Kernel Panic on Mac OS X: What to do?

Question

My brand new MacBook shows a kernel panic message. Does anybody have some suggestions on how to resolve that problem?

What is the first thing I should do (I have already updated but nothing). What is the second etc?

Answer 1

If this is a brand new machine kernel-panicking immediately after boot, it's probably a hardware issue and you should return it for a replacement.

If it's a reproducible issue occurring whenever you do a certain thing, then we'll need to know that information to be of any more help.

If this machine is cherry with nothing but Apple software on it, then that absolutely should not be occurring under normal circumstances. Every Mac sold comes with 90 days of phone support and a year of parts and labor, even without AppleCare, so take advantage of it if you need to.

Answer 2

Well the first thing you want to do, if you're going to ask for help on an online community like SuperUser, is to get as much information as possible related to your problem. Check the logs, give us hardware and OS specs, try to get the computer to get a kernel panic so you can list the exact steps you took to get the error.

That said, the most common cause of a kernel panic is usually either incompatible software or failing hardware. Go into Apple Hardware Test and check out your hardware for problems. Take note of what software you were running when your computer kernel panicked.