How to deal with WindowServer kernel panics, three NVIDIA-related KEXTs in the backtrace, whilst using Google Chrome?

Solution 1:

Looks like it might be the ram or graphics card.

First, you should do the Apple Hardware Test and check your hardware out for any issues. Press and hold the D key before the gray startup screen appears. (On some versions it is Command + D)

Next, I would look into this forum thread because most of the users have a similar error. Some report that its a setting that can be changed and others report that apple has replaced all their hardware with the AppleCare Plan.

Good Luck.

For grins, if it happens every few days only, why don't you shutdown your laptop each night and start it up each morning?

Solution 2:

Google Chrome

At least one version of Google Chrome is known to cause kernel panics on OS X. Amongst open issues for Chromium there are currently nine matches for panic NVIDIA and one match for panic NVDA. At least one of the Intel-oriented titles includes discussion of kernel panics with NVIDIA hardware.

Critically

Google Chrome may report itself as current when in fact it is outdated. Today, for example, 21.0.1180.89 (stable in August 2012) is reportedly up-to-date –

screenshot of an outdated Google Chrome with a misleading statement

– but that's not true; I download another copy from Google and find something more recent:

Finder Info for Google Chrome 23.0.1271.64

Advice

Use something other than Google Chrome to check that Google Chrome is up-to-date.

At the time of writing, Chrome Releases: Stable updates shows 23.0.1271.64 in a post on 2012-11-06.

Third party kernel extensions

In my experience, some types of unexplained panic may be avoided by paying attention to third party KEXTs.

VirtualBox

Your installation of VirtualBox should be updated – 3.2.0 was outdated in June 2010.

Even with recent version 4.2.2 of VirtualBox, with NVIDIA hardware in a MacBookPro5,2 I sometimes find kernel panics. For these incidents, not all .panic files point to NVDA or VirtualBox but I have a strong sense that VirtualBox is at least partly contributory to the issues.

(Side note: 4.2.4 at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/virtualbox/downloads/index.html … I'll give that a go.)