Kontakt 7 causing Kernel panic shutoff on Mac Studio! (KT-8785)

strigi

Hey gang, if anyone is struggling with the same issue, maybe this or YOU can help me/us...

TL;DR: My Mac Studio shuts off in the middle of a session when I interact with the Kontakt 7 window across display monitors specifically with Logic Pro X open. I may have found the cause, but I don't know for 100% certainty.

I'm having a very strange issue I've been trying to troubleshoot and maybe you guys have some insight...

The details: Before I describe what's happening, here's my gear:

• Mac Studio (2023) - M2 Ultra, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD (Sonoma 14.4)
• Audio Interface - Audient EVO 16 (latest firmware and software)
• LPX - 10.8.1
• Native Access Version - 3.9.1
• Kontakt 7 Version - 7.8.1
• Primary Display Monitor: LG 34WN80C-B
• Secondary External Display Monitor: AOC - C27G2Z

There is a kernel panic that happens when I am in an LPX session with Kontakt 7 loaded in as an instrument plugin (channel strip). I open the plug-in window to reveal Kontakt 7 (like I normally do), and then once I start shifting the window around (by normal assumed behavior of clicking+dragging it around), the Mac Studio freezes for about a couple seconds and then POOF- the whole computer shuts down and reboots. Sometimes (honestly pretty often), I don't even have to drag the Kontakt 7 window, instead, I'll just open it up like normal and it will cause the same kernel panic.

- Upon re-entering the desktop, I get the huge report log that I've attached to this in plain text format.

I'm not sure exactly what's causing the issue because when I try to repeat this behavior using different methods, it doesn't happen. It seems to happen when I'm in the DAW. I pinged ChatGPT to read the report and it mentioned the issue is with:

• "The panic log you've provided indicates that your computer experienced a kernel panic, specifically with an error related to "DCPEXT1 PANIC - program_swap: Async Swap request landing on unsupported platform. Force panic." This message suggests that there was an issue with a swap operation on a platform that doesn't support it, causing the system to forcibly panic and shut down."

And then I found out (upon further research), that DCP panic is a Display Co-Processer Graphics Processor panic. So, I've been trying various things:

• Reset NVRAM (not sure how useful this is on an Apple Sillicon)
• Booting Safe Mode
• Updating Drivers
• Swapping out HDMI cable that goes to secondary monitor.

Those last two ^^ are the kicker I think. I've been seeing a positive change by grabbing a newer, sexier HDMI and plugging it in the secondary display monitor and then back to my Mac Studio again; it's the best results I've had so far. If and when it causes the kernel panic again, I'll come back on and edit this post and let you guys know that the new HDMI cable didn't make a difference, LOL.

And unfortunately, I cannot install a macOS driver from the manufacturer of my display monitor because well, they don't exist; AOC doesn't seem to have one. I even messaged them (and had to wait a ridiculously long time to hear from them) all for them to tell me it doesn't exist, lol.

Anyway, has anyone else experienced this behavior before on a Mac Studio? If you have, what did you do to mitigate/solve the problem? Also, what IS the actual problem? Anyone know if this is related to Native Instruments products at all? I can't seem to replicate this with any other plugin, just Kontakt 7.

Kernel Panic_DCP_Issue_Sonoma14.4.txt

Jeremy_NI

Hey all, the new Sonoma 14.5 update should be available to everyone now. It's been confirmed by many users already that updating to 14.5 fixed the kernel panics issues, so please update your MacOs and let us know if that fixed it for you.

