Need Help with Panic Attack

I keep getting this issue with my Macbook, took it to see the "Geniuses" and they did absolutely nothing, I can't seem to figure out what is wrong. If anyone could give me a little feedback on what seems to be the issue with my Macbook it'd be greatly appreciated.

Here is the report:



Sun Sep 11 03:15:03 2011
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x00143764): "zalloc: \"kalloc.32\" (845824 elements) retry fail 3"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-1228.15.4/osfmk/kern/zalloc.c:966
Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x343a7b48 : 0x12b4c6 (0x45f91c 0x343a7b7c 0x13355c 0x0)
0x343a7b98 : 0x143764 (0x4614d8 0x4600fc 0xce800 0x3)
0x343a7c38 : 0x12fdc2 (0x19a2ef8 0x1 0x129 0x6)
0x343a7c68 : 0x12fde1 (0x1c 0x1 0x0 0x0)
0x343a7c88 : 0x140a21 (0x1c 0x2e531000 0x343a7cd8 0x1367d3)
0x343a7ca8 : 0x12098d (0x238b7410 0x6620978 0x343a7ce8 0x122dd1)
0x343a7d18 : 0x122be0 (0x238b7410 0x6620978 0x343a7d38 0x10)
0x343a7d38 : 0x128bd5 (0x6620960 0x238b73d4 0x1 0x343a7d6c)
0x343a7d78 : 0x14eb92 (0x3c9e534 0xc2b7503 0xf03 0x11dd44)
0x343a7db8 : 0x12d4d6 (0x239a439c 0x239a59a0 0x0 0x0)
0x343a7df8 : 0x1264fa (0x239a4300 0x0 0x28 0x343a7ee4)
0x343a7f08 : 0x198fa3 (0x343a7f44 0x0 0x0 0x0)
0x343a7fc8 : 0x1a1cfa (0x4c1f3c0 0x0 0x1a40b5 0xb415680)
No mapping exists for frame pointer
Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0xbfffbb78

BSD process name corresponding to current thread: Mail

Mac OS version:
9L31a

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 9.8.0: Wed Jul 15 16:55:01 PDT 2009; root:xnu-1228.15.4~1/RELEASE_I386
System model name: MacBook2,1 (Mac-F4208CA9)

System uptime in nanoseconds: 43502444483453
vm objects:5992560
kernel map entries:2854896
pv_list:1181432
kalloc.32:27066368
kalloc.64:3575808
kalloc.128:1445888
kalloc.512:1253376
vm pages:22418528
ipc ports:112632520
ipc kmsgs:204169216
mk_timer:66987648
MAC Labels:1277352
vnodes:4871520
namecache:1782960
HFS node:7570976
HFS fork:3139584
buf.4096:3477504
buf.8192:78913536
ubc_info zone:1105680
Kernel Stacks:1327104
PageTables:21749760
Kalloc.Large:3469556
unloaded kexts:
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEthernetHost 2.1.2 - last unloaded 29118333119604
loaded kexts:
com.serato.usb.kext 1.8.4
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEthernetHost 2.1.2 - last loaded 28961471851558
com.apple.driver.iTunesPhoneDriver 1.0
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBMassStorageClass 2.0.8
com.apple.driver.IOBluetoothBNEPDriver 2.1.9f10
com.apple.filesystems.autofs 2.0.2
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA 1.7.1a2
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager 2.1.9f10
com.apple.driver.AirPort.Atheros 320.16.2
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController 1.7.1a2
com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X 6.0.3
com.apple.driver.AudioIPCDriver 1.0.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient 2.7.5
com.apple.driver.SMCMotionSensor 2.1.1d2
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP 1.7.7
com.apple.driver.AppleIRController 113
com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin 3.4.0a17
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC 1.3.1
com.apple.driver.AppleBacklight 1.6.0
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelGMA950 5.4.8
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelIntegratedFramebuffer 5.4.8
com.apple.driver.CSRUSBBluetoothHCIController 2.1.9f10
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTrackpad 1.7.4f1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyEventDriver 1.7.4f1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyboard 1.7.4f1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub 3.5.2
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice 2.1.1
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient 2.1.1
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter 2.7.91
com.apple.iokit.IOATAPIProtocolTransport 1.5.3
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelPIIXATA 2.0.1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub 3.4.9
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient 3.5.2
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage 1.2.2
com.apple.iokit.AppleYukon2 3.1.13b2
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort 1.7.0
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI 3.9.7
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI 3.4.6
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM 1.2.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBUHCI 3.5.2
com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager 158.10.5
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC 1.2.3
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET 1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPCI 1.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons 1.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS 1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC 1.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC 1.4
com.apple.security.seatbelt 107.12
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall 1.8.77
com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet 3
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement 76.2.0
com.apple.driver.DiskImages 199
com.apple.BootCache 30.4
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib 1.7.1a2
com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily 9.4
com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family 216.1
com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily 1.7.1a2
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily 1.6.9fc5
com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib 1.1
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily 3.4.0a17
com.apple.driver.AppleSMC 2.3.1d1
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport 1.7.3
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily 1.7.3
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController 2.1.9f10
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily 2.1.9f10
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver 3.4.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite 3.2.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice 2.1.1
com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily 1.5
com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily 1.5
com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily 1.5
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily 2.1.1
com.apple.iokit.IOATAFamily 2.0.1
com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily 1.6.1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily 1.5.0
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily 3.4.9
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily 3.5.2
com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime 1.2.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily 1.1
com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily 1.5.6
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily 1.5.5
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform 1.2.5
com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily 1.2.0
com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily 2.6

Need a little more detail about your system and the problem.

