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Constant Kernel Panics – userspace watchdog timeout: no successful checkins from com.apple.WindowServer

S

sclowbird

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2020
17
4
I bought a new MBP 16" base model last week. I can reproduce this behavior 100% on Catalina 10.15.5:
(Independent if power nap is on / off)

First thing I noticed and was able to reproduce:

1. Connect the MBP display to an external Monitor (I connected it directly with a DP -> Type C) cable. (It doesn't matter which port on the MBP).
2. Close the lid of the MBP. Everything is working as it should at this point in time (external Monitor).
3. Put the MBP in to sleep (Apple logo in the upper left corner -> sleep)
4. Wait for about 4-5 minutes.
5. Try to wake the MAC with external peripheral (in my case apple magic keyboard)

Result:
Screen of external monitor stays black. When opening the MBP it is completely dark (touchbar, keyboard light, display). It gets hot in the upper keyboard area. From there on there are only two ways out:
1. Wait about 5 minutes and the MAC restarts itself
2. Force restart

Second thing I noticed:
1. Connect the MBP display to an external Monitor (I connected it directly with a DP -> Type C) cable. (It doesn't matter which port on the MBP).
2. Close the lid of the MBP. Everything is working as it should at this point in time (external Monitor).
3. Put the MBP in to sleep (Apple logo in the upper left corner -> sleep)
4. I can't exactly specify the amount of time it has to stay in sleep (in my case it was overnight)
5. Open the lid of the MBP (external display still connected)
6. The MBP restarts (immediately shows startup apple logo)

I didn't have any of this issues on my MBP 13" - so I suppose it has something todo with the dedicated graphics card. It is very frustrating and I will likely send it back next week.
I don't have any of this problems when using the laptop without external monitor. On 10.15.4 I noticed one kernel panic when opening the lid from sleep without an external monitor - but this issue was resolved by disabling power nap.

I bought this machine at this point in time because I thought, the fact it was released last year makes it more likely that such issues are resolved by now (half a year later!). But the fact that such hiccups are not resolved makes me doubt they are going to be resolved at all. Maybe it is just time to move on frome apple.
 
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Airyui

Airyui

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2020
16
0
exactly the same!!!!!! it drives me crazy!
[automerge]1590908349[/automerge]
sclowbird said:
I bought a new MBP 16" base model last week. I can reproduce this behavior 100% on Catalina 10.15.5:
(Independent if power nap is on / off)

First thing I noticed and was able to reproduce:

1. Connect the MBP display to an external Monitor (I connected it directly with a DP -> Type C) cable. (It doesn't matter which port on the MBP).
2. Close the lid of the MBP. Everything is working as it should at this point in time (external Monitor).
3. Put the MBP in to sleep (Apple logo in the upper left corner -> sleep)
4. Wait for about 4-5 minutes.
5. Try to wake the MAC with external peripheral (in my case apple magic keyboard)

Result:
Screen of external monitor stays black. When opening the MBP it is completely dark (touchbar, keyboard light, display). It gets hot in the upper keyboard area. From there on there are only two ways out:
1. Wait about 5 minutes and the MAC restarts itself
2. Force restart

Second thing I noticed:
1. Connect the MBP display to an external Monitor (I connected it directly with a DP -> Type C) cable. (It doesn't matter which port on the MBP).
2. Close the lid of the MBP. Everything is working as it should at this point in time (external Monitor).
3. Put the MBP in to sleep (Apple logo in the upper left corner -> sleep)
4. I can't exactly specify the amount of time it has to stay in sleep (in my case it was overnight)
5. Open the lid of the MBP (external display still connected)
6. The MBP restarts (immediately shows startup apple logo)

I didn't have any of this issues on my MBP 13" - so I suppose it has something todo with the dedicated graphics card. It is very frustrating and I will likely send it back next week.
I don't have any of this problems when using the laptop without external monitor. On 10.15.4 I noticed one kernel panic when opening the lid from sleep without an external monitor - but this issue was resolved by disabling power nap.

