My very first Kernel Panic!?!

R

radical

Registered
Dear Mr. or Miss Tech Person,

I had my very first kernel panic today. It was quite disturbing to have my Mac suddenly and without reason hijacked. I got the grey screen of death saying that I need to restart my computer. As if my happy Mac suddenly turned evil on me.

Here's the panic.log from my Console:

Fri Oct 26 15:16:47 2007
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x0015F4A0): tcp_unlock: so=25b3c10 usecount=ffffffff

Latest stack backtrace for cpu 0:
Backtrace:
0x00095698 0x00095BB0 0x0002683C 0x0015F4A0 0x00292210 0x0028F1C0 0x00281CA8 0x0025E2D0
0x0025E4D4 0x0025C5CC 0x0025C32C 0x002A9BF4 0x000ABE30 0x01E58720
Proceeding back via exception chain:
Exception state (sv=0x2FE0A780)
PC=0x9001456C; MSR=0x0200F030; DAR=0x0124D000; DSISR=0x42000000; LR=0x907AB52C; R1=0xBFFFED50; XCP=0x00000030 (0xC00 - System call)

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.3.0: Mon Oct 3 20:04:04 PDT 2005; root:xnu-792.6.22.obj~2/RELEASE_PPC
*********

Is one of my dual CPU's dying? At the time, I was only using Opera to check Gmail and My Yahoo.

Please help. Thank you.
 
It has only happened once, and hasn't occurred again. The tech reassured me that it isn't very serious since it's not a recurring problem.

He recommended that I backup my hard drive that's been making some occasional clacking noises; which I'll be doing soon. Other than that, I don't have any other leads as to why the kernel panic happened.

This was the first kernel panic I've ever had in my three years of using this computer. It freaked me out, but I guess I should be thankful for the amazing stability I've enjoyed so far.

Hoping it doesn't happen again. Fingers crossed.
 
Kernel panics are invariably associated with hardware . Have you recently attached a new external devices such as a USB ADSL modem?
 
The tech gave good advice. Hard disks that make clicking sounds are usually on their way to failure, so definitely back up.

Kernel panics are weird and scary, but they're not always a sign of a serious problem. In my 6 years using OS X, I've had one or two out of the blue with no recurrence.

If you're worried, you could run the hardware test disc, which should have come with your Mac along with the OS X installation disc. It will perform diagnostics on your RAM and logic board and things like that.
 
The only hardware I've recently attached is a new Razer Pro mouse. I recommend it, by the way.

I just ordered an external Freecom Hard Disk Pro, and as soon as it arrives, I'll be backing up both my internal drives, in case the clacking turns into disk failure. I thought Disk Utility and each disk's S.M.A.R.T. status would alert me to imminent failures...

No other kernel panics so far :) If I get another one, I'll run the hardware test. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
patrean said:
Kernel panics are invariably associated with hardware.
Click to expand...

Not true. They _generally_ are associated with hardware –*unless you're using unsanity's APE and haxies. Those are known to wreak havoc under certain circumstances. The *FIRST* you should do when you see a kernel panic (after restarting, I mean) is to completely deinstall any haxies as well as completely remove APE. Any trace of it.
Then restart again and remove all USB/FireWire hardware except the keyboard and mouse you can't operate the computer without, i.e. the out-of-the-box hardware config.
Only then do you have a clean system to test.

It can't be stressed enough how important it is to mistrust unsanity/APE/haxies. This is not FUD, btw. – unsanity has been denying any fault for crashes, quirks and kernel panics for years, yet there's never been a year in Mac OS X history without unsanity having to fix their products for just that: Causing crashes, quirks and kernel panics. Their software hacks the system in ways OS X can't always recover from. Believe me: Some of their haxies are brilliant from idea to how they look, but they're not safe. They're inherently dangerous for system stability.

Sorry for the long message, but it *MUST* be stressed. Again and again.
 
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