Mac Mini 2018 Kernel panic bug_type 210 after Security Update 2020-002

[roastable]

Hi! Same problem here with the last mojave update and safari 14 on imac pro. Any advice please?

No need for the multiple posts if you just read a few of the latest posts.

Mac Mini 2018 Kernel panic bug_type 210 after Security Update 2020-002

@fazalmajid I think this is confusing red herring because @Hessel89 previously said they were running Big Sur Beta Bridge OS and hasn't specified how they went from that to any lower version they may have come with 2020-05? So the only fix is still the Big Sur Beta Bridge OS.

forums.macrumors.com

Installing the Big Sur beta writes a new firmware to the T2 chip that seemingly fixes the issue for now.

 

[Hessel89]

Installing the Big Sur beta writes a new firmware to the T2 chip that seemingly fixes the issue for now.

This.

 

[brandair]

Just a heads up: my newest MM is now running with the latest Mojave macOS 10.14.6 (18G6032) (including Security Update 2020-005 & Supplemental Update) and T2 firmware 18P50402b. Sleep works fine and no crashes so far. I intended to update the T2 to firmware 18P50347c with my older Big Sur Beta 4 stick, since that's a proven revision, but the updater downloaded the latest T2 Big Sur firmware without my knowledge. Anyhow, everything works great so far.

 

[simonb76]

Hi,
I just updated my Mojave MacMini with 2020-005 and the supplemental update but my T2 Firmware version only changed from 17P4281 to 17P6610 not 18P50347c as mentioned in the previous post. Is there a separate firmware update for the T2 chip?

 

[brandair]

Hi,
I just updated my Mojave MacMini with 2020-005 and the supplemental update but my T2 Firmware version only changed from 17P4281 to 17P6610 not 18P50347c as mentioned in the previous post. Is there a separate firmware update for the T2 chip?

You should really go through this thread starting from page 9 on and focus on all posts related to Big Sur Beta. Always amazes me how ignorant people can be when it comes to reading even the briefest technical tutorials (hence the infamous RTFM abbreviation), or considering the previous posts in a forum thread.

 

[simonb76]

You should really go through this thread starting from page 9 on and focus on all posts related to Big Sur Beta. Always amazes me how ignorant people can be when it comes to reading even the briefest technical tutorials (hence the infamous RTFM abbreviation), or considering the previous posts in a forum thread.

Thanks will do. Just seems like a PITA when I just want to keep it running Mojave. But typical Apple.

 

[brandair]

Thanks will do. Just seems like a PITA when I just want to keep it running Mojave. But typical Apple.

Yeah, that is unfortunately the reality with Apple 3.0 for all those who have to maintain a stable and flexible system.

 

[msephton]

PSA: install Big Sur Beta on an external drive, you don't need to boot it afterwards as the T2 is upgraded during the install.

Warning: If you install it on a partition of container, you'll render your machine disk incompatible with Mojave.

Mods: Can we please get the solution pinned/stickied to this thread?

 

[Boyd01]

Mods: Can we please get the solution pinned/stickied to this thread?

There is no way to "pin" a post within a thread. And this thread is too long and confusing to be used as a "sticky".

 

[toke lahti]

I did the routine (big sur beta) with 80gb PATA (!) drive. It took like 2 hours! 🤓
Booting back from my main external system drive, I got this:

There seems to be a partition in big sur hdd that is called "Update".
Maybe this refers to it?

I still haven't updated the security updates after v.2, sine I want to do full clone of the main drive and haven't had time to do that.

 

[brandair]

I did the routine (big sur beta) with 80gb PATA (!) drive. It took like 2 hours! 🤓
Booting back from my main external system drive, I got this:View attachment 1028096
There seems to be a partition in big sur hdd that is called "Update".
Maybe this refers to it?

I still haven't updated the security updates after v.2, sine I want to do full clone of the main drive and haven't had time to do that.

If you read the previous posts, you ought to install Big Sur on an external disk, which you would erase again anyway since the goal is to just update the T2 controller firmware. The APFS filesystem has been updated with Catalina and again with Big Sur, and is not compatible with Mojave. Hence the "install on external" mantra.

