A streaming session suddenly freezes

[EleanorBat]

My MacBookAir has frozen three times in the last week, each time while connected to a streaming session: twice with Facebook Live and once with Google Hangout. These are the only times I have ever used these services, and now I’m afraid to use them again. The first two sessions ended when the whole computer froze and I had to reboot the machine and give up the streaming. The third time, today with Google Hangout, half an hour into the session the screen just froze, leaving the sound operative, and oddly the mouse arrow still moved (though I couldn’t do anything with it, it wouldn’t click anything). I was able to finish listening to the lecture, though the captions and the slides also froze. I could hear an occasional beep when an email arrived! The computer is 5 years old, running Mojave. Anybody have a similar experience? Is there a way to unfreeze it without rebooting?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

As I support over 500 Macs at work, I have run into this issue recently. It seems to be related to a recent Apple security update. Here are some tips and troubleshooting steps to try:

2020-002 Update Causes Some Macs to Freeze When Using HW Accelerated Video

NOTE: It is always recommended to have a current Time Machine or other backup of your data.

They seem to work for most of my users. Upgrading to Catalina also works, but that isn't recommended as a first step, due to the numerous changes and software incompatibility that may introduce.

Let us know if that helps,

C

 

[EleanorBat]

How can I tell if I have installed the 2020-002 Update? I installed an update recently, but was it that one?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

If your macOS build version is one of these, then you have the update installed:
Mojave 10.14.6 - Security Update 2020-002 (18G4032) March 24th, 2020
High Sierra 10.13.6 - Security Update 2020-002 (17G12034) March 24th, 2020

If your build version is different, let us know what it is.

C

 

[EleanorBat]

Where do I find this information? It doesn't seem to be in System Report or Software Update...

 

[Cory Cooper]

 > About This Mac

Click on Version 10.13.6 and it will display the build.

 

[EleanorBat]

10.14.6 (18G4032)

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK...then you have the Mojave 10.14.6 - Security Update 2020-002 (18G4032) March 24th, 2020 installed.

That could be causing the freezing issue. Follow the steps in the article linked above to see if that helps. You can also upgrade to Catalina, but that would be a last resort, as some of your software may not work or need to be updated to be compatible.

As always, make sure you have a current Time Machine or other backup of your data before taking any troubleshooting steps or proceeding with any updates/upgrades.

c

 

[EleanorBat]

I had three freezes:
4/16 a little after 2 pm, FB Live. I had to reboot the Mac. I didn't try to return to the session.
4/20 a little after 5 pm, FB Live. Same as above.
4/22 about 12:30 pm. I was connected to Google Hangout from about 12 with no problems, but about 12:30 the screen froze; I still had audio, so I continued listening until about 1:30. Then I had to reboot. This time, I could see and move the mouse, but couldn't do anything with it.

Here are all of the gpuRestart files for this period of time. They are marked w,x,or y for the nearness to one of the three events.

-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 65K Apr 16 07:48 Kernel_2020-04-15-100527_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 17 07:43 Kernel_2020-04-16-090757_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart w
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 65K Apr 18 09:51 Kernel_2020-04-17-102203_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 49K Apr 18 09:51 Kernel_2020-04-17-153824_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 20 08:42 Kernel_2020-04-19-122906_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 59K Apr 21 08:26 Kernel_2020-04-20-201506_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart x
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 23 07:56 Kernel_2020-04-22-121305_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart y
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 23 07:56 Kernel_2020-04-22-121353_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart y
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 23 07:56 Kernel_2020-04-22-121424_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart y
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 65K Apr 23 07:56 Kernel_2020-04-22-122033_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart y
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 23 07:56 Kernel_2020-04-22-123113_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart y
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 65K Apr 23 07:56 Kernel_2020-04-22-123243_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart y
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 23 07:56 Kernel_2020-04-22-123306_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart y
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 25 09:56 Kernel_2020-04-24-114347_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-
Here is a sample from the beginning of one file to show the (lack of) relationship between the date of the file.
I don't understand what these files represent. Only one event (y) seems to have a gpu file, and it has 7!
and its subject event.

Eleanor

 

[EleanorBat]

Also, I use Zoom a lot and have not had this problem with it. My Zoom is v. 4.6.10.

 

[EleanorBat]

I see I omitted to post the sample from inside a file:

-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 58K Apr 26 08:36 Kernel_2020-04-25-172547_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 57K Apr 26 12:08 Kernel_2020-04-26-120815_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 64K Apr 26 12:21 Kernel_2020-04-26-122102_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 64K Apr 26 12:22 Kernel_2020-04-26-122258_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 57K Apr 26 12:24 Kernel_2020-04-26-122442_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
-rw-rw----@ 1 root _analyticsusers 57K Apr 26 12:26 Kernel_2020-04-26-122644_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
EleanorsAir:~ eleanor$ ls /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Kernel_2020-04-17-102203_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Kernel_2020-04-17-102203_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
EleanorsAir:~ eleanor$ head /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Kernel_2020-04-17-102203_EleanorsAir.gpuRestart
Fri Apr 17 10:22:03 2020

Event: GPU Reset
Date/Time: Fri Apr 17 10:22:03 2020
Application: WindowServer
Path: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SkyLight.framework/Versions/A/Resources/WindowServer
Tailspin: /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/gpuRestart2020-04-17-102203.tailspin
GPUSubmission Trace ID: 0
OS Version: Mac OS X Version 10.14.6 (Build 18G4032)
Graphics Hardware: Intel HD Graphics 6000
EleanorsAir:~ eleanor$
[Restored Apr 27, 2020 at 8:57:50 AM]
Last login: Mon Apr 27 08:57:40 on console
Restored session: Mon Apr 27 08:56:54 EDT 2020
EleanorsAir:~ eleanor$

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks.

The security update IS probably causing the issue on your Mac. Here are the applicable possible fixes from the article I linked above:
-If the issue is happening in Chrome, some users found success with turning off Use hardware acceleration when available in Chrome > Preferences > Advanced> System
-Use Firefox instead of Chrome when joining a browser based conference meeting.

Two other solutions:
-Wait for Apple to release a fix
-Upgrade to Catalina (not recommended, as you may lose compatibility with some of your other software, and you NEED to have a current Time Machine or other backup of your data before proceeding with this)

Sorry, that is about all the information we have to troubleshoot this issue.

C

 

[EleanorBat]

Thanks for your attention! Do you think that the fact that I haven't had any touble with Zoom is relevant?

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries.

It is, since Zoom is an application and the others are browser-based.

C