First off, how old is the machine, and what are the specs? What version of OS X is it running?

How often does the kernel panic occur? Does it happen during a specific activity? Did it start happening after you made a change of some sort?

Lots more info needed before we can even start to speculate about the nature of this one....

Machine is about 5 years old.
I'm running OS X 10.5.8
This panic always happens either when I'm sleeping or out of the house. Only thing I ever usually leave on if I leave is iTunes & Mail. The panics happen at least 2-3 times a week.

Ovidal413 said:

Machine is about 5 years old.
I'm running OS X 10.5.8
This panic always happens either when I'm sleeping or out of the house. Only thing I ever usually leave on if I leave is iTunes & Mail. The panics happen at least 2-3 times a week.

Click to expand...

Nothing in particular jumps out at me in the logs, so let's talk a bit about what a kernel panic actually is.

A kernel panic is a fault in the system that is severe enough to not allow the operating system to continue running. In most cases, this is not just a poorly behaving program, but something that effects the integrity of the OS. Possible causes could be a hardware failure, a failure in a peripheral device (like something connected via USB/Firewire) or corruption of the file system.

When you say that the Geniuses did nothing to help, can you tell us what (if anything) they tried, or did they just outright refuse service because the machine was out of warranty?

What kinds of things have you tried already to resolve the problem? Have you tried any basic troubleshooting steps? This blog article may help if you're not familiar with them.

When I took my Macbook to my local Apple Store, the Genius team overlooked it, and they could not figure out what the issue was, so what they did was just re-install my OS Software nothing else. This seemed to have worked for about a week, then I started to get the signals again.

Ovidal413 said:

When I took my Macbook to my local Apple Store, the Genius team overlooked it, and they could not figure out what the issue was, so what they did was just re-install my OS Software nothing else. This seemed to have worked for about a week, then I started to get the signals again.

Click to expand...

When they reinstalled the OS, did they do a clean install (i.e. was it factory fresh when they finished)? Or was everything preserved (i.e. your data/docs/settings, etc)?

It was a clean install. I backed up all my files before giving them my Macbook

Ovidal413 said:

It was a clean install. I backed up all my files before giving them my Macbook

Click to expand...

Hate to say it, but that makes it look like a hardware issue to me. Is the memory in the machine factory original, or did you upgrade it at some point?

Yes it was upgraded afterwards. From 1GB to 2GB memory

Ovidal413 said:

Yes it was upgraded afterwards. From 1GB to 2GB memory

Click to expand...

Do you have the original modules? Can you swap them in and see if the problem persists?

Bad or poor quality memory can lead to issues like this. What brand of memory was it?

I still have the originals. But what if I wanted to get better brand of modules, any recommendations

Ovidal413 said:

I still have the originals. But what if I wanted to get better brand of modules, any recommendations

Click to expand...

I would recommend OtherWorldComputing.com or Crucial.com.

But before you go buying different modules, I would test by reinstalling the originals and see if the problem persists.

I will try that first, thanks.

kernel panic attack

I have had multiple kernel attacks since last wednesday on my mac book (old operating system 10.4). I went to the apple store the next day and the genius took out and put back the ram. He did diagnostics and nothing showed. It worked so i brought it home. Two nights later, the same thing happened. I brought it back to the apple store and a different genius said it could be the ram, logic board or hard drive. He ran diagnostics and nothing showed. At that time (and the previous time), the machine beeped three times and the sleep light flashed three times. He took the ram out and said one of them seemed to almost look corroded and he cleaned it.

Tonight, two nights later, the kernel attack happened again minus the three beeps. This time, rebooting works each time (it has happened three times tonight) and I can be on the computer.

What is wrong with this thing? I am concerned that I will keep buying parts and not have this be ok. How would I know if it is the logic board or the hard drive? I clicked on report but nothing was listed so I don't know how to get a record to show you.

I am really frustrated. I have had this machine for 3 years.

I would be willing to bet it just has a bad hard drive. The Apple Hardware Test is notorious for missing HDD issues, even when they're easy to detect just by reading the SMART status (on-board hard disk diagnostics).

Try running the SMART Utility, available here.

That should give you a better idea of what's going on. Assuming it wasn't exposed to liquid, memory modules and logic boards are far less likely to fail (they have no moving parts). HDDs are cheap and relatively simple to replace - and if it's failing, it could easily cause random kernel panics (KPs for short).