Kernel Panics DVCPROHD renders

Question

Hi
I have an interesting situation. Throughout this year, I have been experiencing Kernel Panics when rendering DVCPRO HD timelines. Our TV shows run for about 25 minutes and I would get upto 5 Kernel Panics each show when I left it to render over night after doing a grade on it. We are just using the FCP color correcting tools along with Joe's Filters.
Now, I had been selecting the whole timeline (Apple + A) and then Rendering. Occasionally, I would let auto render kick in to see if that stop the KPs from happening. Unfortunately, in both situations, KPs occurred.
Recently, I have changed the way I render the timeline. I mark an In and Out point for half the show and enter Option R. This does that portion of the timeline and enables an auto-save to occur (After 5 minutes). A minute later, an auto-render occurs which does the remainder of the timeline. I went for this approach as it meant that if it did crash, there was a chance that maybe I could recover half the show. Previously, everytime there was a KP, I would have to start again.
Now under this procedure, there are no KPs. ***?
I should also point out that our SD shows have never had this KP problem.
Here are some details of my MacPro
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 7 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
We are running an XSAN where the media is stored and connect via Fibre-optic cable.
Any thoughts on this rather odd situation. Is it just a coincidence or is something else.
Thanks
John

Answer 1

This can be caused by MANY factors. Version of the OS...version of QT, version of FCP. Capture Card? Version of the drivers for that card? XSAN drivers...third party plugins. RAM manufacturer. So many factors. And diagnosing what is the cause can take a while. But typically Kernal Panics are related to hardware issues...so my first suspect would be the RAM. But don't take my word for it. I am not a technician...just an editor with a little know how.
First thing I'd do is run the Disk Utility and repair permissions, then ZAP the PRAM, or better yet, reset the PMU...press the button inside the computer for 20 seconds (different location depending on the machine, and I don't know where it is on the MacPro).
Shane