Help! What to do: "Your computer was restarted because of a problem ..."

stefanmaine said:

pm-r That did it! I am impressed by FAF. I have purchased it. It is so nice when an App actually does what it says it will do, and even better. Thank you again for suggesting it to me.

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I'm glad to hear it worked for you stefanmaine, but I actuality, I'm not surprised actually. I'd be lost without it and have been a user for years. (I actually helped the developer as a beta tester for it many years ago. And that was a long time ago!!!)

And I'm sure the developer appreciates your purchase, and better from his site than Apple's App Store so he gets full credit.

I'm also sure you'll find other uses of it as well and appreciate it even more, and you may even start calling Apple's Spotlight — Stoplight, by comparison, even though it has some good useful features. ;D






- Patrick
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Hello Stefanmaine. Two remarks which could be useful:
1 - I noted "Garmin". I have a Garmin Edge 800 PPS device for my bicycle. This equipment was clearly equipped with Windows-based software, adapted to the mac platform because some customers are mac users. Garmin Express lurks in the background and is *very intrusive. That can very well be a cause for problems.
2 - I noted "Adobe". When I performed a mac cleanup, one year ago, I removed all that was Adobe. The system was thereafter glad I did. Adobe and Microsoft are heavy contributors to background noise.
3 - I had my mac recently tested by a genius at my local genius bar because it failed to recognise my Time Capsule. The genius told me after being away 10' that one of my configuration instructions was wrong, which wrongness could not be repaired by the mac's interface: only by Apple employees with their special software, or by obscure terminal commands. He attributed this wrongness to my possible use of a forbidden software able to work on kernel files, like OnyX.
I was at a loss for reasons which could overlap yours, a verification at the Genius bar saved my bacon. I still don't know, however, what the problem was and what the cure was.

Maybe this can help.

He attributed this wrongness to my possible use of a forbidden software able to work on kernel files, like OnyX.

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He lied. OnyX doesn't mess with the intervals of kernel files. That said, there might be OTHER things you have used that some messed with firmware, but I would be very surprised. Sounds to me like a genius trying to sound important.

michelangelo, Thanks for your comments. I have removed Garmin. I was surprised how many bits and pieces of Garmin were found (and deleted) by "Find Any File." I cleaned out a lot of Adobe, as well. I have left Photoshop and Dreamweaver in place because I continue to use them regularly, and they have been on the laptop for six years. However, I await chscag's advice as regards them, too. I cannot speak to the Onyx question except to say that I have never read anything negative about it, either here or in other forums.

I am in rural Maine far from any "Genius Bar." Ultimately, I am hopeful here at least to be able to confirm that my issue, which persists (Apple>>Shut Down and >>Restart generate black screens and "panic reports"), is software not hardware, because if it is the former, sweeping clean and reinstaling the OS will resolve it. (I am a former PC user -- from early DOS to Windows 7 -- and so am relatively inured to reinstalls!)

pm-r said:

...and you may even start calling Apple's Spotlight — Stoplight, by comparison, even though it has some good useful features.
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pm-r, From all I had read and heard over many years, I expected to like this MacBook Pro a lot, but I have been happily surprised over the last six or so years as a "switcher" to find I like it even more than I expected. The only exception has been Spotlight Search. It is a real disappointment. I have considered that perhaps what's wrong is that I am not using its capablities properly. But your "Stoplight" gag suggests otherwise.

Still struggling with this "panic" issue, I browsed Apple's website this afternoon, and came across a Contact page (https://getsupport.apple.com/) which surprised me because it simply asked for my phone number (and Apple ID, of course), and a few minutes later (really), the phone rang, and sure enough, it was an Apple technician. He directed me in running several procedures and tests which led him to conclude that the problem was in Apple's software (the OS) and not the laptop's hardware or apps. I never got the feeling that he was in a hurry, or that he had two or three other callers in his ear at the same time. Eventually, he suggested I reinstall the OS. He told me precisely how to do it (although it was clear he would have walked me through it if I had asked him to do so). Anyway, that's what I did: not a clean sweep of the disk; just the OS. He seems to have been right because Apple>>Start and Apple>>Restart now work properly and Photoshop opens graphics properly. I will continue testing apps for a while just to be sure, but so far so good.

The question of payment never arose. Nothing about the expired warranty (my laptop is six years old), nothing about my purchasing an "extended warranty." It was a free call and free service. I suppose if more had been required, eventually money would have changed hands, but not today.

I have to say I am stunned. It reminded me of the old days, the original days, with Dell. I had occasion to purchase several of the very early Dell desktops, and they came with a phone number ... which was always answered by a helpful technician.

As I wrote in an earlier entry, I really like this Mac laptop. This evening, I like it even more. Any potential switcher out there, consider the word of this long, long time Microsoft user: This is not only a great product, but my experience today indicates it is backed up by real support.

Thank you to chscag, pm-r, and others who showed an interest and offered help. I appreciate it. This is the first Mac-related forum I joined after purchasing the MBP, and I am grateful for it.

Thank you to chscag, pm-r, and others who showed an interest and offered help. I appreciate it. This is the first Mac-related forum I joined after purchasing the MBP, and I am grateful for it.

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You better include Apple with your thanks there, and it's good to read that things seem to be improving and welcome to the forum and the Apple Mac World.





- Patrick
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What a lot of folks don't recognize is that although the hardware may be out of warranty, the operating system may well be supported. I've had several instances where I've contacted Apple, explained that although the hardware is older, that my issue was with the upgraded OS and gotten great support. It is one of the benefits of working with Apple.

MacInWin said:

What a lot of folks don't recognize is that although the hardware may be out of warranty, the operating system may well be supported. I've had several instances where I've contacted Apple, explained that although the hardware is older, that my issue was with the upgraded OS and gotten great support. It is one of the benefits of working with Apple.

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That seems to be about the same in my few cases as well, and they may ask for a phone number or some ID. Then free advice or support help.






- Patrick
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