[h46it]

Hello everyone,

I am have a hell a off a time with my MDD. I just bought it used, but i'm having a hell of time with it. I'm having so many KP's. I get them every day sometimes upto 3 a day. I've been searching the net like crazy to find out what is going on! I'm getting lost. I've tried everything that have read. Just seems like the MDD is unstable? I don' t want to jump the gun on this. But so far not too good. Here is my KP if anyone can make sense of it that would be wonderful!

panic(cpu 1 caller 0x000A8D80): Uncorrectable machine check: pc = 0000000000002680, msr = 0000000042003000, dsisr = 42000000, dar = 0000000009A73000
AsyncSrc = 0000000000000000, CoreFIR = 0000000000000000
L2FIR = 0000000000000000, BusFir = 00000000fffcf000

Latest stack backtrace for cpu 1:
Backtrace:
0x00095718 0x00095C30 0x0002683C 0x000A8D80 0x000A8010 0x000ABD00
Proceeding back via exception chain:
Exception state (sv=0x38BDD780)
PC=0x00002680; MSR=0x42003000; DAR=0x09A73000; DSISR=0x42000000; LR=0x905AE410; R1=0xFC14F427; XCP=0x00000008 (0x200 - Machine check)
Backtrace:

backtrace terminated - unaligned frame address: 0xFC14F427


Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.4.0: Tue Jan 3 18:22:10 PST 2006; root:xnu-792.6.56.obj~1/RELEASE_PPCModel: PowerMac3,6, BootROM 4.6.0f1, 2 processors, PowerPC G4 (3.2), 1.25 GHz, 1.5 GB
Graphics: ATI Radeon 9000 Pro, ATY,RV250, AGP, 64 MB
Memory Module: DIMM0/J21, 512 MB, DDR SDRAM, PC2700U-25330
Memory Module: DIMM1/J22, 512 MB, DDR SDRAM, PC2700U-25330
Memory Module: DIMM2/J23, 256 MB, DDR SDRAM, PC2700U-25330
Memory Module: DIMM3/J20, 256 MB, DDR SDRAM, PC2700U-25330
Bluetooth: Version 1.7.0f18, 2 service, 0 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Built-in Ethernet, Ethernet, en0
PCI Card: usb, usb, SLOT-2
PCI Card: usb, usb, SLOT-2
PCI Card: pci3083,e0, , SLOT-2
Parallel ATA Device: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-109,
Parallel ATA Device: WDC WD800BB-22JHC0, 74.53 GB
USB Device: ImageMate CF, SanDisk, Up to 480 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Hub, , Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: USB Printer, EPSON, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Hub in Apple Pro Keyboard, Mitsumi Electric, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Apple Optical USB Mouse, Mitsumi Electric, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA
USB Device: Apple Pro Keyboard, Mitsumi Electric, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 250 mA
USB Device: Bluetooth HCI, , Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA

Thank you everyone!


P.S. I have one more thing to add. Has anyone ever had a problem with a VGA montior and a MDD? Its quite strange that i have to keep unplugging the montior just to get the MDD to start up? I've read there is case of this. Let me know please.

[Detrius]

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?t=248286

You probably have bad RAM.

You really should discuss what you have tried. With no discussion of what you have tried, the only thing we have to go off of is your KP log, which doesn't say a whole lot (except that you might have bad RAM).

[h46it]

Sorry Detrius,

I have checked my RAM. I changed them all out. Took them all out and eliminate if any were causing the KP's. They all had the same results.

I also changed the video card, reset the PMU, PRAM, and check everything with Tech Tool. I just thought about it. My monitor has a USB hub in it. I just too moved all USB connections from the monitor to the Tower. I'll try anything. Also, i installed CHUD tools. I enabled 'NAP'. My MDD is running much cooler.

Sorry that i did not write down what i have done so far.

Thanks again!

[KP*]

My first Mac was a dual 1.25 MDD that from day one behaved exactly like you're describing. Changing out the RAM did nothing. One day years later while pondering it on the subway I was hit with a flash of inspiration that it must be the video card, but afterwards could never remember why I thought that. Anyway, I didn't have a spare vid card to test with, and not enough of a hunch to go out and buy one. I was never able to figure out what was wrong with it, except that when I had less USB devices, it seemed to happen less, but that could just be a symptom because the machine would naturally be working less.

Well I know you don't have mine because I gave it to my mom when her computer died, where it continues to act up to this day (not quite as often, I don't think, because she doesn't do much with it).

I wish I could offer some advice, but just know that you're not alone, and it was not an easy fix. I'm glad that my first Mac didn't discourage me from sticking with the platform, because my PB has been rock solid (until fairly recently, which I think is simply an act of kindness on its part to help me rationalize the purchase of a Macbook. )

[h46it]

KP*,

Yeah that's what i was thinking aswell. Must be the video card. I swapped it out aswell. Nothing. Too bad. Thanks for your story. Nice to hear its just not me out there. This is my first Apple with KP ever. I'm sure that i can figure it out.