Jeremy_NI

@strigi Similar issues with LG Ultrawide screens have been reported already. Check this thread: Kontakt 7 Crashes on Mac M2 Ultra with Samsung Ultra-wide screen (KT-8785)

Some users managed to stop the crashes by using HDMI to HDMI connecton and/or change the refresh rate:

"Hi! I also noticed now - after having started to use hdmi to hdmi with the Samsung monitor, that when I set it to 240 Hz, the same thing also happens; complete crash. When set to 120 (or 60) Hz, everything runs fine!"

strigi

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/140381#Comment_140381

Oh wow, this is extremely insightful, so thank you! I just got off the phone with Apple Support senior advisor on this issue. They think it's mostly 3rd party related, so yes, probably Kontakt 7 causing this, but it's a very specific issue. I'm not 100% sure if it's display monitor related, however, what I do know is that once I used the new HDMI, it seems to work way better and I haven't had a crash yet since swapping my HDMI for a newer high speed HDMI cable.

strigi

UPDATE: spoke with Apple support senior advisor and they said they can't fix this since it's not an issue related to Apple's products (neither the Mac Studio nor LPX), so that means this is third-party related. Also, the new HDMI didn't help, computer still crashes. My assumption now: there's probably a couple plugins that are explicitly causing this. I think it's Kontakt 7 personally since it's the only plugin that causes this crash. It just did it to me right now while working in a session. I opened the plugin-in window for Kontakt 7 and POOF, computer kernel panic. I've already tried running both Rosetta and native and it kernel panics in either version. What I'm gonna try next:

• Opening Safe Mode and seeing if anything causes the kernel panic.

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/140492#Comment_140492

Quote 1 : "I'm not 100% sure if it's display monitor related, however, what I do know is that once I used the new HDMI, it seems to work way better and I haven't had a crash yet since swapping my HDMI for a newer high speed HDMI cable."

Quote 2 : "Also, the new HDMI didn't help, computer still crashes."

Just to clarify ! Did you try changing the monitor refresh rate to e.g. 60 Hz to see if that helped ?

timber

I'm having the same issue on an external LG Display with my Macbook Pro M3max shut closed. Crashes just like described here with Kontakt 7 and Komplete Kontrol. Looks like a problem with NI to me.

Jeremy_NI

@strigi @timber Can you share crashlogs here?

1. Press COMMAND + SPACE
2. Type Console
3. Then you see this

1. Then you can right-click the Crashlog and click on SHOW in FINDER.
2. Then zip the file and attach it to your post.

timber

I can share but I'd prefer not to do that publicly. How can I send you?

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/140676#Comment_140676

Go to the profile of Jeremy_NI , then click new message , then write your message and refer to this thread and your problem and attach the file to the message using the upload file (right most icon below message Window).

Please notice that Jeremy_NI only works Monday to Friday !

P.S.

Should file be too large to attach to your message or if there otherwise is a problem doing so then upload the file to an external service (e.g. google drive or one drive) and share the download link with Jeremy_NI in your message !

timber

Thanks! Sent to @Jeremy_NI .

strigi

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/140617#Comment_140617

I have tried this yes, but it doesn't help. :(

Last night before bed, I also swapped out the USB-C cable I'm using for the LG. So, to clarify, my setup changes:

• Swapped HDMI for a brand new one on the AOC monitor
• Swapped USB-C for a brand new one on the LG

We'll see what happens. If it kernels again now that I have a new USB-C cable, I'll update.

strigi

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/140642#Comment_140642

Here's the last 4 panics I've had.

Panics_Full_2024_01.zip

strigi

UPDATE:

• Neither a new HDMI nor a new USB-C solved the problem as another panic happened today. The panic always happens when I open a new Kontakt 7 after a few hours of general session time.

strigi

UPDATE:

• I feel like I'm getting closer to figuring out what the problem is. It seems like the issue might stem from showing the plug-in window AFTER the plug-in's default zoom level has been set to anything over 100%. Everytime I put it to a higher number, I get the crazy kernel panic issue. Anyone else experience this? I'll keep running it on 100% and see if it crashes in the meantime. : )

Jeremy_NI

@strigi Thanks a lot for the info, I'm forwarding it to the team.

strigi

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/141518#Comment_141518

Thank you so much!