Kernel panic with brand new Mac Pro and a faulty hard drive.

[Tyndalltkd]

hi everyone,
i do apologise if this sort of thing has been posted before, but there are so many small problems i figured it was easier to make one post not a million.

I am new to Mac, and purchased a 2011 Mac Pro no more than two months ago.
I want to learn the ins and out of Mac, because im pretty competent with windows, and want to know how to fix problems when they arise.

When i first got the Mac it worked for three days, then continuously looped at startup. i took it to an apple repairer and they said the Hard Drive had failed.... in THREE DAYS. so i got a replacement, after a month of waiting.
so when i got it home, it was a little slower but okay.
Then the trackpad would randomly stop working for minutes at a time, and i would have to force restart, because there was no other way to get it to respond.

This happened easily 10 times in two weeks, and then sometimes when i started it up it would make the chime sound twice and flicker a little, but it wouldnt start up slower or unusually.
or it would loop startup two or three times until it stopped and started up normally.

Then three days ago i got a notification from my virus software (Sophos antivirus) saying i had a virus, and i cleaned it up (although im still skeptical its gone.).

NOW three days later i start it up, and get a Kernel Panic screen.
The message read that i should restart, so i did and everything was fine.
But since then my computer has been considerably slower, and i get the spinning colourful wheel alot, which never used to happen.
THEN i was looking into fixing the cause of the KP and tried to do a hardware test with the disk, but i tried the extended test and the normal one, but each time the Mac froze as soon as it began testing, and all i could do was force shut down, which i DO NOT like to do.

Can someone please help me?
i want my Mac to run like new again, and i'm sick of silly problems that are seeming to snowball on a two month old computer.
I have barely installed any software, as its almost new, and the only windows software i have it Microsoft Word for Mac.(if that helps at all, although i get the feeling its not software issues.

thank you to anyone that has something that could help.
if it comes to it i have a backup of my Mac and can erase and start again, but if its a hardware issue that wont help
Please help ??
xxx

 

[chrismacguy]

hi everyone,
i do apologise if this sort of thing has been posted before, but there are so many small problems i figured it was easier to make one post not a million.

I am new to Mac, and purchased a 2011 Mac Pro no more than two months ago.
I want to learn the ins and out of Mac, because im pretty competent with windows, and want to know how to fix problems when they arise.

When i first got the Mac it worked for three days, then continuously looped at startup. i took it to an apple repairer and they said the Hard Drive had failed.... in THREE DAYS. so i got a replacement, after a month of waiting.
so when i got it home, it was a little slower but okay.
Then the trackpad would randomly stop working for minutes at a time, and i would have to force restart, because there was no other way to get it to respond.

This happened easily 10 times in two weeks, and then sometimes when i started it up it would make the chime sound twice and flicker a little, but it wouldnt start up slower or unusually.
or it would loop startup two or three times until it stopped and started up normally.

Then three days ago i got a notification from my virus software (Sophos antivirus) saying i had a virus, and i cleaned it up (although im still skeptical its gone.).

NOW three days later i start it up, and get a Kernel Panic screen.
The message read that i should restart, so i did and everything was fine.
But since then my computer has been considerably slower, and i get the spinning colourful wheel alot, which never used to happen.
THEN i was looking into fixing the cause of the KP and tried to do a hardware test with the disk, but i tried the extended test and the normal one, but each time the Mac froze as soon as it began testing, and all i could do was force shut down, which i DO NOT like to do.

Can someone please help me?
i want my Mac to run like new again, and i'm sick of silly problems that are seeming to snowball on a two month old computer.
I have barely installed any software, as its almost new, and the only windows software i have it Microsoft Word for Mac.(if that helps at all, although i get the feeling its not software issues.

thank you to anyone that has something that could help.
if it comes to it i have a backup of my Mac and can erase and start again, but if its a hardware issue that wont help
Please help ??
xxx

When you say the Apple Hardware Test Froze, how long did you give it to "respond"? - On my Mac Pro it takes it a little while to respond once running the test (Think a pause of maybe 2 or 3 minutes without it updating the UI while its testing). Try running it again, and leaving it for a few minutes - so if it doesnt respond in say 10 minutes, then its definitely a big hardware issue, otherwise it might just be the Apple Hardware Test environment being a little clunky.

Also Word for the Mac is not Windows software. In fact the Mac had Word before Windows did.

 

[Tyndalltkd]

hi chris,
yeah i just did it again and left it for easily after an hour, and absolutely nothing changed.
This was on the basic test that apparently takes three minutes.
ive heard that sometimes the AHT isnt the current version and it can be a problem. even though apple sends it with the mac, apparently its a common problem. Could this be it?

Basically i click the 'start test' and nothing happens after that. My trackpad freezes and everything.
and i cant quit it by pressing Command and " like the screen says, so im guessing that means its not responding at all?

the closest apple store in 4 hours away, and other than that i have local technicians that are approved to sell and fix apple products, so mabey thats my best bet (they are the ones that gave me the first repair though).

Would a complete erase and restart from the Mac OSX disk be worth a shot?

 

[GGJstudios]

Then three days ago i got a notification from my virus software (Sophos antivirus) saying i had a virus, and i cleaned it up (although im still skeptical its gone.)

If you had a virus, it was a Windows virus and cannot affect Mac OS X in any way. Also, Sophos is not recommended, as it can actually increase your Mac's vulnerability. I recommend you uninstall Sophos. You don't need antivirus to protect Mac OS X from malware; only some education and common sense. No viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any, since it was released 10 years ago. The handful of trojans that exist can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install:

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

NOW three days later i start it up, and get a Kernel Panic screen.
The message read that i should restart, so i did and everything was fine.

"You need to restart your computer" (kernel panic) message appears (Mac OS X v10.5, 10.6)

Resolution
Restart your Mac with a Safe Boot and see if the kernel panic happens again

In most cases, kernel panics are not caused by an issue with your Mac. They are most likely caused by an issue external to your Mac. If the kernel panic doesn't happen again within a few weeks, you don't need to troubleshoot further.