Editing Kernel panic (section)

{{Short description|Fatal error condition associated with Unix-like computer operating systems}}
[[File:Ubuntu 4.10 kernel paic.png|thumb|Kernel panic in [[Ubuntu version history#Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog)|Ubuntu 4.10]], this one due to a VFS error.]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
[[File:Kernel-panic.jpg|thumb|A kernel panic message from a [[Linux]] system]]
[[File:Osol-dtrace-kp.png|alt=An OpenSolaris kernel panic.|thumb|An [[OpenSolaris]] kernel panic.]]
[[File:Ubuntu 13.04 VirtualBox Kernel Panic.png|thumb|Kernel panic in [[Ubuntu version history#1304|Ubuntu 13.04 "Raring Ringtail"]] (Linux kernel 3.8) in [[Oracle VM VirtualBox]]]]

A '''kernel panic''' (sometimes abbreviated as '''KP'''<ref>{{Cite web|title = KP - Kernel Panic (Linux) {{!}} AcronymFinder|url = http://www.acronymfinder.com/Kernel-Panic-(Linux)-(KP).html|website = www.acronymfinder.com|access-date = 2016-01-06|archive-date = October 26, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151026173210/http://www.acronymfinder.com/Kernel-Panic-(Linux)-(KP).html|url-status = live}}</ref>) is a safety measure taken by an [[operating system]]'s [[Kernel (operating system)|kernel]] upon detecting an internal [[Fatal system error|fatal error]] in which either it is unable to safely recover or continuing to run the system  would have a higher risk of major data loss. The term is largely specific to [[Unix]] and [[Unix-like]] systems. The equivalent on [[Microsoft Windows]] operating systems is a [[Blue screen of death|stop error]], often called a "blue screen of death".

The [[Kernel (operating system)|kernel]] routines that handle panics, known as <code>panic()</code> in [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]]-derived and [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]] Unix source code, are generally designed to output an [[error message]] to the [[system console|console]], dump an image of kernel memory to disk for [[post-mortem debugging]], and then either wait for the system to be manually rebooted, or initiate an automatic [[reboot]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unix.com/man-page/FreeBSD/9/panic/|title=FreeBSD 11.0 - man page for panic (freebsd section 9) - Unix & Linux Commands|website=www.unix.com|access-date=October 26, 2010|archive-date=April 1, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401232331/https://www.unix.com/man-page/FreeBSD/9/panic/|url-status=live}}</ref> The information provided is of a highly technical nature and aims to assist a [[system administrator]] or [[software developer]] in diagnosing the problem. Kernel panics can also be caused by errors originating outside [[kernel space]]. For example, many Unix operating systems panic if the [[init]] process, which runs in [[user space and kernel space|user space]], terminates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unix.com/hp-ux/54221-boot-failure-init-died.html|title=boot failure-init died - Unix Linux Forums - HP-UX|website=www.unix.com|access-date=June 12, 2013|archive-date=April 1, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401232240/https://www.unix.com/hp-ux/54221-boot-failure-init-died.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite newsgroup|url=https://groups.google.com/forum/#!original/comp.sys.sgi.admin/HRY5oflBe48/tgnMPZ3vZFQJ|title=Re: PANIC: init died|author=Randolph J. Herber|newsgroup=comp.sys.sgi.admin|date=September 1, 1999|access-date=December 9, 2017|archive-date=January 22, 2011|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20110122130054/https://groups.google.com/forum/#!original/comp.sys.sgi.admin/HRY5oflBe48/tgnMPZ3vZFQJ|url-status=live}}</ref>