Computer shutdown error - safe to leave it?

Question

Level 1

10 points

Computer shutdown error - safe to leave it?

I'm on a Mac running Ventura 13.3.1 and have suddenly started getting the dreaded 'computer has shut down because of error' message. I suspect I know what is causing it - I use Thunderbird for my Proton email account and this requires a 'bridge' to download the email to my computer. For some while the bridge has not worked automatically at startup and I've had to open it manually, but for the last week or so, it has started working well again - opening at startup and downloading my email. But now this message pops up. Am I okay just leaving it? While annoying, I'd prefer that and my email working well to no message and having to manually download my email.

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 13.3

Posted on May 4, 2024 2:23 AM

Reply

Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

141,634 points

May 4, 2024 4:02 PM in response to skyreburn26

The message is informative, and if everything is working ok you can dismiss it. If it continues to appear though, it means your Mac is still shutting down unexpectedly.

In other words if you know the reason it's shutting down and are coping with it, continuing to work in that manner won't harm anything.

Reply

Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

141,634 points

May 5, 2024 8:36 AM in response to skyreburn26

Thanks for that additional information. Whatever is going on is a bit unclear to me. Are you intentionally shutting down the Mac? (Why?) And if so, does it appear after starting it up in the usual manner? If that's the case it would imply the Mac is abnormally shutting down (once) upon startup. The subsequent reboot proceeds normally but the dialog is telling you that the previous attempt was terminated abnormally. Please correct me if I am describing the phenomenon incorrectly.

If the Mac shuts down upon startup, it implies something is attempting to load, and whatever that is gets disabled upon the subsequent attempt.

Reply

Answer 3

skyreburn26 Author

Level 1

10 points

May 4, 2024 9:06 PM in response to John Galt

Thanks for the response. Let me add that the computer is not unexpectedly shutting down. This message shows up when I first boot up and goes away either if I close it or of its own accord after 30 seconds or whatever. Otherwise I am unaware of any problem and it seems to close down normally when I shut it off.

Reply