Kernel Panic when quitting Pro Tools

Question

now i KNOW PT6.9.2 is not yet 100% certified for 10.4.5, but that never stoped that from worked flawlessly. it has worked perfectly for a while now. then, i installed a plug-in called master verb. it made al lthe names of my plug-ins on the mix and edit windows look all scrambly. also, it caused it to kernel panic upon quitting a few times. now, i looked at the installer log, and got rid of every single file it put into my system (which wasnt many at all). so after this, the problem persisted. same scrambly plug-in names and kernel panics. i installed the auto-tune plug-in and, even though its not functional, as long as the window that asks me to buy it comes up and i hit cancel, it makes the plug-in names perfect. only problem is the kernel panics. now is where apple may help. i contacted digidesign several times, but they have horrid tech support. i have been all over their forums, and no one could help.
i have:
repaired disk permissions several times
done many clean uninstalls of PT several times and went through the installer log and deleted EVERY single thing
i have done every single their tech support thread said, which included deleting prefrences and whatever
the only thing i have not done is reformat the drive. i have 70 gigs of apps, docs, songs, and sessions on this HD, and it wouldd be such a pain to reformat. i have alot of bvery important things that i dont think i have installers for anymore. i know the kernel panics have nothing to do with the external FW drive, seeing as i ran sessions from my mac's HD, and theres stil lthe panics. it only happens when i quit PT and it only happens about 40% of the time. i have opened and closed the same session 10 times, and 4 times it made me restart. i did the same exact thing each time. so im asking here because i know kernel panics are an OSX thing. Can i trash a certin file or something that OSX will replace or i can put back with the installer dvd? is there ANYTHING i can do? and if i have to reinstall, whats the best way to backup all my aplications and all my files? thanks in advance. sorry for the long story.

Answer 1

The lines
Unresolved kernel trap(cpu 0): 0x400 - Inst access
and
panic(cpu 0 caller 0xFFFF0004): 0x400 - Inst access
in your panic log indicates an 0x400 (Instruction Access) panic. An 0x400 (Instruction access) panic occurs when the processor cannot access the next instruction to be executed.
Potential causes include RAM problems, hard disk corruption, and programming errors. "Programming errors" in this case can include invalid instructions and violations of protected memory, however it is often difficult to differentiate a programming error from a RAM or hard disk problem since the latter two issues can cause a valid instruction to appear invalid. Likewise, this opens the door to the potential for processor errors, i.e. defective processor or other problems with the logic board.
The Backtrace section of each panic log cites:
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient(2.2.6)@0x344a0000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(2.2.8)@0x2dc23000
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(2.2.8)@0x2dc23000
This could imply that a defective or incompatible USB peripheral is involved, which can also mean the associated USB ports or cables.
All I can suggest at this point is that you again go back through the procedures outlined in my "Resolving Kernel Panics FAQ," including the "If all else fails" section.
Frankly, as you noted originally, ProTools 6.9.2 is only officially supported under Mac OS X 10.4, 10.4.1, and 10.4.2, it's difficult to say if either:
(a) Something is amiss with your system as a whole.
(b) There is a USB-related issue you need to troubleshoot by process of elimination.
(c) You've encountered some compatibility issue under 10.4.5 that is causing ProTools to panic on quit.
(d) The MasterVerb plug-in may have changed something else on the system that was undocumented in the installation log. You might want to check their Web site or contact them to be sure you removed all of the components.
Beyond this and my FAQ, I'm unable to offer further advice based on the evidence you've provided.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
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