Re: iMac random restarts

[Tim Law]

My positivities were short-lived. After an hour or more of normal running 
whilst I was making an iMovie, the dreaded tick tick tick of a computer in loop 
appeared, then shut down. This kept happening for four of five restarts until I 
gave up. Now returning home I find a circle with a line through it. 

I’ve rebooted into Recovery, run disk utility and reloaded the OSX. 

If it happens again, I’m off to MacWorx. :-(

Tim

> On 3 Nov 2020, at 8:46 am, Tim Law  wrote:
> 
> Good morning,
> 
> After a couple of days of no random freezes I’m becoming confident a solution 
> has appeared.  The initial problem I feel was RAM being moved a fraction 
> whilst the computer was being transported, screen down, in my car. 
> 
> I focused on testing RAM one stick at a time and moving it around into 
> various bays. Plus resetting PRAM, SMC, reinstalling the OS from recovery, 
> held D on restart for a test process to commence, but still the freezes would 
> come. 
> 
> One thing I didn’t do very well was the restarting procedure. I don’t 
> normally have to restart the iMac, so wasn’t familiar with how long to hold 
> the power button for. Once I read on the Apple support description on adding 
> RAM
> "Your iMac performs a memory initialisation procedure when you first turn it 
> on after upgrading memory or rearranging DIMMs. This process can take 30 
> seconds or more, and the display of your iMac remains dark until it's 
> finished. Make sure you let the memory initialisation complete.”  
> 
> I realised I had probably been interrupting this.   I then held the power 
> button for about half a second to get it going and walked away until it did 
> it’s thing and bingo, the iMac has stayed running correctly. 
> 
> Simple really…..   :-)
> 
> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On 30 Oct 2020, at 1:07 am, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
>> 
>> No worries, fingers crossed something there resolves it! Good luck with it :)
>> Kind regards
>> Daniel
>> 
>> ---
>> Daniel Kerr
>> MacWizardry
>> 
>> Phone: 0414 795 960
>> Email: 
>> Web:   
>> 
>> 
>> **For everything Apple**
>> 
>> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and 
>> as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of 
>> MacWizardry. Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of 
>> warranty or accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any 
>> information in this email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, that 
>> permission by the author be requested. 
>> 
>>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 10:51 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Getting somewhere I think Daniel. Thanks heaps
>>> 
>>> Tim's red iPhone 
>>> 
 On 29 Oct 2020, at 10:07 pm, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
 
 Hi Tim
 
 Generally I use the bottom slot, as that tends to be the first one it 
 checks. (And Apple ship in the bottom two by default,..so I assume that 
 first one is the first one it checks).
 Kind regards
 Daniel
 
 ---
 Daniel Kerr
 MacWizardry
 
 Phone: 0414 795 960
 Email: 
 Web:   
 
 
 **For everything Apple**
 
 NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion 
 and as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of 
 MacWizardry. Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form 
 of warranty or accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any 
 information in this email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, 
 that permission by the author be requested. 
 
> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:23 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
> 
> Always helpful Daniel
> 
> Does it matter which slot I have the RAM in?
> 
> 
> 
> Tim's red iPhone 
> 
>>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:12 pm, Daniel Kerr  
>>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Tim
>> 
>> When you removed and replaced the RAM, did you put it all back or test 
>> it separately?
>> That would be one check, is just run it on one stick of RAM at a time. 
>> It will be slow, but this can narrow down if a stick is faulty.
>> 
>> Also, you can check the drive as well to ensure that’s ok.
>> I recommend the following SMART Utility. (You can run it in Shareware 
>> mode)
>> https://www.volitans-software.com/apps/smart-utility/
>> This will check the drives and advise is “Passed” (green), “Failing” 
>> (orange) or “Failed” (red). It works with Fusion Drives as well and will 
>> test both HDD and SSD separately.
>> I’ve used it to find faulty drives even before Apple Disk Utility finds 
>> them. So it’s a good little tool.
>> 
>> That would be my first things to try anyway, just to rule out a stick of 
>> RAM and drive is ok.
>> Also try an SMC reset and PRAM reset. (I have steps on my FAQ page of my 
>> website if you’re not familiar with that.
>> 
>> Try those and see how you go.
>> If no 

Re: iMac random restarts

[Tim Law]

Good morning,

After a couple of days of no random freezes I’m becoming confident a solution 
has appeared.  The initial problem I feel was RAM being moved a fraction whilst 
the computer was being transported, screen down, in my car. 