If you get this error you either did install Big Sur against all wisdom on your main external drive and will probably have to erase the drive & clone from your system backup, or you accidentially booted from the external Big Sur partition.

 

[brandair]

And if neither is true, reboot, and zap the PRAM. If the problem persists, boot into Recovery mode and check the partitions of your main system disk to see if and what the Big Sur installer might have changed.

 

[toke lahti]

Nope, I didn't install bigSur beta on my main (ext) drive, I installed it on 80GB PATA drive, I found in my drawer.
My main (ext) system is Mojave and it's installed on a APFS drive.
Are you saying that Catalina and bigSur have newer version of APFS?
I could mount and read that bigSur beta install just fine.
There was just this strange "Update" partition in that 80GB drive.
Is there a command to check the APFS version that OS is using?

 

[brandair]

Nope, I didn't install bigSur beta on my main (ext) drive, I installed it on 80GB PATA drive, I found in my drawer.
My main (ext) system is Mojave and it's installed on a APFS drive.
Are you saying that Catalina and bigSur have newer version of APFS?
I could mount and read that bigSur beta install just fine.
There was just this strange "Update" partition in that 80GB drive.
Is there a command to check the APFS version that OS is using?

No idea if APFS is versioned. With Catalina came the dual container scheme ("data") for the system drive. And Big Sur seems to have introduced additional changes to APFS since Disk Utility on the Mojave Recovery partition just crashed when I wanted to check the external Big Sur disk.

 

[toke lahti]

No idea if APFS is versioned. With Catalina came the dual container scheme ("data") for the system drive. And Big Sur seems to have introduced additional changes to APFS since Disk Utility on the Mojave Recovery partition just crashed when I wanted to check the external Big Sur disk.

I tested this also and run "First aid” to all: Media, container and both partitions. All were succesful and it did repair something small in the "Update" partition.
Incompatibility doesn't necessary have to be on file system level.
I still get that message after turning on the bigSur-beta-disk.

 

[brandair]

I tested this also and run "First aid to all: Media, container and both partitions. All were succesful and it did repair something small in the "Update" partition.
Incompatibility doesn't necessary have to be on file system level.
I still get that message after turning on the bigSur-beta-disk.

I meant this in a broader context, not on a low level, that APFS has changed. More on the organizational level i.e., how and where kernel boot files are stored, and partitions are formatted. Which I think is also the problem you're experiencing. The Mojave startup sequence either can't find all the assumed booter files on your Big Sur disk due to a new system layout, or does not understand the changed APFS formatting of the external Big Sur partition, and then complains with the incompatible warning message. Solution: just ignore and do not mount the Big Sur disk, or erase the entire thing

 

[roastable]

Phew, I came back to my Mac mini today after an uptime of a little over 6 days and it was really bugged out. Apps were mostly failing to launch, just continuously bouncing on the dock and the UI would freeze for a few seconds. Once Firefox opened it seemed to either not be able to access the network or connect extremely slowly as Google wouldn't even load.

I tried a restart and experienced the same results. A shutdown then cold boot seems to have fixed the issue for now, but it even took a few moments to properly launch apps and get a solid network connection but now everything seems to launch quick and load normally.

Currently running 10.14.6 with the 2020-005 patch and T2 firmware 18P50402b.

I bought this as a backup to my hackintosh for work but it's proving to be so much less stable no doubt because of the horrible T2 chip inside. The hackintosh on the other hand is performing beautifully with no errors or crashes and full support for everything I'd want out of Mac. My plan is to update this thing to Big Sur (and skip Catalina entirely as I've only had headaches with that crap OS) so that I can have a fully up to date machine for home use and iOS device management.

EDIT: Spoke too soon. After 10 minutes, it’s back to the stutters bugfest with apps taking forever to launch.

EDIT2: Seems to have been caused by a USB-C dongle from Dell that has VGA, Ethernet and a USB-A port. Compatibility of Type-C devices is all over the place, from what I've read and experienced.

