Believe me, nothing feels more frustrating than finding that your Mac is stuck in a boot loop. You are in the middle of some serious work, and suddenly an error known as Kernel Panic occurs, crashing your Mac out of nowhere. This unexpected boot loop not only throws your ongoing work on the back burner but also causes data loss. Thankfully, there is nothing new about the Kernal Panic on Mac. But fret not, this is where we come into action. On this note, follow along to learn all about what the Kernel Panic on Mac is about and how to fix Mac keeps restarting issue.

What is a Kernel Panic and Why it Occurs on Mac?

To be more precise, Kernel Panic is a vital component of MacOS – Apple’s operating system for Mac. What makes this component so important is the ability to control several critical things including memory, CPU, and more.

As a result, when it stops functioning properly, Mac’s performance is drastically hampered. And when the Mac fails to handle the issue, Kernal Panic occurs on Mac, which leads to unexpected restarts.

When your Mac is in the grip of Kernal Panic, you will see a dark grey screen saying “You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.”

It’s worth pointing out that Kernel Panic will not always leave your Mac on a dark grey screen. At times, the panic is generated and your Mac restarts on its own. Though whenever the Mac restarts after a Kernel Panic, a Kernel log is created and added to the log files.

Things like corrupt files, ill-functioning peripherals, cluttered storage, and insufficient RAM could be playing spoilsport. Having taken each possibility into the account, we have discussed all the possible ways and means to sort out the Mac Kernel Panic error seamlessly.

Where to Find My Kernel Panic Log?

Wondering where you can find the Kernel Panic log on your Mac?

Well, you can use the built-in Console app to check the Kernel log on your Mac.

Follow these steps:

Simply, bring up the Spotlight Search on your Mac (Command+Space) -> type in Console, and launch it.
From the left sidebar, click on Diagnostic Reports.
After that, select the most recent crash report. Note that in the older versions of MacOS, you will have to first click Library/Logs to access the Diagnostics Reports folder.

Alternately, head over to Finder -> Go. Then, press and hold the Option key and choose Library.
Next, select Logs and click the DiagnosticsReports.

Tips to Prevent Kernel Panic Error From

As against the popular misconception, it’s relatively easy to ward off the Kernel Panic error on Mac. By keeping the corrupt files at bay, and updating apps and software frequently, you can prevent this issue from plaguing your Mac to a large extent.

Take Control of the Issues That Are Causing Your Mac to Panic

So long as you can keep the culprits under control, your Mac will likely not have to panic and fall prey to frequent boot loops. But it’s always easier said than done, isn’t it?

If you find it a bit tedious to clean up your Mac, why not opt for a smart Mac cleaner like CleanMyMac X and MacCleaner Pro? Using these powerful cleaners, you can instantly nab all the redundant files as well as resource-hogging items and clean them up with ease.

If all these things fail to serve your purpose, we are just a call away from fixing your Mac at a competitive price point. Long story short, there is no need to panic about anything that ails your Mac.

10 Pro Tips to Fix Mac Keeps Restarting Repeatedly Issue

Especially when you are dealing with a critical issue like the MacOS Kernel Panic, it’s better to have a clear understanding upfront. So, let’s get it out of the way first up!

1. Update Apps on your Mac

Outdated apps tend to cause a hell lot of issues. Aside from eating more battery, outdated apps also slow down your Mac. Not to mention, they are also more vulnerable to hacking. Thus, never fail to update them.

Here’s how to do it:

Open the Mac App Store.
Now, click on the Updates tab in the sidebar.
Then, navigate to the app you want to update and hit the Update button next to it.

2. Delete All the Outdated Apps

What if some Mac apps haven’t received a software update for a long time? In such a situation, you should wipe out all these apps since they might well be behind this whole random rebooting saga. As outlined above, outdated apps tend to hog way more resources like power, memory, and CPU than usual, which puts a lot of pressure on the system. The excessive use of resources often leads to issues like overheating and rebooting.

To delete a Mac app, head over to the Applications folder in Finder and drag and drop each one of the outdated apps into the trash. If prompted, enter your administrator password to confirm the deletion.

3. Remove All Peripherals

Damaged or ill-functioning peripherals like keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. are also equally responsible for MacBook keeps restarting issue. Therefore, remove all peripherals and plug each one at a time to check which peripheral is causing the issue.

Here’s how to do it:

To get started, shut down your Mac (click on the Apple menu at the upper-left corner of the screen -> Shut Down).
Next, remove all the connected peripherals. After that, restart your Mac.
Once it has rebooted, plug each peripheral one by one. For example, plug in the keyboard and then wait for some time.
Then, connect your mouse. If your Mac restarts right after you have plugged in a peripheral, that particular peripheral could be at fault.

4. Disable Login Items

If your Mac has to deal with several login items during the start-up, it will have a hard time booting up. Besides, they may even cause the Mac to crash. Fortunately, you can disable the login items and choose to allow only selected items.

Follow these steps:

In MacOS Monterey or earlier: Navigate to the System Preferences -> Users & Groups.
In MacOS 13 Ventura or later: Head over to the System Settings -> Users & Groups.
After that, select your username in the menu and then go to the Login Items tab.
Then, select a startup item you want to disable and click on the “–” symbol.
Next, you need to restart your Mac to bring the changes into effect. Yeah, the process is quite tedious as you will have to restart your Mac after each step. However, it does offer a greater chance of nabbing the villain. So, the pain is worth taking on.
In order to detect the problematic login items, we will enable them one at a time. If your Mac reboots after you enable a specific login item, you have caught the culprit red-handed.

