Can't get past kernel panics on startup

Like the title says, I'm unable to get past kernel panics on startup. I know next to nothing about the technical side of computers, so I'll just explain the whole process of what I've gone through. Earlier today I got a kernel panic after waking my computer from sleep. I restarted and everything was fine. I probably should have looked in to the cause of the panic, but I just went on using the computer as normal. Later, I returned to the computer, woke it from sleep, and got another kernel panic. I restarted, and my computer got to the Apple logo and gray spinning wheel when it froze. No kernel panic, just a frozen wheel. So I shut it down, restarted it again, and this time I got to just a gray screen (I don't remember if the Apple logo had shown up or not, but there was no spinning wheel). It hung on that screen for a while, then the fans started running like they were trying to take off a jet engine, so I shut it down. I tried restarting it once more, and it got to the spinning wheel screen when another kernel panic happened. I restarted the computer, and tried this a few more times, getting kernel panics each time. So I let it rest. A few minutes later I tried it again. This time it got even further, and I was pretty hopeful that I'd at least get the computer running again. It got past the gray spinning wheel, to the blue screen that usually shows up before the "cosmic wallpaper" and login screen. At that point it hung on that blue screen, and the jet engine sound started up. Now I take out my 10.5 instal disc. I back up with Time Machine, so I'm just going to hope reinstalling and restoring from Time Machine works out. I stick in my 10.5 disc, hold down the 'c' key and start up the iMac. Eventually it gets to the spinning wheel screen and a kernel panic. That's where I am now. Any help? I have a big paper due on Tuesday, so there's a ticking clock.
Thanks a lot
Mike

Hi - I have a similar problem here, running snow leopard 10.6. I am also not technical.
I went out & left my mac on, and when I got home it had switched itself off and on restart I got to the grey screen + Apple icon. Unfortunately I have never backed up my data!! Tried starting in safe mode (holding Shift key) and get the following message every time I try this:
panic (cpu 0 caller 0x560d25): "Unable to find driver for this platform: \"APCI\".n" e/SourceCache/xnu/xnu_1504.9.37/iokit/Kernel/IOPlatformExpert.cpp:1389
Debugger called:<panic>
Backtrace (CPU0),Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
BDS process name corresponding to current thread: Unknown
Mac OS version: Not yet set
Kernel Version: Darwin Kernel Version 10.7.0: Sat Jan 29 15:17:16 PST 2011; root: xnu-1504.9.37~1/RELEASE_I386
I have tried booting from the Leopard disc but can't do a repair as it doesn't seem that it can find the Mac hard disc. Have also tried starting holding the <option> key and get a Hardisc icon displayed with an arrow beneath, and when clicked a progress bar appears for maybe 30 seconds, then disappears & it just carries on in grey screen mode with spinning wheet & Apple icon.
I want to know if I just have to concede that I have lost my data and need to reinstall the OS, or it could be worth taking to a Mac repair agent to try to retrieve it

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Can't get past Kernel Panic!

I left my macbook running acquistion yesterday for about 2 hours and when I returned I could not wake it from sleep. I forced a shutdown holding the power button and now every time I turn on the macbook I am instructed to restart it, in several different languages. This screen comes up just after the "ping" when I turn it on and after the apple logo appears.
So far I have tried taking the battery out and holding the power button down for 5 seconds. Resetting the PRAM with "apple" "option" "p" and "r". Restarting in safe mode holding the "shift" key. Attempting to reboot from the instal CD disk 1 holding either the "option" key, the "x" key or the "c" key - when I do this the spinning gear appears for about 90 seconds and then reverts back to the restart kernel panic screen. I have also tried starting from the power source alone without the battery inseted. No Luck. And I ran a check of the hardware, holdig dowm the "d" key on start up with the disk inserted. No problems found.
I have no other external devices attached and I have made no modifactions to my Core 2 duo macbook that I got out of the box 3 weeks ago.
I am going to take it down to the store tomorrow unless anyone can think of a fix I have not yet tried.
Thank you for your help!

