MacBook Pro stuck in boot/kernel panic loop

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MacBook Pro stuck in boot/kernel panic loop

My 15-Inch Mid-2014 Retina MacBook Pro suddenly stopped working overnight.

It starts booting, fills the Apple logo progress bar halfway, then shows a kernel panic message, shuts down and reboots. This goes on, on a loop. I tried all the ways to boot and diagnose, without luck.

After not turning it on for a couple of days, I was able to:

Boot up and login once. It was very slow, and I couldn’t open any apps. I was able to capture a kernel panic report, posted here below. I don't understand it, maybe someone here does?

Reinstall macOS Big Sur, but wasn’t able to finish creating my user account.

It was about to turn 8 years old, but it was working. I replaced the original battery last year with an iFixit one, and applied new thermal paste.

I had no recent issues with it. Three years ago I had random CPU crashes that I solved using the NoCRASH script by REAL MAC MODS, could the current problem be related?

I've purchased a new Mac, but if possible, I'd like to bring this one back to life or figure out what happened to it.

Hope someone can help me out :)

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Jul 26, 2022 10:16 AM

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Answer 1

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HWTech

Level 9

68,630 points

Jul 27, 2022 10:01 PM in response to SosemoPower

It is referencing the NVidia driver and it appears your laptop is a 15" model. Apple's 15" & 17" model laptops are notorious for having GPU failures with the dedicated GPUs. While it is less common on the 2014 model, it can still occur.

Did you install any software from NVidia? If so, then this might be the problem so make sure to this software is up to date, otherwise either you have a GPU failure (which will be the Logic Board) or perhaps you have an issue with an external display (or perhaps a device connected to an external display).

There is also a chance you may have some third party driver which is interfering with the NVidia driver. Typical culprits are anti-virus apps, cleaning apps, and third party security software....none of which are needed on a Mac.

Unfortunately the Apple Diagnostics will not always detect a GPU failure.

If the discrete GPU is failing, then you may be able to force the laptop to use the Intel GPU instead, but it comes at a price of not having a more powerful GPU available, and not being able to use external displays. To force the laptop to use the Intel GPU you can try using gfxCardStatus:

https://gfx.io/

https://github.com/steveschow/gfxCardStatus

If you have trouble booting the laptop normally, then try booting into Safe Mode.

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Answer 2

Jul 27, 2022 7:39 AM in response to SosemoPower

Hi SosemoPower,

Have you tried running Apple Diagnostics on the Mac? Do any error codes appear?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212190

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Answer 3

SosemoPower Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 28, 2022 4:47 AM in response to HWTech

Hi, thanks for your answer.

I don't use it connected to an external display or other devices, and I haven't installed any NVIDIA software.

The day before these problems started, I did update a couple of App Store apps and updated to macOS Big Sur 11.6.6, not sure if this could be the cause.

I wiped my drive and reinstalled macOS Big Sur, probably Big Sur 11.6.6, as it was the latest version available on the App Store at the time. The problems persisted, so I can't imagine it would be caused by third party software or drivers.

Should I try a different macOS version?

A hardware failure sounds more likely. I'll give gfxCardStatus a try, that is, if I can even boot and login.

I'll post an update…

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Answer 4

SosemoPower Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 28, 2022 5:28 AM in response to HWTech

I've found a thread on the MacRumors forum, of users reporting the same panic report and experiencing the same issues, the system booting halfway, hanging and then shutting down. No solutions were found.

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Answer 5

SosemoPower Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 28, 2022 6:14 AM in response to Encryptor5000

I've run Diagnostic Mode a couple of times. It said everything is fine on battery, but couldn't test the power adapter. Ran it again with the charger plugged in, then it said there might be an issue with the battery.

I replaced the battery last year with one from iFixit, but I've had long battery life since, no issues working on battery or charging. I did notice however that when it fully discharged it didn't resume where I left off while charging, rebooting instead, and having to log in. Didn't think anything off it considering it was running great with the new battery and the new thermal paste.

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MacBook Pro stuck in boot/kernel panic loop

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