So far I've switched NAP on in CHUD tools. I'm having less KP's. But i'm still going here to figure this out. I'm going to try next a USB hub. There is a hub in my monitor and this could be the cause of it. I remember when i would open Techtool. It would tell me that it would shut down the USB hub cause it was drawing too much power.

But the next major step is to swap out the HD. Its not sounding too healthy. I'm trying to think of anything else. If anyone else has suggestion let me know.

Thanks!

[JamesKass]

I'm going through the exact same thing with my DDR Dual 1.25 with 10.4.4... GRRR.

[h46it]

Yo James,

Yeah i have 10.4.4, 1.5gig ram, OEM video card, and Superdrive. What kind of monitor are you running? That's the only thing that i really afford to replace. That could be one of my problems with the MDD with the all these KP's? Do you have the exact same KP log as mine? Let me know man!

Also, if anyone has heard about CPU heat causing KP's? Since i have NAP running i'm about 40C for CPU temp? Is this about normal running conditions?

Thanks again everyone on MacNN! You have been helpful.

[JamesKass]

Here's what was in my last kp log:

Code:
Sun Jan 15 16:35:55 2006


Unresolved kernel trap(cpu 0): 0x300 - Data access DAR=0x0000000000000004 PC=0x00000000000A415C
Latest crash info for cpu 0:
   Exception state (sv=0x40E08280)
      PC=0x000A415C; MSR=0x00001030; DAR=0x00000004; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x0003E334; R1=0x1C9C3D50; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access)
      Backtrace:
0x0003234C 0x0027E950 0x00273848 0x000A9894 
Proceeding back via exception chain:
   Exception state (sv=0x40E08280)
      previously dumped as "Latest" state. skipping...
   Exception state (sv=0x40E08000)
      PC=0x9001F20C; MSR=0x0000D030; DAR=0xE060B6D0; DSISR=0x42000000; LR=0x907709A8; R1=0xF000FC90; XCP=0x00000030 (0xC00 - System call)

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.4.0: Tue Jan  3 18:22:10 PST 2006; root:xnu-792.6.56.obj~1/RELEASE_PPC
panic(cpu 0 caller 0xFFFF0003): 0x300 - Data access
Latest stack backtrace for cpu 0:
      Backtrace:
         0x00095718 0x00095C30 0x0002683C 0x000A8384 0x000ABD00 
Proceeding back via exception chain:
   Exception state (sv=0x40E08280)
      PC=0x000A415C; MSR=0x00001030; DAR=0x00000004; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x0003E334; R1=0x1C9C3D50; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access)
      Backtrace:
0x0003234C 0x0027E950 0x00273848 0x000A9894 
   Exception state (sv=0x40E08000)
      PC=0x9001F20C; MSR=0x0000D030; DAR=0xE060B6D0; DSISR=0x42000000; LR=0x907709A8; R1=0xF000FC90; XCP=0x00000030 (0xC00 - System call)

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.4.0: Tue Jan  3 18:22:10 PST 2006; root:xnu-792.6.56.obj~1/RELEASE_PPC

I've got 10.4.4, 1.25gb ram, OEM video card, OEM superdrive plus a 2nd aftermarket superdrive from MCE. I've also got a Tempo Trio card for extra firewire/UCB connections.

I don't think it's a hardware problem, everything was working fine in 10.3.9. Something about tiger is not playing nicely with my setup.

[JamesKass]

UPDATE:

After trying several combinations of RAM, taking one out, putting them in different positions, replacing until I got every possible permutation, it seems the kernel panics are due to a bad stick of RAM after all. Looks like I'll be placing an order for more ram tonight!

[Detrius]

Originally Posted by JamesKass

...I don't think it's a hardware problem, everything was working fine in 10.3.9. Something about tiger is not playing nicely with my setup.

Just because it worked fine with 10.3.9 doesn't mean you don't have a hardware problem. The RAM may have gone bad after 10.3.9 was installed; Your directory structure may have become corrupt after 10.3.9; your hard drive may have gone bad.

TechTool Pro is reliable to do surface scans, but the rest of the hardware tests are virtually useless. memtest os x is pretty good for RAM tests. Unfortunately, with most hardware tests the only reliable result is a failure. If one program says that you have bad RAM but another says it's good, you should rely in the one that says it's bad, no matter how special or reliable the other one is. Even though Apple Service Diagnostics is a fabulous program, if it passes a machine that memtest doesn't, memtest is the one you should be relying on.

[h46it]

James,

Nice man! You have your MDD fixed. That's wicked man. Nice to hear.

Detrius,

I'll try to run Memtest again. Last time i did it. I just froze. Nothing happened. But I have tried all my RAM. I even got new RAM. Still was getting KP's. But i'll keep you posted.

Thanks again!

[h46it]

Well its time for an update!

Nothing has really changed since last time. I got a new HDD since the old one that i had in the MDD crapped out on me. Found out that my HDD was not the problem with my KP's. Also, i got a USB hub to check too see if that was the cluprit. Not it either. But could have been adding to my problem. I have also switched up video cards. Its strange.

I'm seeing the KP's during when i'm in Safari with lots of tabs open. That's when i get them the most. Or if i'm listen to music on itunes aswell. I can't figure it out.