I focused on testing RAM one stick at a time and moving it around into various 
bays. Plus resetting PRAM, SMC, reinstalling the OS from recovery, held D on 
restart for a test process to commence, but still the freezes would come. 

One thing I didn’t do very well was the restarting procedure. I don’t normally 
have to restart the iMac, so wasn’t familiar with how long to hold the power 
button for. Once I read on the Apple support description on adding RAM
"Your iMac performs a memory initialisation procedure when you first turn it on 
after upgrading memory or rearranging DIMMs. This process can take 30 seconds 
or more, and the display of your iMac remains dark until it's finished. Make 
sure you let the memory initialisation complete.”  

I realised I had probably been interrupting this.   I then held the power 
button for about half a second to get it going and walked away until it did 
it’s thing and bingo, the iMac has stayed running correctly. 

Simple really…..   :-)

Thanks





> On 30 Oct 2020, at 1:07 am, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
> 
> No worries, fingers crossed something there resolves it! Good luck with it :)
> Kind regards
> Daniel
> 
> ---
> Daniel Kerr
> MacWizardry
> 
> Phone: 0414 795 960
> Email: 
> Web:   
> 
> 
> **For everything Apple**
> 
> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and 
> as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of MacWizardry. 
> Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of warranty or 
> accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any information in this 
> email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, that permission by the 
> author be requested. 
> 
>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 10:51 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
>> 
>> Getting somewhere I think Daniel. Thanks heaps
>> 
>> Tim's red iPhone 
>> 
>>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 10:07 pm, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi Tim
>>> 
>>> Generally I use the bottom slot, as that tends to be the first one it 
>>> checks. (And Apple ship in the bottom two by default,..so I assume that 
>>> first one is the first one it checks).
>>> Kind regards
>>> Daniel
>>> 
>>> ---
>>> Daniel Kerr
>>> MacWizardry
>>> 
>>> Phone: 0414 795 960
>>> Email: 
>>> Web:   
>>> 
>>> 
>>> **For everything Apple**
>>> 
>>> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and 
>>> as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of 
>>> MacWizardry. Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of 
>>> warranty or accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any 
>>> information in this email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, 
>>> that permission by the author be requested. 
>>> 
 On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:23 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
 
 Always helpful Daniel
 
 Does it matter which slot I have the RAM in?
 
 
 
 Tim's red iPhone 
 
>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:12 pm, Daniel Kerr  
>> wrote:
> 
> Hi Tim
> 
> When you removed and replaced the RAM, did you put it all back or test it 
> separately?
> That would be one check, is just run it on one stick of RAM at a time. It 
> will be slow, but this can narrow down if a stick is faulty.
> 
> Also, you can check the drive as well to ensure that’s ok.
> I recommend the following SMART Utility. (You can run it in Shareware 
> mode)
> https://www.volitans-software.com/apps/smart-utility/
> This will check the drives and advise is “Passed” (green), “Failing” 
> (orange) or “Failed” (red). It works with Fusion Drives as well and will 
> test both HDD and SSD separately.
> I’ve used it to find faulty drives even before Apple Disk Utility finds 
> them. So it’s a good little tool.
> 
> That would be my first things to try anyway, just to rule out a stick of 
> RAM and drive is ok.
> Also try an SMC reset and PRAM reset. (I have steps on my FAQ page of my 
> website if you’re not familiar with that.
> 
> Try those and see how you go.
> If no success, and seeing you’re up Duncraig way I’d recommend MacWorx 
> Joondalup. (Delage Street, Joondalup) - www.macworx.com.au
> 
> Hope something there helps.
> Kind regards
> Daniel
> 
>  Sent from my iPhone 12 Pro 
> 
> ---
> Daniel Kerr
> MacWizardry
> 
> Phone: 0414 795 960
> Email: 
> Web:   
> 
> 
> **For everything Apple**
> 
> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion 
> and as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of 
> MacWizardry. Any information 

Re: iMac random restarts

[Daniel Kerr]

No worries, fingers crossed something there resolves it! Good luck with it :)
Kind regards
Daniel

---
Daniel Kerr
MacWizardry

Phone: 0414 795 960
Email: 
Web:   


**For everything Apple**

NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and as 
such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of MacWizardry. Any 
information provided does not offer or warrant any form of warranty or accept 
liability. It would be appreciated that if any information in this email is to 
be disseminated, distributed or copied, that permission by the author be 
requested. 

