MacBook Pro 15" 2018 in kernel panic loop. Can only boot into safe mode.

If Safe Mode works, then most likely you have some third party software installed which is interfering with the normal operation of macOS, or you may possibly have a hardware issue since I believe the Touchbar may be disabled in Safe Mode.

When you reinstalled macOS, did you test the laptop before installing any third party apps and before restoring from a backup? If not, then you likely brought the problem back.

To help us get an idea of the laptop's configuration, please run EtreCheck and post the report here so we can examine it for clues to what third party software may be interfering. Usual culprits are anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software...none of which are needed on a Mac. If you have any of these types of apps installed, then uninstall them by following the developer's instructions. The EtreCheck report will also provide us with the summaries of some system logs which may also hold some clues.

Also, make sure to disconnect all external devices in case one of them is causing the problem.

It never hurts to try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.

Don't trust the First Aid summary report as it can lie. After running First Aid....even if it says everything is "Ok", click "Show Details" and scroll back through the report to see if any unfixed errors are reported. If there are unfixed errors, then try running First Aid from Internet Recovery Mode, otherwise you will need to erase the drive (or "Restore" the firmware) followed by reinstalling macOS & restoring from a backup.

<< I have no 3rd Party apps installed at all. >>

User Login Items:

[Running] CleanMyMac X HealthMonitor (MacPaw Inc. - installed 2023-05-04)

Modern Login Item

/Applications/CleanMyMac X.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/CleanMyMac X HealthMonitor.app

AFTER you completely remove that junk, which in its exuberance to clean has been known to attempt to "clean" the beating heart of MacOS while running, you may wish to re-install MacOS.

If no joy, you should contact Apple Support, where they can refer you to a specialist who can read your panic reports. Showing up at the Genius Bar (where they don't read panic reports) will just get you a bench diagnostic, which may or may not find additional issues, if any

AndrewCanFixIT wrote:

I have no 3rd Party apps installed at all. Attached below is the report.

This is why we always like people to post an EtreCheck report. CMM did not ship with the laptop from the factory and is not associated with Apple in anyway. CMM is third party software.

Unfortunately with CMM installed we cannot say for certain if the Kernel Panics are caused by CMM or whether you have a hardware issue. CMM has a notorious reputation on these forums for causing all sorts of issues.

You may want to review this excellent article written by a respected forum contributor which has some very good tips for keeping devices running smoothly:

Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community

If you perform a clean install of macOS by completely erasing the whole physical drive, or better yet perform a firmware "Restore" and you still receive a Kernel Panic before installing any software and before restoring from a backup, then you definitely have a hardware issue which will need to be repaired.

Make sure to disconnect all external devices as well in case one of them is causing a problem.

I suspect you really do have a hardware issue with the laptop which will need to be repaired.

if your problems are caused by a failed Discrete graphics card in a 15-in MacBook Pro with Dual Graphics, there are some solutions originally developed for 2010 and 2011 models that MIGHT work.

All require that you NEVER allow Chrome to run, because it always enables Discrete graphics if it finds it.

Start with an SMC reset which should set you back to default integrated graphics. You MUST follow the diagrams faithfully. The keys with the same lables on the other side will NOT get the job done, and the timing is critical.

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

the least invasive is this:

Install gfxCardStatus (https://gfx.io) and set it to "i" (integrated graphics only). It will allow your MBP to run on integrated graphics only, bypassing the discrete GPU which has the issues. This may allow your MBP to run normally, although it will have reduced graphics performance when performing demanding graphics tasks.

next most invasive shown in next post

Hi,

I've been having the same issue on my 15 inch MacBook Pro A1990, and found a solution to minimize the problem.

You should try booting in recovery mode and turning off the apple T2 chip's security.

You can do this by trying the following steps:

• Restart your Mac.
• During the beginning of the reboot, press and hold the Command (⌘) + R keys.
• Select the administrator account and type in your password.
• Select “Boot security tool.”
• Select “No security” and permit booting from external media on the new window.
• Reboot.

This helps to prevent 90% of kernel panics related to the T2 chip, but still expect one every once in a while!

hope this helps!!

No, it was faulty discrete graphics in my case. You just have to disable it in the nvram and use the internal one instead. Google it. It's two commands and your laptop will work.

Power up and boot into Single User Recovery by holding

(if you are on high sierra 10.13.6+ you might need to use Command + r instead)

Command + r + s

Disable SIP (This takes a bit to complete so wait for it)

csrutil disable

Disable Discrete GPU on boot by running

nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

Enable verbose boot mode (This will show text everytime you boot up, shutdown or restart your mac)

nvram boot-args="-v"

Reboot:

reboot

Boot into Single User-mode by holding

Command + s + r

It might look as if it hanged, but press enter and you should see the shell (root#)

Mount root partition writeable

/sbin/mount -uw /

Make a kext-backup directory

mkdir -p /System/Library/Extensions-off


Move ONLY ONE offending kext out of the way

mv /System/Library/Extensions/AMDRadeonX3000.kext  /System/Library/Extensions-off/

Inform the system to update its kextcache:

touch /System/Library/Extensions/

Reboot

reboot

It will show a bunch of text in the screen (don't be alarmed, let it finish) and then it will restart again In second restart it will show text in the screen again and then it will show normal login screen Your computer now should work properly (dGPU off and iGPU on.

binkprof--

You solution, to turn OFF the security you depend on every day, is similar to a suggestion from "Car Talk". If the 'Check Engine' light annoys you, put a piece of black tape over it, and it will not annoy you any more. [Car Talk is a comedy show, and that suggestion is a JOKE.]

Best practice is always to find out WHY you are having such issues, rather than simply cover them up.

Hello Andrew, have you been able to fix it, please? I am having the same issue.

Same here…still suffering….can ms windows office be the problem?

Hey, I've been googling it and not found a way to disable the GPU on a 2018 MacBook Pro with NVRAM boot-args, can you link to the results you found or something? I would love to try that out

there is a very slightly different version available that includes a script to keep this change active, here:

http://dosdude1.com/gpudisable/

.