Kernel Panic in Japan - Please Help!

Question

Hi all,
I just recently moved to Japan and my wife and I just bought iPhones 2 days ago. Before the Kernel message came, I was getting messages on the computer that read that 'sync' something was having trouble and did I want to report the problem?... etc. I assumed that it had something to do with mobile me which we just started working with a few days ago. So I wondered if I needed to update the software. I started to do so and it asked me to restart. After I restart it tells me that it needs a start up disk or something like that... what I usually do at this point is restart the computer and hold down the option key, which is what I did... then something new happened. This popped up:
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001A9C68): Kernel trap at 0x00561b56, type 14=page fault, registers:
CRO: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x0006508a, CR3: 0x00fdd000, CR4: 0x000006e0
EAX: 0x0006508a, EBX: 0x00000000, ECX: 0x00000000, EDX: 0x00be5f76
CR2: 0x0006508a, EBP: 0x117c7d48, ESI: 0x117c7ddc, EDI: 0x117c7cb4
EFL: 0x00010202, EIP: 0x00561b56, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x69080010
Debugger called: <panic>
Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
(13 more lines of code here - I'll add it later if it's needed for someone to figure out what the problem is.)
Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: Unknown
Mac OS version:
Not yet set
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 9.6.0: Mon Nov 24 17:37:00 PST 2008; ro(the rest is covered by the 'need to restart' message)
So here I am. 5 days old in Japan (I'll be here for 3 years). I'm hoping that I'll get some info here on how to fix it myself. Otherwise I have to take it into the Tokyo store which is very very far away.
Thanks for looking,
Chris

Answer 1

HI Chris,
Kernel panics are sometimes causes by hardware issues. Probably a good idea at this point to check the boot disk for errors.
Open Disk Utility, in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder.
Select your disk, and click First Aid.
Click Verify Disk.
If the disk needs repairs, do one of the following:
Insert your Mac OS X Install disc in your computer’s optical drive or an optical drive connected to your computer, and then restart your computer. When you hear the startup tone, hold down the C key until you see the progress indicator, which looks like a spinning gear.
Follow the onscreen instructions until the menu bar appears with the Utilities menu in it, choose Utilities > Disk Utility, click First Aid, and then click Repair Disk.
Checking a hard disk to see if it’s going to fail
You can check the health of your hard disk by checking its Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) status in Disk Utility. Most disk drives include S.M.A.R.T. hardware. Developed by IBM, S.M.A.R.T. hardware allows hard disks to test themselves for potential problems.
Starting up in “safe mode” may help you to diagnose problems you’re having with your computer.
To start up in safe mode:
Shut down your computer and wait 10 seconds.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold down the Shift key.
You should press the Shift key as soon as possible after your hear the startup tone, but not before.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple logo and progress indicator (spinning gear).
To leave safe mode, restart the computer normally without holding down any keys during startup.
More help here resolving kernel panics; http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html
If the boot disk appears to be ok, you could try installing the 10.5.6 combo update available here;
http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10-5-6_ComboUpdate
About the Mac OS 10.5.6 update
Carolyn