"You need to restart your computer..."

[yapi]

For the past few days I've been getting that message that tells you to restart you computer.

It's when your entire screen goes dark and you get the message "You need to restart you computer. Hold the power button down, blah blah blah" in four languages.

I got it once or twice before, but now it's been happening everyday, around three times or so!

And sometimes, I can't even boot my comp. Or as soon as it boots, I get that message right away before I even get to touch anything.

I already repaired permissions twice, and it's still happening. Anyone has an idea what's causing this problem?

I'm wondering if it's due to my lack or RAM as well. But I can't work on that theory just yet because my RAM doesn't arrive until June. Nooooo. But it was working fine on my RAM for more than a year now, why would it suddenly go berserk like this?

Ack, I'm dying! It hurts, I tell you!!

[Adel]

Yapi, you are seeing the Panther version of what is known as a Kernel Panic.

Essentially it's a type of error where the core, or kernel of the OS receives a command it can't handle, or it gets something it's not used to, and it stumbles and falls.

There are two basic causes for this. One is a peripheral that's screwing up. One way to find out if this is the case is the old trial-and-error shtick. Restart your computer by removing each of your peripherals in turn, and seeing which is the offending peripheral.

The other basic cause is that you could have inadvertently messed up the System Software. You can do this by erasing, altering or moving files in the System/Library folder.

There are other causes, like an unfortunate electric glitch or power failure during a time when the computer was in the process of saving or altering a critical file, but this is rare. Or you could have installed something recently that doesn't agree with the OS, in which case removing it might get your system running again.

Or it could be the sign of an actual serious hardware problem, like a faulty hard disk.

Hard to troubleshoot from an armchair, but maybe you can try resetting or 'zapping' the PRAM, or running fsck from single-user mode. If that fails, run a disk repair utility from a bootable CD, or in the most extreme case, reinstall the OS.

But the first order of business is to back up all your important documents. In the rare instance you get it running, back up everything you can't live without. Then you start worrying how to repair your system.

[Adel]

Zoicks!

I just realize what I said may have just been blahblahblahblah to you.

Here are the specifics:

To 'zap the PRAM', just start the computer up while holding down Command-Option-P-R until you hear the startup chime three times. Then let go and let it proceed normally. You'll have to reset your clock and a few other preferences.

That might work. If not, try this:

To run fsck (File System Consistency Check), start the computer while holding down Command-S. It'll start up with a lot of text onscreen. When you see this you can let go. Just let it all roll by until the text stops, then type sbin/fsck -y, or just fsck -y. If you're using the newest versions of OS X, you might have to change that last part to -yf instead. If any repairs were made, there will be a message that says FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED. If you see this message, run fsck again and again until the message stops showing up and all you get is something that says the system appears to be OK. Then type reboot.

Good luck.

[yapi]

Originally posted by Adel
Zoicks!

I just realize what I said may have just been blahblahblahblah to you.

Hahahaha, just what I was thinking! ^_^;

Thanks for the further explanation! I shall test my fate now

[extremyks]

I remember it happened to me before after inserting a somewhat defective ram.

[aovelez]

Had a similar problem. Apple recommended that I remove the free RAM I got from the seller and see if it happened again. Since I was back in Manila, I could not change it from the store. True enough when the RAM was removed it did not happen again.

[yapi]

It seems to be working better now. The restart message still comes up when I wake Chiaki up from sleeping, but at least it doesn't randomly do that in the middle of working on something anymore! Thanks for the help, Adel!!

Oh yeah... when I do that fsck thing (I'm gonna try next time it happens to me), how do I get out of it? Do I simply restart, or is there an exit command?

Thanks again!!!

[Adel]

Originally posted by yapi
It seems to be working better now. The restart message still comes up when I wake Chiaki up from sleeping, but at least it doesn't randomly do that in the middle of working on something anymore! Thanks for the help, Adel!!

Oh yeah... when I do that fsck thing (I'm gonna try next time it happens to me), how do I get out of it? Do I simply restart, or is there an exit command?

Thanks again!!!

Welcome!

As for getting out of single-user mode - you're not reading carefully, my dear.

To quote myself from my own post:

Then type reboot.

And then, of course, hit <return>.

[rudeboy]

had the same problem with my powerbook 12" it kept asking me to restart my machine. the solution was to re-insert my airport card firmly. then the problem went away. ofcourse it took me forever to find the solution after trying several different procedures.

[elbert]

Hi Yapi, check this thread out: Leo Laporte's Simple Troubleshooting Steps