> On 29 Oct 2020, at 10:51 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
> 
> Getting somewhere I think Daniel. Thanks heaps
> 
> Tim's red iPhone 
> 
>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 10:07 pm, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Tim
>> 
>> Generally I use the bottom slot, as that tends to be the first one it 
>> checks. (And Apple ship in the bottom two by default,..so I assume that 
>> first one is the first one it checks).
>> Kind regards
>> Daniel
>> 
>> ---
>> Daniel Kerr
>> MacWizardry
>> 
>> Phone: 0414 795 960
>> Email: 
>> Web:   
>> 
>> 
>> **For everything Apple**
>> 
>> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and 
>> as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of 
>> MacWizardry. Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of 
>> warranty or accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any 
>> information in this email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, that 
>> permission by the author be requested. 
>> 
>>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:23 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Always helpful Daniel
>>> 
>>> Does it matter which slot I have the RAM in?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Tim's red iPhone 
>>> 
> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:12 pm, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
 
 Hi Tim
 
 When you removed and replaced the RAM, did you put it all back or test it 
 separately?
 That would be one check, is just run it on one stick of RAM at a time. It 
 will be slow, but this can narrow down if a stick is faulty.
 
 Also, you can check the drive as well to ensure that’s ok.
 I recommend the following SMART Utility. (You can run it in Shareware mode)
 https://www.volitans-software.com/apps/smart-utility/
 This will check the drives and advise is “Passed” (green), “Failing” 
 (orange) or “Failed” (red). It works with Fusion Drives as well and will 
 test both HDD and SSD separately.
 I’ve used it to find faulty drives even before Apple Disk Utility finds 
 them. So it’s a good little tool.
 
 That would be my first things to try anyway, just to rule out a stick of 
 RAM and drive is ok.
 Also try an SMC reset and PRAM reset. (I have steps on my FAQ page of my 
 website if you’re not familiar with that.
 
 Try those and see how you go.
 If no success, and seeing you’re up Duncraig way I’d recommend MacWorx 
 Joondalup. (Delage Street, Joondalup) - www.macworx.com.au
 
 Hope something there helps.
 Kind regards
 Daniel
 
  Sent from my iPhone 12 Pro 
 
 ---
 Daniel Kerr
 MacWizardry
 
 Phone: 0414 795 960
 Email: 
 Web:   
 
 
 **For everything Apple**
 
 NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion 
 and as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of 
 MacWizardry. Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form 
 of warranty or accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any 
 information in this email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, 
 that permission by the author be requested. 
 
> On 29 Oct 2020, at 8:39 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
> 
> Hello folks.
> 
> I have an unhappy iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
> 40Gb RAM
> 10.15.7
> 
> 
> Problem is random restarts.
> First symptom is the mouse freezes then about 30 seconds later the 
> computer turns off and restarts.  This happens enough to be very 
> annoying, and has occurred whilst I was drafting this message. 
> 
> The problem first occurred after I had transported the computer, screen 
> down, on the seat of my car. No physical external damage is apparent. 
> 
> 
> Problem does occur in Safe Boot mode, though not as frequently as in 
> normal mode. 
> 
> EtreCheck shows nothing out of order
> Rebooting into recovery mode and running both Disk Utility and reload 
> latest operating system have been done. 
> 
> *** MCA Error Report ***
> CPU Machine Check Architecture Error Dump (CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7500 
> CPU @ 3.40GHz, CPUID: 0x906E9)
> CATERR detected! No MCA data found.
> 
> 
> I had assumed it was a hardware problem triggered by moving the machine 
> but nothing is 

Re: iMac random restarts

[Tim Law]