Boot from your Snow Leopard DVD. If you still get the kernel panic, then you have a major hardware problem. Take it in for service.
If you can boot successfully from the Snow Leopard DVD:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Now, boot the computer into Safe Mode and operate for a while to see if the kernel panics cease. You can
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on diagnosing kernel panics. Also, see OS X- How to log a kernel panic. Locate the panic log and post it here for us to examine.
OS X- About kernel panics

I'm getting a kernel panic on startup after restore hd

Long story made short...installed Google Music to use with my new phone...next day Mac running slow, left it running while I was out, came home to frozen screen...booted in safe mode and clicked off everything that was running in background. Tried to reboot and it kept shutting down when reaching grey screen. (I orginally had leopard and upgraded to snow leopard) got my OSX (leopard) install cd and booted to disc, disk utilities and check disc...originally would only let me verify, which failed, then unmounted and was able to get repair disc...unable to repair. I erased hd and then restored from my time machine backup, now when I boot I get kernel panic on startup. I'm running of external hd which I formatted and installed leopard essential software. So my question is, is my HD shot? Are there other step I can take? I can't afford to bring this in to someone. This is most of what my screen says when I boot:
Panic(cpu 1 caller 0x47f5ad): "Process 1 exec of /sbin/launchd failed, errno 8\n"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-1504 . 15 . 3/bsd/kern/kern_exec.c.3145
Debugger called: <painic>
Backtrace (cpu1), Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
and the a list of numbers....
any and all help would be appreciated to help me resolve this

Bump, can anyone help?

Crash while installing 10.5.8 DVD; now gan't get past kernel panic :(

Apple Care sent two DVDs to upgrade iMac (the one our kids use for school) from OS X 10.4: a 10.5 DVD, which installed just fine, and a 10.5.8 DVD, which froze at "52% complete" with "14 minutes" to go.
I checked the install logs, which showed it had been idle for 10 minutes...then 20...then 30...then 40 minutes.
Could move mouse and access Installer functions, but could not Quit Installer, could not Force Quit, could not open other programs...so powered down.
Now I get the kernel panic message and "You need to restart computer." Cannot get past it. Cannot boot in safe mode. Hope not to have lost all data, but at teh very least I hope to get it back functioning.
Help us, please and thank you!

If you have space on your hard drive then try this:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Power PC G5, refuses to get past Kernel panics

Hi everyone,
I apologise as I've seen similiar questions, but I have spent two day looking through these questions and following their advice to no resolution. So if you can, please give any guidance to solve this annoying problem.
Symptoms:
On start up once the grey apple appears the "your computer needs to restart" message appears. Which I discovered ment there was a Kernel problem either software or hardware.
What I've done so far(in order):
-Completed several Hardware tests (booting from CD) and getting a clean bill of health each time.
-Resetting the PRAM
-Pressing the SMU button
-Inserted a new 3.6v lithium battery, as it wouldn't even start up just illuminated the startup light (so solved that problem)
-Erased the HD of the G5 using "all zeros" option, hoping to eradicate a software glitch or pref file.
-Starting up off CD OSX system that came with the computer, but refuses to get past the symptom above
-Starting up off OS X4 installer disk, but results in same symptoms as above.
What I think might of caused it
Microsoft office 2004 update, it hadn't completely installed before crashing the finder; I restarted the finder. And shut down the computer. On start up symptoms above started.
Please help, I'm going nuts

Deecree-
If you haven't tested the RAM yet that would be
something to do. Even reseating the sticks can do the
trick.
Thanks guys, I reseated the DIMMs in there slots and swapped them around. Tried restarting off CD = no luck. So looking for new memory online on another computer I see it starting up off the CD!
Hurrah I hope this works, but for now thanks v much.
Also noticed other blaming the OSX firmware updates so will get the latest tiger.

My iMac has a Kernel Panic screen come up on start up and I can't get past it no matter what I try. Any help to fix this would be greatly appreciated.

My mac has a "Kernel Panic" screen come up on start up. No matter what I try I can't get past this to fix it. Any hints out there? Do I have to completely wipe my drive and re-install to fix this? I can't even back up my files before doing this as like I say I can't get past the Kernel Panic message.

There are some fairly informative articles about kernel panics...
•OS X: About kernel panics:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3742?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
Note the toggle triangles to get more info in the above article, some are
important steps, with alternative methods of accessing or performing a
suggested activity and may vary with the OS X version in use.
•Resolving Kernel Panics:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html
•Technical Note: TN2063: Understanding and Debugging Kernel Panics:
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/technotes/tn2063/_index.html
The above TN covers several technical aspects to identify & troubleshoot.
Some are above the average user needs, but still can be rather helpful.
Hopefully you can get past the kernel panic screen, there are several
ways to attempt to do that, however if the issue is hardware, a reinstall
of the OS X may not cure the underlying cause of the symptom.
Good luck & happy computing!

