[X-Newbies] Re: Kernel crash help.

[Charles Martin]

> From: Brian Durant <globetrotterdk at gmail.com>
>
> Can anyone help me with this? I was running the following apps at  
> the time:
>
> Safari, Bits on Wheels, Mail and Poison

You were running BoW *and* Poison? Whassa matter, one P2P program not  
stealing programs/music fast enough for ya?

Congrats, you've discovered the major problem with P2P programs  
(apart from the obvious legal exposure and ethical dilemmas, that is)  
-- most of them are unstable and cause problems.

Your crash log mentions the graphics system, but I wouldn't know what  
exactly caused the failure. At a wild guess, I'd say you left the  
programs running too long and they overheated your machine (since  
they don't allow the Mac to sleep).

Now the system appears to be hosed. Boot from your backup (you DO  
have one, of course) and run Disk Utility, Disk Warrior or Tech Tool  
Pro (which of course you have). That may repair what's been damaged.  
If you don't have a backup, smack yourself repeatedly. Then boot the  
machine in single-user mode (option-s on startup) and run the  
following command:

/sbin/fsck -fy

(note the space between the "fsck" and the "-fy")

If the report comes back that the file system was modified, run it  
again and again until you get a message like "The Disk Appears to be  
OK." Then type "reboot" and press return. If that doesn't get you to  
the desktop, try restarting the machine again, this time holding down  
the SHIFT key -- that may allow it to boot into "safe mode." If that  
works, use your System Preferences to turn off ANYTHING not made by  
Apple that engages at startup, then reboot.

Once you've got the machine stable again, try this: ditch the P2P and  
**buy** the software and music/video you want. I've noticed that Macs  
NOT running P2P programs are FAR more stable than those that are.  
Just a thought.

PS. Yes, I'm sure you're the **one** P2P user who was only  
downloading *completely* legal files, and that you would never  
*dream* of doing anything illegal. Sorry if I offended you with my  
assumptions about your P2P use, but I work in a Mac repair shop. I  
know what people do with P2P, so please spare me the BS "angry"  
reply. You want help, you have to take it the way it's given --  
particularly when you're not paying for it (a point too many people  
forget).

As a rule of thumb, P2P programs are not worth the risk and  
aggravation. The Java-based ones are the worst (thus perhaps it's not  
entirely their fault), but all the Mac P2P programs I've run across  
have "issues" just like their PC cousins. They are often at the heart  
of problems with our customers' machines. Believe me I understand the  
mentality that drives P2P, but on the whole (meaning there could be  
exceptions), it's just easier and better to go legit nowadays,  
particularly if you're a Mac user.

Cheers
Chas