But i'm still working on this. If anyone can shed some light on this, that would be great.


Thanks again to listening to me!

[KP*]

I swear Safari has a huge memory leak, and has had for some time. I usually see it after browsing with lots of tabs. I understand the need for it to take up a lot of memory with tabs open, but when I'm done and the tabs are closed, or at the very least when Safari is quit, the memory should be released, right? Sometimes I'll see 500MB of RAM just gone unaccounted for. Don't know if that's exacerbating your problem with the MDD when in Safari. I always found my MDD acted up in Safari as well, but then again it's my most-used app, so it's hard to say.

[h46it]

KP,

Yeah i've know about the same problem for years too. I would notice when using Safari i would lose a bunch of Ram. Still does. What can we do about it?

When i'm using Apps. The MDD is fine. Its only when i'm using Safari, is when i can repeat my KP's. I was getting KP's from itunes. But i believe those have stopped.

Still a work in progress. Thanks again everyone that has responed. Ever bit help to figure this out!

Lates.

[chefpastry]

I went through very similar problems with my MDD for months. Kernal Panics would happen entirely randomly. Sometimes the machine would run for days at a time with no problem, sometimes it would KP several times a day. I went through tons of trial and error troubleshooting. In the end, what fixed the KPs was a new CPU module. Of course, YMMV.

[h46it]

Chefpastry,

So you just replaced the CPU module. I'm not too sure if have the funds at the moment to replace that. Just today i was installing CS2 and i would receive KP's when the installer would run 'install scripts'. I'm not too sure what this means. Argh, makes me mad. I don't understand. Help me out!

Thanks.

[chefpastry]

Yes, after going through all sorts of trail and error testing, the only thing left was replacing the CPU module and that was what finally got my computer running stablly. I tried everything; replacing RAM, different motherboard, adding cooling, different video cards, different drives, no drives and just relying on a firewire drive, EVERYTHING!

Now, the same system can run for weeks at a time without a restart. Fortunately, I have more than one MDD which gave me to resources to test different components.

[h46it]

Chefpastry,

I'm almost at the same point as you. I've almost tried everything. The only thing left is the montior(i was having problems with it. MDD would not turn on if the monitor was plugged in), motherboard and cpu module. What i have done drives, Ram, Video cards, and cooling.

Too bad that i do not have extra MDD to switch out the cpu module. I would love to see if that would work for me. But i guess for now i'll have to keep plugin' away at this. Until i can afford a new PM.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Lates!

[khw]

About a month ago, my friend dropped my G4 powerbook from about 9 feet and it landed on the corner where the harddrive is stored. The outer casing of the laptop is severly damaged, yet it worked for about a month in fairly good condition! Now, I get kernel panic messages frequently, especially after I have carried the computer somewhere and then attempted to use it. It generally is ok if it is just sitting at my desk working. Does this error report mean anything to anyone, because I have no idea how to interpret it? Also, is there anyway of knowing when a harddrive will fail (bc I am fairly confident that it's day is coming).



panic(cpu 0 caller 0x000A8D80): Uncorrectable machine check: pc = 000000000069C52C, msr = 0000000000149030, dsisr = 42000000, dar = 00000000BFFEDFF0
AsyncSrc = 0000000000000000, CoreFIR = 0000000000000000
L2FIR = 0000000000000000, BusFir = 0000000000000000

Latest stack backtrace for cpu 0:
Backtrace:
0x00095718 0x00095C30 0x0002683C 0x000A8D80 0x000A8010 0x000ABD00
Proceeding back via exception chain:
Exception state (sv=0x2DCAFC80)
PC=0x0069C52C; MSR=0x00149030; DAR=0xBFFEDFF0; DSISR=0x42000000; LR=0x006B1060; R1=0x1775BD30; XCP=0x00000008 (0x200 - Machine check)
Backtrace:
0x01F24318 0x006B1060 0x002D0060 0x002CEF28 0x000A9894
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.iokit.AppleAirPort2(404.2)@0x672000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily(1.5.0)@0x627000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(1.7)@0x479000
Exception state (sv=0x2D2C7A00)
PC=0x00000000; MSR=0x0000D030; DAR=0x00000000; DSISR=0x00000000; LR=0x00000000; R1=0x00000000; XCP=0x00000000 (Unknown)

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.4.0: Tue Jan 3 18:22:10 PST 2006; root:xnu-792.6.56.obj~1/RELEASE_PPCModel: PowerBook5,4, BootROM 4.8.6f0, 1 processors, PowerPC G4 (1.1), 1.5 GHz, 1 GB
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, ATY,RV360M11, AGP, 128 MB
Memory Module: SODIMM0/J25LOWER, 1 GB, DDR SDRAM, PC2700U-25330
AirPort: AirPort Extreme, 404.2 (3.90.34.0.p16)
Modem: Jump, , V.92, Version 1.0,
Network Service: Built-in Ethernet, Ethernet, en0
PCI Card: TXN,PCIXXXX-00, cardbus, PC Card
Parallel ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-825, 6.24 GB
Parallel ATA Device: TOSHIBA MK8026GAX, 74.53 GB