MBP kernel panics on startup - won't get past grey screen

So out of nowhere my unibody MBP (specs, etc below) locked up yesterday while I was watching a video using VLC. It stopped responding to anything so I held down the power button until it turned off. I waited about 10 minutes and turned it back on. Grey screen with spinning cog showed up for about a minute and then kernel panic. Held down power button until it turned off. Tried repeatedly - same results. Won't boot into Safe Mode - still get a kernel panic everytime. It will let me boot the machine into Target Disk Mode. It will boot from my Snow Leopard install disk where I ran Disk Utility and "repaired disk" and "repaired disk permissions" on both the drive and the volume. All the "repair disk" and "repair disk permissions" ended with messages in green type saying that the disk/permissions appear to be OK.
I have an external FW drive used for TM backups for the machine. A fair amount of data has been added since the last TM backup (which was less than 30 days ago) that, ideally, I'd like to not lose by resorting to restoring from a TM backup. It's not the end of the world if the last (roughly) 30 days of data/changes ends up being lost, but I'm willing to work on getting it back up and running without doing an erase and install and then restoring from a TM backup if at all possible.
Definitely if any other information or data is needed from me in order for anyone to assist, please let me know what it is and I'll do my best to provide it.
All help/assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
J
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP51.007E.B06
SMC Version (system): 1.41f2
Below is what comes up when it kernel panics at the grey screen:
panic(cpu 1 caller 0x47f5ad): "Process 1 exec of /sbin/launchd failed, errno 13\n"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-1504.15.3/bsd/kern/kern_exec.c:3145
Debugger called: <panic>
Backtrace (CPU 1), Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x51383e48 : 0x21b837 (0x5dd7fc 0x51383e7c 0x223ce1 0x0)
0x51383e98 : 0x47f5ad (0x5cf950 0x831c08 0xd 0x0)
0x51383ef8 : 0x4696d2 (0x76e1d20 0x1fe 0x736cee0 0x80000001)
0x51383f38 : 0x48fee5 (0x72b7b7c 0x50f46000 0x51383f88 0x226e2f)
0x51383f68 : 0x219432 (0x72b7b7c 0xffffff7f 0x51383f88 0x2a45c9)
0x51383fa8 : 0x2aacb4 (0xffffffff 0x1 0x22f8f5 0x227c4b)
0x51383fc8 : 0x2a1976 (0x0 0x0 0x2a17ab 0x6e24060)
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: init
Mac OS version:
Not yet set
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 10.8.0: Tue Jun 7 16:33:36 PDT 2011; root:xnu-1504.15.3~1/RELEASE_I386
System model name: MacBookPro5,1 (Mac-F42D86A9)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 69666095555

As (bad) luck would have it, I don't have the discs that came with the machine . Isn't that always the way?
At any rate, I figured that would be a suggestion and searched the web for looking to see if what I need (AHT) could possibly be downloaded. Looks like some folks have found a way/location to download AHT from the web from some of the posts I've seen, but I've come up empty handed.

Can't get past startup

I experienced a hard crash after installing some new internet software (Hermstedt DSL) and now I can't get past the startup screen. I tried a safe startup, repaired disk permissions via Disk Utility and did a Diskwarrior session to sort the directory if that was affected (it wasn't), but the problem persists. I also did a hardware test which stated nothing wrong.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I could do next? Any help hugely appreciated.

Answering my own question just in case it helps anyone:
I started up in 'safe' mode and deleted everything to do with the software. Everything starts up fine.

I installed Lion OS, after restart it gives the startup screen with my user id but no window for password entry, no matter what I do I can't get past the opening screen.

I installed Lion OS, after restart it gives the startup screen with my user id but no window for password entry, no matter what I do I can't get past the opening screen.

MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro Apple Support
Apple Support Lion
Lion Mac OS X Communities

I'm getting a kernel panic that I can't figure out

I have a power mac g4 1.25 with 1.5 ram. I'm getting a kernel panic that I can't figure out. I have changed the graphic card, ram, logic board, keyboard and mouse. It happens right when it starts and sometimes 5 minutes after I log in. I erased and reinstalled the operating system, and threw away the bootx file which I read could work, that didn't work. I have and older power mac g4 which has the same kind of hard drive, so I swapped them and the hard drive in the kernel panic computer work fine in the older Mac. I have tried to start up on the disc that came with the computer to do a hardware test but it wont last long enough to run the test. I have even started up in target disk mode and got a kernel panic. Also fixed disk permissions and verified the disk still no good. Did I miss something? I think it is the Processors but I would like to know for sure.
Please Help
Thank You

Kernal panics are usually caused by a hardware problem - frequently RAM or USB devices. When trying to troubleshoot problems, disconnect all external devices except your monitor, kbd & mouse. Do you experience the same problems?
May be a solution on one of these links.
Mac OS X Kernel Panic FAQ
Mac OS X Kernel Panic FAQ
Resolving Kernel Panics
12-Step Program to Isolate Freezes and/or Kernel Panics
 Cheers, Tom

I have a white screen with the apple logo upon startup. Then the wheel turns and the screen is white. Can't get past it.

