User level: Level 1 (4 points)I am using MacBook M5 Pro, I left the laptop for several hours and when I came back, it was rebooted and I got a kernel panic report. The laptop was not under heavy load, only power supply and external monitor via type-C port were plugged in. I hope it is not a hardware problem.
Posted on Oct 4, 2026 7:02 PM
User level: Level 10 (208,430 points)Oct 4, 2026 10:22 PM in response to planetarquasar
planetarquasar wrote:
I am using MacBook M5 Pro, I left the laptop for several hours and when I came back, it was rebooted and I got a kernel panic report. The laptop was not under heavy load, only power supply and external monitor via type-C port were plugged in. I hope it is not a hardware problem.
<problem report.log>
You do not say if this is a one off glitch or an ongoing issues— a one off panic I would ignore.
A SafeBoot Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support will sort many anomalies
Note:
<PMC0 Assert ID: 0x4c, rail:DCS> "Power Management Controller" points to a specific hardware or firmware failure related to power management
Your macOS < build 25G83 is version 26.6.2>
The current stable release of Tahoe including bug fixes, security updates is macOS 26.7.1 and compare your results Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support I would start there if the SafeBoot offered no relief, and report back.
Back up your Mac Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support
User level: Level 9 (53,902 points)Oct 5, 2026 9:17 AM in response to planetarquasar
Hi,
It seems to me, there is no hardware related problem. if you worry about hardware problem, run Apple Diagnostics if it reports something hardware related error.
Or startup your MacBook Pro in Safe Mode, then normal boot which could solve your issue.
Start up your Mac in safe mode – Apple Support (UK)
User level: Level 9 (78,350 points)Oct 5, 2026 1:02 PM in response to planetarquasar
I've never seen a Kernel Panic like this one before. I only found two hits for what "PMC0" was and I believe it is referring to Performance Counters. And in your case it appears related to the audio. Since I've never seen this type of Kernel Panic before, I don't know if it is more likely to be hardware or software.
Besides Safe Mode as suggested by the others, you can also try disconnecting all external devices from the laptop just in case one of them is causing a problem.
If you don't encounter the issue while booted into Safe Mode as suggested by the others, then you should post a complete EtreCheck report here so we can examine it for clues as to which app(s) may be causing the problem.
How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting an EtreCheck Report - Apple Community
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256370549