2018 Mini random reboots: Have I tried everything?

[Slartibartfast42]

Hi. I'm not seeking a solution here (though if you have one, do share!), rather, I was wanting to check that I've tried all sensible solutions before going to Apple.

Symptom: Every now and then the Mini freezes for 5 seconds and reboots.

Solutions tried: Zapped PRAM, tried TechTool Pro, used Diagnostics start up, reinstalled OS (local copy) via recovery mode. I've disconnected all non-essential peripherals and removed all unnecessary extentions & start-up apps. I did have a hunch that Time Machine was the issue as often that external drive would dismount automatically. However, tried with different drive, cable and port and made no difference. Disconnecting TM drive and switching TM off in the OS made no difference.

Next step: Next step is to start up in Safe Mode and leave it on for the day. Is there an issue with doing this as my anti-virus/anti-nasty stuff software wouldn't be running (Intego). The only thing I can think of is doing after that is a complete clean install: wipe, format & check SSD. Then install apps one at a time (to avoid just restoring a problem). Then if that doesn't fix it - I'd contact Apple.

Any thoughts as to other things to try please?

 

[D.T.]

Are you running OEM or 3rd party/DIY RAM?

 

[opeter]

Did you make an Apple Diagnostics test?

Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support

Apple Diagnostics, formerly known as Apple Hardware Test, can check your Mac for hardware issues.

support.apple.com

 

[Slartibartfast42]

32Gb RAM came with mini (bought new direct from Apple in May 19).

Diagnostics didn't reveal anything.....

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

I don't think the Apple-installed RAM has anything to do with it (unless, possibly, there is a "weak connection" with one of the RAM DIMMs to its slot).

The next time this happens, and you get a "spontaneous reboot", and you get back to the finder, do you get the msg "your computer was restarted because of a problem"?

If so, try clicking the "report" button (even if you're not going to report it to Apple), and you should see some information about WHY the restart happened.

If you get this far, do you see anything in it that say "bridgeOS" ?
That would indicate the "t2" chip inside may have had something to do with it.

Personal experience:
My 2018 Mini ran without t2 crashes until about a week ago.
Then I started getting some reboots, always while the Mini was "unattended".
The reports said "bridgeOS" error.
I had recently done a "security update", and may have changed/deleted a few files here and there.
In any case, I used the special internet recovery mode "shift option command R" to reinstall Mojave, and it seems to have "healed up"...

 

[Slartibartfast42]

Thanks all.

Fishrrman. Sometimes I get the "your computer was restarted because of a problem" dialogue. I'll do as you suggest.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

.

 

[Slartibartfast42]

I suggest you disable Intego (after making a full backup on your system) and let it run for a while (day or two) logged into a newly created user account.

Just had my first reboot where I could get at the Report (mentioned earlier). No mention of BridgeOS but amongst the gobbledegook I can see that Little Snitch & Intego are the only kexts (whatever they are - presumably the low-level parts of those apps) running, so will try disabling and running for a day as you suggest. Thank you.

 

[MevetS]

Just had my first reboot where I could get at the Report (mentioned earlier). No mention of BridgeOS but amongst the gobbledegook I can see that Little Snitch & Intego are the only kexts (whatever they are - presumably the low-level parts of those apps) running, so will try disabling and running for a day as you suggest. Thank you.

kext = kernel extension.

 

[honestone33]

Hmm, interesting and revealing discussion. I recently purchased a late 2018 Mac Mini with a core i5 processor. It has the latest version of Catalina, OS 10.15.3, on it via a clean, fresh, virgin installation. And I use just about all third party software (VLC, LibreOffice, Transmission, SuperDuper!, Onyx, Tech Tool Pro, Quicken 2017, EasyFind, AppCleaner, Thunderbird, Brave, VueScan, VLC Streamer, 1Password, SMART Utility, ClamXAv, GrandPerspective, etc.). So far, I have yet to encounter such issue with the T2 chip.

Any ideas, thoughts, etc. as to what causes such issues?

 

[Slartibartfast42]

Well - I've gone for the nuclear option and completely erased the SSD, reinstalled Mac OS and then re-installed all the apps (rather than just restore from a backup) one by one, and all seems OK. Feels good to have a nice clean SSD with a lot of carp deleted

Thanks for input.

 

[honestone33]

Well - I've gone for the nuclear option and completely erased the SSD, reinstalled Mac OS and then re-installed all the apps (rather than just restore from a backup) one by one, and all seems OK. Feels good to have a nice clean SSD with a lot of carp deleted

Thanks for input.

Good job! Hopefully with all my daily cleanup that I do, plus the weekly usage of Onyx and Tech Tool Pro, and finally my weekly usage of SuperDuper!, my system is "lean, mean, and clean",.just about all the time. That would mean that if I needed to do a restore from my backup, the backup itself would be just about 100% clean. (I also, once a month, run ClamXAV, a virus detection program (sometimes I'll also download and run Malwarebytes too). Fortunately, nothing nefarious is even found).

 

[utelme]

I have a 2018 Mac Mini 32ghz i7 processor 2x16 2667 Mhz of 32ghz DDR4 of third-party ram. I have done all the Techtool tests I actually was so fed up with random restart I completely ran the system with the OEM installed OS which of course was Mojave 10.14.3 that I upgraded to 10.14.6 and ran it for weeks. I ran this computer with no third-party software installed and the computer continued to have random restarts. I gave up as this issue appears hardware-related not software and found that resetting the pram or in my case (NVRAM) and SMC does nothing to address the issue. Recently it started happening again with up to 4 random restarts in the last 48 hours. I also notice that I stopped hearing the restart chime when I do a warm restart and haven't for some time. The only other thing I can think of is swapping out my 32g of RAM and that I'm not going to purchase more RAM to test it.

 

[MevetS]

I have a 2018 Mac Mini 32ghz i7 processor 2x16 2667 Mhz of 32ghz DDR4 of third-party ram. I have done all the Techtool tests I actually was so fed up with random restart I completely ran the system with the OEM installed OS which of course was Mojave 10.14.3 that I upgraded to 10.14.6 and ran it for weeks. I ran this computer with no third-party software installed and the computer continued to have random restarts. I gave up as this issue appears hardware-related not software and found that resetting the pram or in my case (NVRAM) and SMC does nothing to address the issue. Recently it started happening again with up to 4 random restarts in the last 48 hours. I also notice that I stopped hearing the restart chime when I do a warm restart and haven't for some time. The only other thing I can think of is swapping out my 32g of RAM and that I'm not going to purchase more RAM to test it.

Do you not have the original RAM to test with? Not doubt less RAM than you'd want to be using, but it might give you definitive answer.

Good luck and I hope you get it sorted.