My Mac says 'You need to restart your computer' in several languages, and now nothing responds.

That’s called a kernel panic. The kernel is the innermost level of the system software, responsible for controlling hardware like PCI cards, drives, video, networking, and memory. When the kernel receives instructions it doesn’t expect, it may “panic” and freeze the computer. Your only recourse is to reboot your computer by pressing the reset button, holding down the power button until it shuts off, or even pulling the power cable in extreme circumstances.

Kernel panics should be very rare. If they are frequent or repeatable you need to do some troubleshooting. It helps if you can record the time and date of each kernel panic. Note what the computer was doing at the time (starting up, shutting down, performing a certain action). Try to figure out if the kernel panic is intermittent or happens predictably when you do certain things. Finally, test if your external devices are causing the issues by disconnecting as many external devices as possible. Finally, you can follow Apple’s extensive troubleshooting instructions.

Kernel panics can also indicate a bad RAM (memory) chip that needs replacing. Tekserve provides a lifetime warranty on all RAM that we sell. Bring in your Mac (not just the RAM) and we’ll test and swap the RAM if necessary.

If none of that works, you may have more serious hardware problems, such as a bad logic board or processor. Bring in your Mac for evaluation.

Published March 24, 2009 12:00 PM
Last modified on November 29, 2011 6:00 PM