Mac mini Kernel Panic?

[ingenious]

Hi-

My friend recently purchased his first Mac and loves it and the silver iPod mini he got with it. Unfortunately, the iPod hard drive died and now after we turned on ICS for something we were working on, a kernel panic has been occuring every time he connects to the internet.... not always at the same time, sometimes within an hour or within in 30 seconds. He's got Tiger 10.4.2 and a dial-up connection on his 1.25 GHz Rev. B Mac mini.

Any ideas?

What about the iPod? it makes a weird, almost like "alarm" sound. Makes me think it's the hard drive. Also, we've looked on the iPod mini support pages and have tried everything it says to do. Looks like the HD is shot.

Did he just get two lemons?!?!

Thanks.

 

[crazzyeddie]

I would def call Apple Care.

 

[ingenious]

I would def call Apple Care.

We're going to, but this isn't normal with Tiger is it? I mean, I've had some weird things happe on my new iMac G5 20" (Rev. B), but not a continual kernel panic, just the machine actually crashing because of iMovie and DVD player..... now isn't that supposed to be impossible?

 

[trainguy77]

If it is a true Kernel Panic(screen comes up that says to restart) then it normally is a hardware problem. Have you added any RAM after it was bought?

 

[baummer]

If it is a true Kernel Panic(screen comes up that says to restart) then it normally is a hardware problem. Have you added any RAM after it was bought?

Not always. Sometimes it can be a software program that doesn't work well with the current system configuration, so it craps out before it messes up your computer. Don't think of KP's has always a bad thing; sometimes it's a good thing, along the lines of a preventative measure.

 

[robbieduncan]

How are you connecting to the internet? I seem to remember a thread where a guy kept getting panics when he connected to to the internet. The Console log seemed to be pointing the blame at the modem drivers...

 

[blodwyn]

If it is a true Kernel Panic(screen comes up that says to restart) then it normally is a hardware problem. Have you added any RAM after it was bought?

Can also be caused by a USB peripheral. My scanner used to crash my iMac once per week until I figured out what was causing the panic and unplugged it.

 

[ingenious]

It's a true kernel panic, albeit a GUI-style one, not a black screen with lines of text running down it (Which, in Panther, I actually got by crashing the modem driver.... I wonder...) So anyway, it's a dial-up connection, mostly used to connect to link. Connected to USB: apple keyboard/mouse, iPod mini (but not when the kernel panics occur; as you can see from above, it's dead) HP Deskjet 5740.

Just a thought: if it's not the modem drivers (if it is, why did it start after he's had it for 3 months?), could it be the VGA to DVI converter? Someone told me that could short the system, but I haven't seen any proof of that.

He's kind of frustrated, as can be expected, so all help is appreciated.

edit: fixed link to more accurate page

 

[ingenious]

Not always. Sometimes it can be a software program that doesn't work well with the current system configuration, so it craps out before it messes up your computer. Don't think of KP's has always a bad thing; sometimes it's a good thing, along the lines of a preventative measure.

He's using Safari to surf and the only non-Apple applications he uses are Print Shop for Mac and Office 2004.... but I can't imagine that they'd be open every single time he's on the internet, although it's possible.

 

[ingenious]

If it is a true Kernel Panic(screen comes up that says to restart) then it normally is a hardware problem. Have you added any RAM after it was bought?

No, it's just the stock 512 MB stick.

 

[blodwyn]

It's a true kernel panic, albeit a GUI-style one, not a black screen with lines of text running down it (Which, in Panther, I actually got by crashing the modem driver.... I wonder...) So anyway, it's a dial-up connection, mostly used to connect to link. Connected to USB: apple keyboard/mouse, iPod mini (but not when the kernel panics occur; as you can see from above, it's dead) HP Deskjet 5740.

Just a thought: if it's not the modem drivers (if it is, why did it start after he's had it for 3 months?), could it be the VGA to DVI converter? Someone told me that could short the system, but I haven't seen any proof of that.

He's kind of frustrated, as can be expected, so all help is appreciated.

edit: fixed link to more accurate page

Have you looked at the crash log to see if there are any clues there?

 

[ingenious]

Have you looked at the crash log to see if there are any clues there?

No, I haven't yet... that would be a good idea though...