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Mac Kernel Panic — Repeated Restarts with 'Your Computer Restarted' Message

Criticalsystem

Overview

Fix Mac kernel panic causing repeated automatic restarts with the message 'Your computer restarted because of a problem' on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Key Details

  • A kernel panic is macOS's equivalent of a Windows blue screen — a fatal system crash
  • The Mac restarts automatically and shows 'Your computer restarted because of a problem' on login
  • Kernel panic logs are stored in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ with .panic extension
  • On Apple Silicon, kernel panics may show a black screen with a multilingual restart message
  • Repeated kernel panics indicate a serious hardware or driver issue that needs immediate attention

Common Causes

  • Faulty or incompatible kernel extension (kext) from third-party software (antivirus, VPN, audio drivers)
  • RAM hardware failure causing random data corruption
  • Peripheral device (USB hub, Thunderbolt dock) sending bad data to the kernel
  • macOS system file corruption requiring a reinstall

Steps

  1. 1Boot into Safe Mode: Apple Silicon: hold power button > Options > hold Shift > Continue in Safe Mode. Intel: hold Shift during boot
  2. 2Check panic logs: /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ — look for the driver/kext name that caused the panic
  3. 3Remove recently installed third-party software, especially antivirus, VPN, and audio/video tools
  4. 4Disconnect all external peripherals and test — add them back one at a time to identify the culprit
  5. 5Run Apple Diagnostics: Apple Silicon: hold power button + hold D. Intel: hold D during boot

Tags

kernel-paniccrashrestartkexthardware

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Frequently Asked Questions

Open the .panic file from /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ in TextEdit. Look for the 'Kernel Extensions in backtrace' section — it names the driver that crashed. Search for that driver name to identify the responsible software.