 

[brandair]

Assuming that you did also install the supplemental patch that came after the buggy security update 2020-005. That's a very strange behavior and reminds me of a slightly similar problem I had in the past with an earlier Mojave install. In your case it could be that permissions are temporarily out of whack for whatever buggy reasons. Try logging in as another user (or create a new rescue user account with admin privis first) to see if the same happens again. If not, the culprit could also be third party extension or framework, or corrupt system preference file or keychain database.

 

[roastable]

Assuming that you did also install the supplemental patch that came after the buggy security update 2020-005. That's a very strange behavior and reminds me of a slightly similar problem I had in the past with an earlier Mojave install. In your case it could be that permissions are temporarily out of whack for whatever buggy reasons. Try logging in as another user (or create a new rescue user account with admin privis first) to see if the same happens again. If not, the culprit could also be third party extension or framework, or corrupt system preference file or keychain database.

Thanks for the input. I can’t fathom a reason for a corruption of system files or permissions, but I guess that’s the whole point of an unforeseen problem.

I’ll give that new user creation a try and also unplug devices one by one.

 

[brandair]

After the new user test, I'd also do the following:

1. Verify system disk with Disk Utility
2. Delete all system and user cache files (i.e. with Onyx)
3. Reboot and zap PRAM (CMD + SHIFT + P + R pressed until the startup chime has sounded twice)
4. Shutdown and reset the SMC (unplug power cable, wait 15 secs, plug in power cable, wait 5 secs, press power button)

 

[IowaLynn]

There is also good little program EtreChecl. Just bought $15 Pro license which shows much more detail.
Found Apple App Store or www.etrecheck.com

With platter drives I use to do long 7-pass erase or longer to map out weak/bad sectors.

With APFS tools like Disk Warrior and TechTool Pro have had to change and adapt.

With Catalina, I found my aging MacBook needed a clean install just to weed out and not carry over old drivers, extensions, and what not. Probably some in user Library too.

Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

If one or more settings stored in NVRAM don't work as expected on an Intel-based Mac, resetting NVRAM might help.

support.apple.com

Also,

Apple Diagnostics screen. Boot up your Mac while holding down D, and keep holding it down until asked to choose a language. The utility will automatically check your system. If any problems are found the test will show you reference codes and suggest solutions.

Onyx: https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html

Troubleshooting from MacWorld
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/fix-mac-macbook-not-working-3623439/

 

[roastable]

I started with unplugging devices as I suspected that it might be a peripheral issue as a Dualshock controller I had connected via USB just kept disconnecting.

It turns out that a Dell USB-C dongle with VGA, Ethernet and a USB-A port seemed to be the issue. All seems to be working well for now. I knew that macOS didn't really play nice with VGA from previous experiences but I find it really weird that the setup was working for about two weeks with no hiccups prior to this.

Anyhow, it's a much more relieving culprit than a serious software or hardware issue. False alarm on the T2 front AFAIK.

 

[brandair]

Glad you solved the problem. Though, I can hardly imagine that an external USB dongle would cause such erratic behavior. But if a third-party driver is involved (installed and loaded, i.e. a kext), then sure, this can wreck havoc.

An older TRIM extension "trim.kext" by Oskar Groth AKA Cindory (maybe installed by the Sensei app, which includes an SSD Trim Enabler) caused me a 3 day long nightmare with kernel boot crashes while trying to setup a new Mac Mini and downgrading it to Mojave until I figured out the cause.

 

[roastable]

Good to remember that poorly coded or obsolete kexts can cause instability. I think that since High Sierra or something VGA has been really unstable with macOS probably due to deprecation of some dependencies or something, consequently making the kext that manages it unstable. But that's just a hunch.

 

[pol.beltran]

Hello everyone. I've been following this topic closely since the beginning of the year but wait until the final version of macOS 11 is released. I confirm that I install the system from an external pendrive prepared through the terminal as indicated by the Apple page on a partition of the ssd disk, and I update the T2 chip without problems, there are no problems with boot, rest, etc.

Also I delete the macOS 11 partition after the install and re added the free space to the Mojave partition. Works amazing and fast 🏎