Why you should keep a copy of the Panic Log. How to check that your Mac isn’t the cause. And above all, don’t panic.
panic log
Apps may crash, but kernels panic. Don’t accept your Mac just panics often. It should never panic at all, and more than one panic a year needs to be properly investigated and reported.
Handling errors means more than a couple of jargon phrases and a magic number. Designing for error requires the user to be at its centre.
Recovering from one regular panic should be straightforward. But what if it’s a boot loop, in which your Mac tries to start up, panics, restarts, in an endless loop? Don’t panic: here are the solutions.
Close to the top of my shortlist of new features in the next Apple Silicon Macs is that kernel panics become a thing of the past.
Recognition, immediate action including capturing the panic log, discovering clues as to cause, further investigations to diagnose and address the cause.
Diagnosing a problem on a Mac requires careful observation. In the case of kernel panics, this includes the Panic Log. Otherwise, invaluable information is in the log. If you don’t check the log, your conclusions are likely to be wrong.
Your Mac starts up after kernel panic, and shows mystifying details about that panic. Here’s how to get the most out of that information.