I have a white screen with the apple logo upon startup. Then the wheel turns and the screen is white. Can't get past it.

Boot with your install disc, launch Disk Utility, and repair the boot volume.

HT2452 White screen at startup and stays?? How can I get past this?

White screen at startup and stays?? How can I get past this?

Safe Boot is perfoming a disk integrity check and repair process which may take a long time. Let it complete, though if the startup disk requires repair to begin with, it is likely already in a failed state.
If the Mac eventually starts, take that opportunity to back up your important data if you have not already done so. It may be your last.

Early 2006 iMac Kernel Panics on startup

We have recently purchased a second hand 20" iMac, and after a few days it has started to kernel panic on startup, before the Apple logo disappears. A whirring when it begins to turn on has also appeared.
I shall photograph the kernel panic message if it helps. The local Apple Store have suggested that since there is a greater time period before the Apple Logo appears, the fault might be something to do with the motherboard/hard drive. Are there any suggestions here which may help us?
Thank you.

KimGale wrote:
The kernel panic occurs before I can log in.
here's some to read up on:
_*Resolving Kernel Panics*_ and here _*http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2546*_.
for OS X 10.6 specifically, see this: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8965.html.
also
_*What is a kernel panic*_,
_*Technical Note TN2063: Understanding and Debugging Kernel Panics*_,
_*Mac OS X Kernel Panic FAQ*_,
and
_*Tutorial: Avoiding and eliminating Kernel panics*_
The disk is in there, and now we can't get it out
FWIW,
Kappy wrote:
Five ways to eject a stuck CD or DVD from the optical drive
Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways:
1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the left mouse button until the disc ejects.
2. Press the Eject button on your keyboard.
3. Click on the Eject button in the menubar.
4. Press COMMAND-E.
5. If none of the above work try this:
Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following:
/usr/bin/drutil eject.
If this fails then try this:
Boot the computer into single-user mode. At the prompt enter the same command as used above. To restart the computer enter "reboot" at the prompt without quotes.
JGG

DVD drive broken, Mac G5 having kernel panics at startup

After nearly 5 years of steady, trouble free use, my G5 iMac started acting up a few days ago. I get what I think are kernel panics at startup. I am usually able to get it running after a few restarts but I am worried. My DVD drive became unreliable a month after my 1 year warranty expired. For some reason it won't start up with the install disks that came with the cpu but will bootup from my DiskWarrior DVD. I tried rebuilding the directory with DiskWarrior but I got the blue screen when it was almost finished. I've decided to do and Archive and install because I'm sure my problem stems from programs I installed recently. Is it possible to do the Archive and Install from my Intell Powerbook which is running the same version software. I've tried it several times, inserting the iMac install disk on my PB with my iMac connected in Target Disk mode, but I keep getting the message that the software can't be installed on this computer (the PB). Is there another way I can perform an A&I, I don't have enough space on my iDisk to use SuperDuper to create a disk image. I'm almost at the panic stage here since I use my computer for work and I'm afraid it won't start up at all at some point.
I've performed all the usual steps, repair permissions and used Disk Utility on my Firewire connect PB to repair the disk. One odd thing is FontExplorerX all of a sudden quit on me two days ago (which has never happened in the 4 years I've used it) and told me to download it again, which I did.
Message was edited by: e. jones

Hi e. jones, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Other way around, with the iMac's Install Disc in the PB, boot the PB into T mode, boot the iMac with the Option key held down, wait for the Install Disk in the PB to show up as a boot option on the iMac.
But I think you have more serious problems. And, first you need to move some things off the iMac to make room for an A&I, you really need an external FW Drive right away.

Kernel panic on startup

Kernel panic occurred on startup last week. Since then have tried the following-
Removed all periferals apart from Apple keyboard and mouse.
Tried each of the 512Mb ram chips on their own.
Booted from and ran successfully-
DiskWarrior - clear
System Disc, Disc Utilities - clear
Tech Tool Pro - clear
Apple Hardware test - clear
Ran Memtest on ram, came out OK
Wrote zeros to hard disc then installed a new OSX 10.4.6. Still get kernel panic on startup.
Checked LED's on logic board while starting up from internal start button. 3 light up before kernel panic. Not sure if this test indicates good logic board, power supply or not?
Can boot OK in safe boot mode. Again should that indicate logic board and hard disc OK?
Help?

If all three of the LEDs light up, that means that power is getting to the places it should, but even if the logic board is getting power, that doesn't mean that it is functioning properly. You have performed all the tests you can (thanks for listing them) and nothing shows up. Call Apple and make an appointment to take it in and have a genius look at it, or, if you have Apple Care, call them and see what they suggest.

Can't get past kernel panics on startup

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