I bought this machine at this point in time because I thought, the fact it was released last year makes it more likely that such issues are resolved by now (half a year later!). But the fact that such hiccups are not resolved makes me doubt they are going to be resolved at all. Maybe it is just time to move on frome apple.
Click to expand...
When I used 10.14 there was no pb! only recently when I updated to 10.15.5. And I always use an external monitor and enable power nap and automatically switch graphic card.
 
S

sclowbird

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2020
17
4
After a complete reinstall of Mac OS without any modification the issue persists. I will send it back as this is not acceptable in this price category - there shouldn‘t be any compromisses; not acting on it and trying to work around such an issue would just mean to accept such bad software quality. Let‘s see what 2021 brings. Good luck for everyone who are out of their return window.
 
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R

robsp2000

macrumors member
Jun 7, 2005
96
206
Is there a chance that only certain 16" MBP are affected? I deal with this issue everyday and contacted Apple support. Now I have to bring my computer to an authorized repair center. It is my main work computer so it will be a big inconvenience. I'm wondering if anyone who had this issue who received a new MBP had the issue resolved? Basically could this be a hardware issue on a limited number of machines? Because if it isn't then there is no way I am going through the hassle of having it replaced and then restoring everything just to be back at square 1.
 
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trademark_designs

trademark_designs

macrumors newbie
May 31, 2020
2
0
Baltimore, MD
CMMChris said:
Have no panic issues with the Radeon VII. Only RX 5700 XT.
Click to expand...

Hey CMMChris, thanks for all the info in here. I thought I was going crazy with this Hackintosh so its good to know these problems aren't my fault - still sucks that there is no solution. I do have a question though - I have an older hack that is running a 5700 xt as well (3900k I think, z77 mobo) that doesn't seem to exhibit any of these problems. However my new hack (9700k, z390) crashes pretty regularly with the symptoms discussed here. Is it worth trying to compare the systems to figure out why one is stable, and one isn't? I think the older system has a 5700 direct from AMD, while the new one is an ASUS version.
 
star-affinity

star-affinity

macrumors 68000
Nov 14, 2007
1,996
1,333
CMMChris said:
No the issue is related to the Navi GPU.
Click to expand...

CMMChris said:
I have been able to trigger those panics on any Navi powered machine even if people claim they don't have the issue.
Click to expand...

May I ask how you trigger it? I have a RX 5700 XT GPU and I only seem to get the ”com.apple.driver.watchdog” Kernel Panic while waking from sleep (not every time, but ever so few) and never while using the computer.

Interestingly, I was getting a crash in Windows 10 on the same computer after three ”sleeps and wakes” with my Apple display connected via a DisplayPort to DVI adapter, but it seems resolved since I updated to Windows 10 version 2004 (May 2020 update) and/or the AMD Adrenaline 20.5.1 driver. Also had stability issues in Windows 10 while using the computer – for example getting sudden black screen and computer crash while gaming and sudden lock-ups while browsing the web – but these also seem gone after the Windows and/ord AMD driver update (not sure which one or if it's both that are included the fix).

Maybe Apple will have to apply a similar fix for Navi GPU drivers in Catalina as was done in Windows? ?

At the same time I've had a few ”wake from sleep” crashes on my work computer (MacBook Pro 13" from 2018), but those happen much more rarely compared to the computer with RX 5700 XT (Navi). And as we all know the MacBook Pro 13" has Intel Iris graphics, nothing to do with Navi.
 
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C

CMMChris

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2019
850
794
Germany (Bavaria)
I already addressed how to reproduce the crashes and what is causing them in my bug report template posted across the forum and this topic.
Regarding Windows, never had issues there. RX 5700 XT running rock solid over there since I got it.

Regarding non Navi macs with the same kernel panics, I am aware of this issue. It started with 10.15.4. In this release Apple ported some Navi bugs over to other GPUs. The one affected by them most is Vega20 (Radeon VII, Pro Vega II).
 