5. Update Software on Your Mac

Without undermining the top-notch security and the ability to deliver a seamless experience, the recent versions of MacOS are often infested with a host of frustrating issues. The good thing is Apple is always after fixing bugs and improving performance. That’s the reason why most MacOS updates come with several bug fixes and performance enhancements. Therefore, updating the software will likely resolve the problem.

Here’s how to update the software:

Go to the System Preferences or System Settings (in MacOS 13 Ventura) and click on Software Update.

After that download and install the latest version of MacOS as usual.

6. Declutter Your Mac

If you haven’t cleaned up your Mac for a while, there is a good chance that the cluttered storage could be behind the “Mac keeps restarting” issue. Therefore, clean up your Mac to ensure no useless files and apps are lurking around.

Here’s how to do it:

In macOS 12 Monterey or earlier: Click on the Apple menu at the upper-left corner of the screen -> About This Mac -> Storage.
In macOS 13 Ventura or later: Click on the Apple menu -> System Settings -> General -> Storage.

Now, take a close look at how the storage has been used on your Mac. The storage bar provides a pretty neat breakdown of the major components that have consumed more storage. Moreover, you will also see a long list of apps and the total amount of space each one has taken up.
Having got a clear perspective about the storage consumption on your Mac, kickstart the cleanup drive to reduce as much clutter as possible.

7. Make the Most Of Disk Utility to Repair the Disk

Disk Utility has long been a trusted tool to let you fix complex Mac issues. You can take advantage of the built-in Disk Utility to detect any disk errors and fix them.

To get going, click on the Apple menu at the top-right corner of the screen and choose Restart in the menu.
Next, hold down Command + R while your computer is restarting.
Then, click on Disk Utility and choose First Aid. Then, go ahead with the on-screen commands.

If everything goes well, you will see the “Operation successful” in the report.

If you get the “The underlying task reported failure” message, that means the disk repair has failed. In this situation, you will have to save all your data and reformat the drive.

8. Run Apple Diagnostics

When it comes to detecting any issue on Mac, Apple Diagnostics aka Apple Hardware Test is like a go-to tool. That’s why pros count on it to get to the route of a problem. So, you should also make the best use of the advanced Apple utilities to catch the problematic component.

On Intel Macs

Click on the Apple menu and choose Restart.
Next, press and hold the D key while your computer is restarting.

On Apple silicon-based Macs

Restart your Mac.

After that, hold down the power button as your Mac starts up.
When the startup options appear, release the button.
Next, press Command (⌘)-D on your keyboard.
Voila! Apple Diagnostics will now launch automatically and start testing your hardware condition.
If it detects any problems, you will get a detailed report about it.

9. Erase and Reinstall MacOS

In many cases, you may not have to come this far. Nevertheless, we all have seen and encountered Mac issues that do not get resolved through basic tips at some point or the other. To take control of the Kernel Panic problem and stop the Mac from rebooting time and time again, we will erase and reinstall MacOS.

On Mac with Apple silicon or Intel Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip

Make sure your Mac is connected to the internet. Just in case you are reinstalling the software on a MacBook, plug in the power adapter.

First off, restart your Mac. Then, click on the Apple menu -> and choose Shut Down.

Next, press and hold the power button until “Loading startup options” show up.
Next up, select Options and hit Continue.
Next up, go through the onscreen instructions.
When the Recovery app window appears, select Reinstall for your MacOS release and hit Continue.
Up next, follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.

On Intel-based Mac without the Apple T2 Security Chip

Ensure that your Mac is connected to the internet. And if you are reinstalling MacOS on a MacBook, make sure to plug in the power adapter.

Click on the Apple menu -> and select Restart.

Now, immediately press and hold Command-R.
In the Recovery app window, choose Disk Utility and hit Continue.
In Disk Utility, make sure to select the volume you would like to erase in the sidebar.
Next, click Erase in the toolbar.
Next up, type a name for the volume in the Name field and hit the Format pop-up menu.
Up next, select APFS and click Erase Volume Group.
Once the erase process is complete, click on Done.
Now, select Disk Utility and click Quit Disk Utility.
In the Recovery app window, choose Reinstall for your MacOS release.
Next, click Continue and then follow the onscreen instructions.

10. Contact A Trusted Mac Repair Service Center

If none of the tips aforementioned worked in resolving the Kernel Panic error and your Mac keeps restarting, contact a trusted Mac repair center. With several years of expertise and thousands of satisfied customers, Rapid Repair has emerged as the most reliable Mac repair center in India.

Whether it’s fixing a complex hardware issue or troubleshooting a persistent software problem, Rapid Repair excels in every aspect. Moreover, we also upgrade RAM on older Macs.

So, if you are using an older Mac like a 2015 MacBook Air, upgrading the RAM could troubleshoot the random rebooting problem. The clogged-up RAM could be struggling to keep up with the intensive workflow. Contact our MacBook repair center at the earliest to get a timely fix.

Also, Know more common issues and fixes for MacBook:

Categories: MacBook

Tags: Kernel Panic Log MacOS Kernel Panic Kernel Panic Kernel Panic on Mac

Kernel Panic on Mac: 10 Pro Tips to Fix Mac Keeps Restarting Issue

What is a Kernel Panic and Why it Occurs on Mac?

Where to Find My Kernel Panic Log?

Tips to Prevent Kernel Panic Error From

Take Control of the Issues That Are Causing Your Mac to Panic