Quick Summary
The error "panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff800025353c)" on macOS indicates a kernel panic, which is essentially macOS's equivalent of a Blue Screen of Death in Windows. This means the operating system has encountered a critical error it cannot recover from, forcing it to halt to prevent further damage.
Common Causes
- Software Incompatibility or Corruption: A newly installed application, a driver, or even a macOS update itself can introduce incompatible or corrupted code causing the kernel to panic.
- Hardware Issues: Faulty RAM, a failing hard drive, or issues with other internal components can trigger kernel panics. Overheating can also cause instability.
- Peripheral Devices: External devices and their drivers can sometimes cause conflicts that lead to kernel panics, especially if the drivers are outdated or incompatible.
- File System Errors: Corruption within the macOS file system can also trigger this type of error.
Step-by-Step Fixes
Method 1: Restart Your Mac in Safe Mode
Step 1: Shut down your Mac completely.
Step 2: Press the power button to turn your Mac back on.
Step 3: Immediately after pressing the power button, press and hold the Shift key.
Step 4: Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo and the login window.
Step 5: If your Mac starts successfully in Safe Mode, this indicates that a third-party application or driver is likely the cause of the problem. In Safe Mode, uninstall any recently installed applications or drivers.
Step 6: Restart your Mac normally after uninstalling suspected applications.
Method 2: Run Apple Diagnostics
Step 1: Disconnect all external devices except the power cable, keyboard, mouse, and display.
Step 2: Shut down your Mac completely.
Step 3: Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the 'D' key until the Apple Diagnostics screen appears.
Step 4: Follow the on-screen instructions to run the diagnostics. This will test your Mac's hardware for any issues.
Step 5: Note any error codes that are displayed and research them online for further information about the specific hardware component that may be failing.
Method 3: Reset NVRAM/PRAM
Step 1: Shut down your Mac completely.
Step 2: Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Option, Command, P, and R keys simultaneously.
Step 3: Continue holding these keys for about 20 seconds. The Mac might appear to restart during this process - that's normal. You should hear the startup chime a second time or see the Apple logo appear and disappear.
Step 4: Release the keys. Your Mac will start up normally.
Method 4: Repair Disk Using Disk Utility
Step 1: Restart your Mac in Recovery Mode. To do this, turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold Command (⌘) and R keys until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.
Step 2: In the macOS Utilities window, select Disk Utility and click Continue.
Step 3: In the Disk Utility sidebar, select your startup disk (usually named 'Macintosh HD').
Step 4: Click the 'First Aid' button at the top of the Disk Utility window.
Step 5: Click 'Run' to start the disk repair process. Let Disk Utility check for and repair any errors on your disk.
Step 6: Once the repair process is complete, restart your Mac normally.
Method 5: Reinstall macOS
Step 1: Back up your important data to an external hard drive or cloud storage, as this process will erase the current system.
Step 2: Restart your Mac in Recovery Mode (Command + R while starting).
Step 3: In macOS Utilities, select 'Reinstall macOS' and click 'Continue'.
Step 4: Follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall macOS. You may be prompted to select a disk. Choose your startup disk ('Macintosh HD' unless you named it differently).
Step 5: The installation process will take some time. Once complete, your Mac will restart and you can restore your backed-up data.