---
title: "As it turns out, software needs hardware to run."
date: 2003-07-17T12:02:59-04:00
url: https://blog.lmorchard.com/2003/07/17/1058457401/
author: Les Orchard
---

# As it turns out, software needs hardware to run.

<blockquote cite="http://www.macmaps.com/kernelpanic.html"><i>RAM and motherboards are the least likely suspect in kernel panics, but if you just have a new system, and or just installed new memory and you get a kernel panic, that's the most likely place to start looking.  ... use the Hardware Test CD ...</i></blockquote><div class="credit" align="right"><small>Source: <cite><a href="http://www.macmaps.com/kernelpanic.html">Mac OS X Kernel Panic FAQ</a></cite></small></div><br />	<p>In my current job as jack-of-all-trades tech guy, I have to deal with everything.  Lately, it&#8217;s been a 15&#8221; PowerBook that&#8217;s been having random crashes and happily corrupting its hard drive.  Being a software guy, I run every program I can think of:  Disk First Aid, <a href="http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html">DiskWarrior</a>, fsck.  Reinstalled Photoshop.  Then, tried wiping the machine and installing <span class="caps">OS X</span>, which was fine until the installer itself crashed. Kernel panic after kernel panic.  At one point, I considered consulting <a href="http://www-ai.ijs.si/eliza/eliza.html">Eliza</a>. </p>

	<p>Turns out it was the memory.  We found this out by finally running the one bit of software that, as a software focused guy, I hadn&#8217;t even conceived of: The Hardware Diagnostics CD.</p>
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