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star-affinity

star-affinity

macrumors 68000
Nov 14, 2007
1,996
1,333
CMMChris said:
I already addressed how to reproduce the crashes and what is causing them in my bug report template posted across the forum and this topic.
Regarding Windows, never had issues there. RX 5700 XT running rock solid over there since I got it.

Regarding non Navi macs with the same kernel panics, I am aware of this issue. It started with 10.15.4. In this release Apple ported some Navi bugs over to other GPUs. The one affected by them most is Vega20 (Radeon VII, Pro Vega II).
Click to expand...

Thanks, found it here: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-com-apple-windowserver.2222878/post-28506270

For whatever it's worth, since Catalina 10.15.2 (which is the first version of Catalina I started to use with my computer with RX 5700 XT graphics) it never happened for me with every wake from sleep, just randomly like you claim it started to be after 10.15.4.

Regarding Windows, never had issues there. RX 5700 XT running rock solid over there since I got it.
Click to expand...

I'm aware some haven't seen any problems with their RX 5700 XT in Windows, but there's quite a few who has:

AMD Community | AMD

community.amd.com community.amd.com

I've been one of them since I bought the RX 5700 XT in November 2019, but it seems it's no longer so since the latest software from AMD and Microsoft.
 
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mechazawa42

mechazawa42

macrumors newbie
Oct 7, 2012
23
6
Yes, I just did. No luck with my machine. Still the same faulty behavior with an external monitor, when putting the MacBook in clamshell mode to sleep...
 
S

sclowbird

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2020
17
4
mechazawa42 said:
Yes, I just did. No luck with my machine. Still the same faulty behavior with an external monitor, when putting the MacBook in clamshell mode to sleep...
Click to expand...

I was not able to test the supplemental update but I guess it doesn‘t change anything. Did you try configuring mirror mode with the external monitor and test if you have the same behavior?
 
mechazawa42

mechazawa42

macrumors newbie
Oct 7, 2012
23
6
sclowbird said:
I was not able to test the supplemental update but I guess it doesn‘t change anything. Did you try configuring mirror mode with the external monitor and test if you have the same behavior?
Click to expand...

Hey there, it only seems to happen in clamshell mode in my case. When I leave the lid open I didn't notice the problem yet. When the lid is open, it is set to extended desktop, which didn't give me any trouble yet.

What I just noticed is that after the supplemental update, there is no error report anymore which I could send to Apple. It just crashes and then after reboot I am asked if I want to reopen anything. Did anyone also notice this?
 
S

sclowbird

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2020
17
4
mechazawa42 said:
Hey there, it only seems to happen in clamshell mode in my case. When I leave the lid open I didn't notice the problem yet. When the lid is open, it is set to extended desktop, which didn't give me any trouble yet.

What I just noticed is that after the supplemental update, there is no error report anymore which I could send to Apple. It just crashes and then after reboot I am asked if I want to reopen anything. Did anyone also notice this?
Click to expand...

Try to set the Monitor to mirror Mode before closing the lid and check if it still crashes.
 
aihkas

aihkas

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2020
16
0
mechazawa42 said:
Hey there, it only seems to happen in clamshell mode in my case. When I leave the lid open I didn't notice the problem yet. When the lid is open, it is set to extended desktop, which didn't give me any trouble yet.

What I just noticed is that after the supplemental update, there is no error report anymore which I could send to Apple. It just crashes and then after reboot I am asked if I want to reopen anything. Did anyone also notice this?
Click to expand...


I got the error report indeed.
 
mechazawa42

mechazawa42

macrumors newbie
Oct 7, 2012
23
6
sclowbird said:
Try to set the Monitor to mirror Mode before closing the lid and check if it still crashes.
Click to expand...

Ah ok, I see. I just tried it with selecting mirror mode before closing the lid, but the problem persisted unfortunately.

aihkas said:
I got the error report indeed.
Click to expand...

There are still no error reports appearing after the crash on my MBP. This is so frustrating... well, as if the reports even made a difference :p
 
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