Getting somewhere I think Daniel. Thanks heaps

Tim's red iPhone 

> On 29 Oct 2020, at 10:07 pm, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
> 
> Hi Tim
> 
> Generally I use the bottom slot, as that tends to be the first one it checks. 
> (And Apple ship in the bottom two by default,..so I assume that first one is 
> the first one it checks).
> Kind regards
> Daniel
> 
> ---
> Daniel Kerr
> MacWizardry
> 
> Phone: 0414 795 960
> Email: 
> Web:   
> 
> 
> **For everything Apple**
> 
> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and 
> as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of MacWizardry. 
> Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of warranty or 
> accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any information in this 
> email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, that permission by the 
> author be requested. 
> 
>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:23 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
>> 
>> Always helpful Daniel
>> 
>> Does it matter which slot I have the RAM in?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Tim's red iPhone 
>> 
 On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:12 pm, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi Tim
>>> 
>>> When you removed and replaced the RAM, did you put it all back or test it 
>>> separately?
>>> That would be one check, is just run it on one stick of RAM at a time. It 
>>> will be slow, but this can narrow down if a stick is faulty.
>>> 
>>> Also, you can check the drive as well to ensure that’s ok.
>>> I recommend the following SMART Utility. (You can run it in Shareware mode)
>>> https://www.volitans-software.com/apps/smart-utility/
>>> This will check the drives and advise is “Passed” (green), “Failing” 
>>> (orange) or “Failed” (red). It works with Fusion Drives as well and will 
>>> test both HDD and SSD separately.
>>> I’ve used it to find faulty drives even before Apple Disk Utility finds 
>>> them. So it’s a good little tool.
>>> 
>>> That would be my first things to try anyway, just to rule out a stick of 
>>> RAM and drive is ok.
>>> Also try an SMC reset and PRAM reset. (I have steps on my FAQ page of my 
>>> website if you’re not familiar with that.
>>> 
>>> Try those and see how you go.
>>> If no success, and seeing you’re up Duncraig way I’d recommend MacWorx 
>>> Joondalup. (Delage Street, Joondalup) - www.macworx.com.au
>>> 
>>> Hope something there helps.
>>> Kind regards
>>> Daniel
>>> 
>>>  Sent from my iPhone 12 Pro 
>>> 
>>> ---
>>> Daniel Kerr
>>> MacWizardry
>>> 
>>> Phone: 0414 795 960
>>> Email: 
>>> Web:   
>>> 
>>> 
>>> **For everything Apple**
>>> 
>>> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and 
>>> as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of 
>>> MacWizardry. Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of 
>>> warranty or accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any 
>>> information in this email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, 
>>> that permission by the author be requested. 
>>> 
 On 29 Oct 2020, at 8:39 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
 
 Hello folks.
 
 I have an unhappy iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
 40Gb RAM
 10.15.7
 
 
 Problem is random restarts.
 First symptom is the mouse freezes then about 30 seconds later the 
 computer turns off and restarts.  This happens enough to be very annoying, 
 and has occurred whilst I was drafting this message. 
 
 The problem first occurred after I had transported the computer, screen 
 down, on the seat of my car. No physical external damage is apparent. 
 
 
 Problem does occur in Safe Boot mode, though not as frequently as in 
 normal mode. 
 
 EtreCheck shows nothing out of order
 Rebooting into recovery mode and running both Disk Utility and reload 
 latest operating system have been done. 
 
 *** MCA Error Report ***
 CPU Machine Check Architecture Error Dump (CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7500 
 CPU @ 3.40GHz, CPUID: 0x906E9)
 CATERR detected! No MCA data found.
 
 
 I had assumed it was a hardware problem triggered by moving the machine 
 but nothing is showing up in any errors that I have seen.  I have removed 
 and replaced the RAM.   When running, it functions normally as expected. 
 
 Any thoughts on what else I could do before taking it to the doctor?
 Which doctor is recommended. 
 I live in Duncraig area. 
 
 
 
 Thanks
 
 
 
 
 
 -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
 Archives - 
 Guidelines - 
 Settings & Unsubscribe - 
 
>>> 
>>> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
>>> Archives - 
>>> Guidelines - 

Re: iMac random restarts

[Daniel Kerr]

Hi Tim

Generally I use the bottom slot, as that tends to be the first one it checks. 
(And Apple ship in the bottom two by default,..so I assume that first one is 
the first one it checks).
Kind regards
Daniel

---
Daniel Kerr
MacWizardry

Phone: 0414 795 960
Email: 
Web:   


**For everything Apple**

NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and as 
such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of MacWizardry. Any 
information provided does not offer or warrant any form of warranty or accept 
liability. It would be appreciated that if any information in this email is to 
be disseminated, distributed or copied, that permission by the author be 
requested. 

> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:23 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
> 
> Always helpful Daniel
> 
> Does it matter which slot I have the RAM in?
> 
> 
> 
> Tim's red iPhone 
> 
>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:12 pm, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Tim
>> 
>> When you removed and replaced the RAM, did you put it all back or test it 
>> separately?
>> That would be one check, is just run it on one stick of RAM at a time. It 
>> will be slow, but this can narrow down if a stick is faulty.
>> 
>> Also, you can check the drive as well to ensure that’s ok.
>> I recommend the following SMART Utility. (You can run it in Shareware mode)
>> https://www.volitans-software.com/apps/smart-utility/
>> This will check the drives and advise is “Passed” (green), “Failing” 
>> (orange) or “Failed” (red). It works with Fusion Drives as well and will 
>> test both HDD and SSD separately.
>> I’ve used it to find faulty drives even before Apple Disk Utility finds 
>> them. So it’s a good little tool.
>> 
>> That would be my first things to try anyway, just to rule out a stick of RAM 
>> and drive is ok.
>> Also try an SMC reset and PRAM reset. (I have steps on my FAQ page of my 
>> website if you’re not familiar with that.
>> 
>> Try those and see how you go.
>> If no success, and seeing you’re up Duncraig way I’d recommend MacWorx 
>> Joondalup. (Delage Street, Joondalup) - www.macworx.com.au
>> 
>> Hope something there helps.
>> Kind regards
>> Daniel
>> 
>>  Sent from my iPhone 12 Pro 
>> 
>> ---
>> Daniel Kerr
>> MacWizardry
>> 
>> Phone: 0414 795 960
>> Email: 
>> Web:   
>> 
>> 
>> **For everything Apple**
>> 
>> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and 
>> as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of 
>> MacWizardry. Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of 
>> warranty or accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any 
>> information in this email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, that 
>> permission by the author be requested. 
>> 
>>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 8:39 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hello folks.
>>> 
>>> I have an unhappy iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
>>> 40Gb RAM
>>> 10.15.7
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Problem is random restarts.
>>> First symptom is the mouse freezes then about 30 seconds later the computer 
>>> turns off and restarts.  This happens enough to be very annoying, and has 
>>> occurred whilst I was drafting this message. 
>>> 
>>> The problem first occurred after I had transported the computer, screen 
>>> down, on the seat of my car. No physical external damage is apparent. 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Problem does occur in Safe Boot mode, though not as frequently as in normal 
>>> mode. 
>>> 
>>> EtreCheck shows nothing out of order
>>> Rebooting into recovery mode and running both Disk Utility and reload 
>>> latest operating system have been done. 
>>> 
>>> *** MCA Error Report ***
>>> CPU Machine Check Architecture Error Dump (CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7500 
>>> CPU @ 3.40GHz, CPUID: 0x906E9)
>>> CATERR detected! No MCA data found.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I had assumed it was a hardware problem triggered by moving the machine but 
>>> nothing is showing up in any errors that I have seen.  I have removed and 
>>> replaced the RAM.   When running, it functions normally as expected. 
>>> 
>>> Any thoughts on what else I could do before taking it to the doctor?
>>> Which doctor is recommended. 
>>> I live in Duncraig area. 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Thanks
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
>>> Archives - 
>>> Guidelines - 
>>> Settings & Unsubscribe - 
>>> 
>> 
>> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
>> Archives - 
>> Guidelines - 
>> Settings & Unsubscribe - 
>> 
> 
> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
> Archives - 
> Guidelines - 
> 

Re: iMac random restarts

[Tim Law]

Always helpful Daniel

Does it matter which slot I have the RAM in?



