[G4] How to get actual kernel panic data? (update)

[Eric Smith]

It appears that the cause of this problem is the Airport module.
In fact, checking around the web this appears to be a very common
problem with many people experiencing the same kernel panic symptoms.
Sometimes replacing or even just reseating the Airport module is
effective in fixing it but sometimes the problem persists even after
replacement. In my case, if removing the Airport module seems to fix
the panics, I'll probably just leave it removed since I rarely do
anything with this system that requires networking. Also using an
external usb wifi card is an option.

Thanks to those who responded.

Eric S.

Eric Smith wrote:
> Eric,
> 
> Trying different RAM would be very difficult (or not possible)
> because my iBook is one of these, with 512MB soldered to the board:
> <http://lowendmac.com/ibooks/14in-ibook-g4-1.42-ghz.html>
> 
> As far as cooling, I suppose it's possible but it has sometimes
> panicked during boot from a cold start, so something would have
> to be overheating awfully quickly. (And other times it runs for
> 20 minutes.)
> 
> I suspect that some part on the motherboard is failing, and there's
> not much that can be done about it anyway. Darn. Oh well, maybe I'll
> look for a used 12" Powerbook, since that seems to have such a good
> reputation.
> 
> Thanks for the link on the kernel panic. I'll check it out.
> 
> Eric S.
> 
> Eric Wood wrote:
>> Man, that's a rotten thing to have start up. Did the shop you took it 
>> to try different RAM? Certainly it's either there or on the board some 
>> place, considering it happens from a different drive with a different 
>> system installation. One other thought is some failure in the cooling? 
>> I could imagine a kernel panic coming up if something overheats. Maybe 
>> a thorogh cleaning with canned air would do the trick.
>>
>> As for kernel panic data, the lead I've found is at 
>> http://www.index-site.com/kernelpanic.html
>> "I would also look at the Panic.log file with the Console program on 
>> your machine to see what may have caused the kernel panic if you get 
>> one. "
>>
>> Eric W.
>>
>> Am 09.04.2009 um 16:16 schrieb Eric Smith:
>>
>>> My iBook G4 has started experiencing regular kernel panics.
>>> My immediate question is how can I get the actual kernel
>>> panic message to display, rather than the generic message
>>> ("You must restart your computer ...") ?
>>> It's a long shot but maybe there's some clue in there
>>> I could decipher.
>>>
>>> Background: this started happening out of the blue.
>>> Once it started, it would either happen during the boot,
>>> or if it did boot all the way up it would happen as soon
>>> as I tried to log in. I was able to boot from the install
>>> CD without any problems and run Disk Utility, repair the
>>> filesystem and repair permissions (but no significant
>>> problems were seen). After doing this it would run for
>>> a longer period of time after booting, but after about
>>> 15-20 minutes of operation it would panic again, and
>>> then start panicking on every boot again.
>>>
>>> I took it to my authorized Apple repair shop (and they're
>>> good; I've used them for years on different systems).
>>> They ran all their HW diagnostics and found nothing
>>> (I have never opened it and added RAM or anything else),
>>> and wiped the disk clean and reinstalled. They also tried
>>> different kb/mouse, running off an external drive, etc.
>>> The result: still random panics, although they claim the
>>> panics are less frequent now. At that point they gave up.
>>>
>>> So I'm not sure what to do next. Live with a system that
>>> panics at random intervals and hope it doesn't get worse,
>>> or declare it a total loss? I don't expect that taking it
>>> to Apple will be of any use because they will probably just
>>> want to replace the logic board at a prohibitive cost.
>>> All I'm thinking is that if I can gather some more data on
>>> the actual panics there might be some hope.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Eric S.
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>>
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