Ever since upgrading from Mac OS X 10.6.5 to 10.6.7, my computer has started locking up frequently (usually at least once every couple of days). I will get the spinning pinwheel and the system will become non-responsive (both gui and ssh, etc). This state will last indefinitely, requiring a forced restart. It will enter this irrecoverable spin when I am actively using the computer or even in my absence, "idle" for hours or days. This is not a kernel panic.
Upon restarting, I check the console logs to see what might be wrong. In every single case, there is always the same message that appears right before the beginning of the system startup messages. It reads something like:
2011/6/06 9:41:51 AM kernel ipc_kmsg_copyout_header: can't grow user ipc space
with, of course, the date and time of the last instance that the computer was responsive. Nothing else unusual appears before this message. Just standard console stuff.
Googling this message, I only came across where this message appears in the source code ipc_kmsg.c, which appear to be components of the freebsd and mach kernels
Here are links to the relevant source:
1) http://fxr.watson.org/fxr/source/osfmk/ipc/ipc_kmsg.c?v=xnu-1456.1.26
2963 if (kr != KERN_SUCCESS) {
2964 /* space is unlocked */
2965
2966 if (kr == KERN_RESOURCE_SHORTAGE) {
2967 printf("ipc_kmsg_copyout_header: can't grow kernel ipc space\n");
2968 return (MACH_RCV_HEADER_ERROR|
2969 MACH_MSG_IPC_KERNEL);
2970 } else {
2971 printf("ipc_kmsg_copyout_header: can't grow user ipc space\n");
2972 return (MACH_RCV_HEADER_ERROR|
2973 MACH_MSG_IPC_SPACE);
2974 }
2975 }
2) http://fxr.watson.org/fxr/ident?v=xnu-1456.1.26;im=excerpts;i=MACH_MSG_IPC_SPACE
658 #define MACH_MSG_IPC_SPACE 0x00002000
659 /* No room in IPC name space for another capability name. */
3) (can't post 3rd link. new user -_-)
720 #define MACH_RCV_HEADER_ERROR 0x1000400b
721 /* Error receiving message header. See special bits. */
I don't want to pretend to know exactly what's going on here, but it looks like the kernel is running out of open ports for ipc? If this is the case, what could be causing this problem? Shouldn't the system free up ports that aren't in use? I can't think of anything I have installed that could use up all the ipc ports.
I haven't seen any other posts anywhere on the internets about others having this problem, but I can't imagine I'm the only person to have it.
Thanks, any help would be appreciated.