Tim's red iPhone 

> On 29 Oct 2020, at 9:12 pm, Daniel Kerr  wrote:
> 
> Hi Tim
> 
> When you removed and replaced the RAM, did you put it all back or test it 
> separately?
> That would be one check, is just run it on one stick of RAM at a time. It 
> will be slow, but this can narrow down if a stick is faulty.
> 
> Also, you can check the drive as well to ensure that’s ok.
> I recommend the following SMART Utility. (You can run it in Shareware mode)
> https://www.volitans-software.com/apps/smart-utility/
> This will check the drives and advise is “Passed” (green), “Failing” (orange) 
> or “Failed” (red). It works with Fusion Drives as well and will test both HDD 
> and SSD separately.
> I’ve used it to find faulty drives even before Apple Disk Utility finds them. 
> So it’s a good little tool.
> 
> That would be my first things to try anyway, just to rule out a stick of RAM 
> and drive is ok.
> Also try an SMC reset and PRAM reset. (I have steps on my FAQ page of my 
> website if you’re not familiar with that.
> 
> Try those and see how you go.
> If no success, and seeing you’re up Duncraig way I’d recommend MacWorx 
> Joondalup. (Delage Street, Joondalup) - www.macworx.com.au
> 
> Hope something there helps.
> Kind regards
> Daniel
> 
>  Sent from my iPhone 12 Pro 
> 
> ---
> Daniel Kerr
> MacWizardry
> 
> Phone: 0414 795 960
> Email: 
> Web:   
> 
> 
> **For everything Apple**
> 
> NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and 
> as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of MacWizardry. 
> Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of warranty or 
> accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any information in this 
> email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, that permission by the 
> author be requested. 
> 
>> On 29 Oct 2020, at 8:39 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
>> 
>> Hello folks.
>> 
>> I have an unhappy iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
>> 40Gb RAM
>> 10.15.7
>> 
>> 
>> Problem is random restarts.
>> First symptom is the mouse freezes then about 30 seconds later the computer 
>> turns off and restarts.  This happens enough to be very annoying, and has 
>> occurred whilst I was drafting this message. 
>> 
>> The problem first occurred after I had transported the computer, screen 
>> down, on the seat of my car. No physical external damage is apparent. 
>> 
>> 
>> Problem does occur in Safe Boot mode, though not as frequently as in normal 
>> mode. 
>> 
>> EtreCheck shows nothing out of order
>> Rebooting into recovery mode and running both Disk Utility and reload latest 
>> operating system have been done. 
>> 
>> *** MCA Error Report ***
>> CPU Machine Check Architecture Error Dump (CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7500 
>> CPU @ 3.40GHz, CPUID: 0x906E9)
>> CATERR detected! No MCA data found.
>> 
>> 
>> I had assumed it was a hardware problem triggered by moving the machine but 
>> nothing is showing up in any errors that I have seen.  I have removed and 
>> replaced the RAM.   When running, it functions normally as expected. 
>> 
>> Any thoughts on what else I could do before taking it to the doctor?
>> Which doctor is recommended. 
>> I live in Duncraig area. 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Thanks
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
>> Archives - 
>> Guidelines - 
>> Settings & Unsubscribe - 
>> 
> 
> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
> Archives - 
> Guidelines - 
> Settings & Unsubscribe - 
> 

-- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
Archives - 
Guidelines - 
Settings & Unsubscribe - 

Re: iMac random restarts

[Daniel Kerr]

Hi Tim

When you removed and replaced the RAM, did you put it all back or test it 
separately?
That would be one check, is just run it on one stick of RAM at a time. It will 
be slow, but this can narrow down if a stick is faulty.

Also, you can check the drive as well to ensure that’s ok.
I recommend the following SMART Utility. (You can run it in Shareware mode)
https://www.volitans-software.com/apps/smart-utility/
This will check the drives and advise is “Passed” (green), “Failing” (orange) 
or “Failed” (red). It works with Fusion Drives as well and will test both HDD 
and SSD separately.
I’ve used it to find faulty drives even before Apple Disk Utility finds them. 
So it’s a good little tool.

That would be my first things to try anyway, just to rule out a stick of RAM 
and drive is ok.
Also try an SMC reset and PRAM reset. (I have steps on my FAQ page of my 
website if you’re not familiar with that.

Try those and see how you go.
If no success, and seeing you’re up Duncraig way I’d recommend MacWorx 
Joondalup. (Delage Street, Joondalup) - www.macworx.com.au

Hope something there helps.
Kind regards
Daniel

 Sent from my iPhone 12 Pro 

---
Daniel Kerr
MacWizardry

Phone: 0414 795 960
Email: 
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> On 29 Oct 2020, at 8:39 pm, Tim Law  wrote:
> 
> Hello folks.
> 
> I have an unhappy iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
> 40Gb RAM
> 10.15.7
> 
> 
> Problem is random restarts. 
> First symptom is the mouse freezes then about 30 seconds later the computer 
> turns off and restarts.  This happens enough to be very annoying, and has 
> occurred whilst I was drafting this message. 
> 
> The problem first occurred after I had transported the computer, screen down, 
> on the seat of my car. No physical external damage is apparent. 
> 
> 
> Problem does occur in Safe Boot mode, though not as frequently as in normal 
> mode. 
> 
> EtreCheck shows nothing out of order
> Rebooting into recovery mode and running both Disk Utility and reload latest 
> operating system have been done. 
> 
> *** MCA Error Report ***
> CPU Machine Check Architecture Error Dump (CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7500 CPU 
> @ 3.40GHz, CPUID: 0x906E9)
> CATERR detected! No MCA data found.
> 
> 
> I had assumed it was a hardware problem triggered by moving the machine but 
> nothing is showing up in any errors that I have seen.  I have removed and 
> replaced the RAM.   When running, it functions normally as expected. 
> 
> Any thoughts on what else I could do before taking it to the doctor?
> Which doctor is recommended. 
> I live in Duncraig area. 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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