Kernel Panic when RAID 5 volume mounts

@softraid-support I did see the note about APFS encryption issues, and that's what I was using.

I would see crashes with or without Thunderbay connected.

Like I said, I would unmount manually, and it seemed like it thought it was still connected because it told me (SoftRAID) that I unmounted uncleanly, when disconnecting from my Thunderbolt Dock.

I will re-install SoftRAID 6.2.1 beta again and see how it behaves.

@softraid-support OK, so I ejected the Thunderbay, waited for about 5 minutes, unplugged. Opened the MacBook lid and let it sit. I came back and it had panicked and had notifications from SoftRAID about disconnection and warning about sleep mode for drives (even though it's disabled). SoftRAID logs attached.

This is very interesting, I need to see if I can replicate this.

Is Time Machine involved on the SoftRAID volume?

@softraid-support Yes.

@mcvosi 

That helps, I was testing on this scenario and did not reproduce it, but did not have the Time Machine "active", just configured. I will let it do a full backup and continue testing.

It makes more sense as this is an APFS file system crash and Time Machine may be holding on to the volume in some way.

@softraid-support Are you on an M1 Mac? I did see mention of kernel panics mentioned for 6.2, so maybe the beta has still not addressed it?

Considering trying macOS 12.1 RC to see if Apple sorted this out.

@mcvosi 

I tested with both Intel and M1, yes.

The beta would not address this specific issue, we make limited changes in the SoftRAID driver for safety.

I will test some more with this. Let me know about 12.1, I have not upgraded any systems to 12.1 yet.

@softraid-support Updated to 12.1 RC last evening. Kernel panics still persist.

@softraid-support I wonder if being connected to a Thunderbolt Dock when ejecting is an issue? Maybe I should try ejecting with it directly connected to my Mac?

@mcvosi 

I was testing direct also, feel free to try with a dock also. I assume an OWC dock?

I am pretty sure this must be related to Time Machine somehow.

@softraid-support Yes, OWC ThunderBolt Dock. Crashes with or without dock.

@softraid-support For now I just had to uninstall SoftRAID. So many crashes.

@mcvosi 

I wish I had a simple answer here, I think we have to wait until we have resolution on the main panic that Apple is investigating. Hopefully that will fix all issues.

Did you ever try a second (clean) macOS install on your drive? Just as a reference test?

Disk utility, create a new volume, install Monterey, do not use Migration assistant.

Boot from the first system, then boot into recovery mode (This sequence is important, or you will run into a M1 loop), then enable third party developers.

Install only SoftRAID and Dock Ejector and I suspect all will work. With APFS, this is a soft partition/volume so shares space with your main volume and does not interfere with it in any way, just gives you a second volume to test from.

@softraid-support Well, I started with a new MBP, so it's pretty close to a fresh install. I'll try another install to see what happens.

@mcvosi 

You did not import data from your prior system? If you did, all bets are off. When you create a clean system, use the same admin name etc but do not import data from another Mac when asked.