reset PRAM.

by the way, the thread title should have been "Got a Kernel Panic... should i panic?"

Good one. Thanx for all the replies, i'll just see how things go. Cheers

 

[mad jew]

I don't recall ever seeing a kernel panic from PRAM faults but I guess a reset couldn't hurt.

Are you sure you don't mean RAM, rather than PRAM?

 

[imacintel]

correct me if im wrong, but aren't kernel panics related to the PRAM?

If so, restart, and hold down Command+Option+P+R. Your computer will make the bong noise again, and then let it boot normally. I don't know if its coincidence or resetting the PRAM, but i don't get another panic after i reset PRAM.

by the way, the thread title should have been "Got a Kernel Panic... should i panic?"

No, their usually(if hardware related) RAM problems.

EDIT: Damn you, Jew!

 

[IJ Reilly]

I'm not in favor of letting even a single one of these go by without some follow-up, for two reasons. First, they are nearly always an indication of a hardware fault of some kind, and hardware faults usually aren't random don't heal on their own. Second, any hard restart can create hard drive directory damage, which also does not heal on its own. So even on a first or single occurrence of a kernel panic, I'd recommend at a minimum reseating all of the Firewire and USB connections and running fsck in Single User Mode.

 

[daneoni]

I'm not in favor of letting even a single one of these go by without some follow-up, for two reasons. First, they are nearly always an indication of a hardware fault of some kind, and hardware faults usually aren't random don't heal on their own. Second, any hard restart can create hard drive directory damage, which also does not heal on its own. So even on a first or single occurrence of a kernel panic, I'd recommend at a minimum reseating all of the Firewire and USB connections and running fsck in Single User Mode.

How do you run fsck again?

 

[IJ Reilly]

How do you run fsck again?

Restart, hold down cmd-s until you see the black screen with white characters. At the prompt, type:

fsck -fy [include the space, then return]

If directory damage is found and repaired, it's a good idea to run fsck again.

At the prompt, type:

reboot [return]

 

[daneoni]

Thanx, came back with no issues

 

[maxrobertson]

correct me if im wrong, but aren't kernel panics related to the PRAM?

If so, restart, and hold down Command+Option+P+R. Your computer will make the bong noise again, and then let it boot normally. I don't know if its coincidence or resetting the PRAM, but i don't get another panic after i reset PRAM.

by the way, the thread title should have been "Got a Kernel Panic... should i panic?"

You're wrong. At least mainly. It could have resulted from that, but if it's not a constant thing, it wouldn't be the PRAM.