SOCD report detected: (iBoot async abort)

[tony359]

Hi there,

My Mac Mini has crashed a few times over the past few months with the below error:

SOCD report detected: (iBoot async abort)

It's always when the system is very overloaded, lots of apps running, large SWAP file. Usually while having to deal with graphics, videos playing etc. The mouse stops working and a few seconds later the Mini reboots.

On the last event (today) I was rendering a simple video in DaVinci Resolve which had AI Upscale though so it was pushing the system a bit more.

I've read online this error indicates a HW fault with the SOC. However, it happens rarely. I edit videos on a regular basis and the system is pushed on a regular basis. But 99% of the time it's fine. In fact, besides last time, I saw that error when doing simple things like moving a window around - yet when the system was very much overloaded with (too many!) apps running.

I think it happened 3 or maybe 4 times in 6 months. I believe all the previous times it was when I either updated or fiddled with the DisplayLink drivers which are responsible for driving two of my 3 monitors.

I also have an aftermarket internal SSD in the mini. I use MacFanControl to keep the temp of the mini lower than Apple would like.

My question is: does this error definitely indicate a HW fault or could be be some software triggering it? My feeling is that if there was a HW fault, I'd be experiencing much more often and when the system is under stress.

Is there any troubleshooting that could be done to find out more?

Thanks!

 

[maflynn]

Its a hardware error, and from what I could google, if it happened only once and not again, then its nothing to worry about, but if its reoccurring, then its likely a result of a component failure.

Since you replaced the SSD nands with an aftermarket alternative, its posible those could be failing. Did you try putting the original nand back into to the mini and re-test?

I would do that for testing purposes, but also before taking it back to Apple. Its highly likely they'll just say its due to unauthorized/unapproved components and refuse to repair it.

 

[tony359]

Thanks - yes that’s also my understanding.

I haven’t tried with the original SSD yet as it’s only 256GB and I can’t do much with it. Unfortunately- or thankfully- this error only happens every several weeks or months so I can’t possibly use this machine with only 256 GB of storage.

I could put the original SSD back and then use an external SSD to boot macOS but you need to be wealthy to buy an SSD today.

The thing is that I can work with Resolve and stress the system for weeks and nothing happens.
That’s why I was wondering whether there was some additional, more deep troubleshooting that could be done.

Does the macOS have some built-in diagnostics that could be run overnight?

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote above:
"I haven’t tried with the original SSD yet as it’s only 256GB and I can’t do much with it."

Your post is the example as to why I've been posting for months in the forums that "256gb was no longer enough" for a modern Mac, and that 512gb was becoming "the bare minimum" (1tb is better).

Apple has apparently gotten the message, as they've dropped the 256gb Mini from the product lineup and gone to 512gb.

ALSO... how much RAM do you have?
If it's 16gb... that's probably "not enough", either.

Sounds like you need more RAM and a larger internal SSD...

 

[!!!]

Sounds like you need more RAM and a larger internal SSD...

Insufficient RAM is not going to cause hardware faults. And it sounds like that's exactly what OP did, they got a larger SSD.

 

[Fishrrman]

!!! wrote:
"Insufficient RAM is not going to cause hardware faults"

OP had included this in his original post:
"It's always when the system is very overloaded, lots of apps running, large SWAP file."

Large swap file?
Loads of apps running?
Booted from an EXTERNAL drive?
Perhaps "hitting the drive" too much (with all that swapping), and running into in/out overloads?

IF the OP had enough RAM so that his Mac (and stuff running) didn't NEED to "keep VM swapping" all the time, that would be considerably less taxing on his hardware...?

(on a personal note, I have VM swapping DISABLED on my M4 Mini. The OS can't write a swap file to the drive...)

 

[Ben J.]

Error: SOCD report detected: (AP watchdog expired) - M1MacBook Air

Hi everybody, So I bought my M1 Macbook Air (16GB) three months ago. Since then the MacBook has been working more or less flawlessly with the exception of a freeze and restart and the error "SOCD report detected: (AP watchdog expired)" a couple of days ago. After that day it did not happen...

forums.macrumors.com

M1 Mac SOCD report detected: (AP watchdog expired)

https://piunikaweb.com/2021/07/16/mac-mini-macbook-m1-users-report-socd-report-detected-error/ I have to admit that Apple needs to work hard on their own chip to prevent a lot of crashes. My M1 Mac mini crashed so many times since last year btw. And this time, it was different. I got SOCD...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[tony359]

Thanks @Ben J.

It looks like the error could be caused by literally anything so I am not particularly concerned as it doesn't seem to happen when I stress the system.

@Fishrrman

Don't worry, I understand what you mean. I don't normally run the system at 110% - though sometimes I do and I acknowledge the consequences.

I have the Base M4 so 16GB. For Resolve, it's enough and works well for me. Obviously if I then have 40 tabs and 5 other apps open, the SWAP file grows 🙂

What I was trying to understand was whether the "SOCD report detected: (iBoot async abort)" error was 100% a hardware level error or if it could be caused by software. It looks like nobody really knows but it seems that it's not necessarily a HW issue.

As a start, I think I'll move away from my dock: I use it to connect 2 monitors (the third one is directly plugged into the Mini) and it's using DisplayLink technology. The driver is compressing the image real time and I feel it has an impact on performance. Also, the driver sometimes can use up to 1GB of RAM and I don't really like that. I'll go with 2 extra USB-C to HDMI adaptors instead.

Thanks for now!