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Apple Mac Pro computers across Hollywood were mysteriously crashing, and it turned out a Google Chrome update was the culprit

Sep 26, 2019, 00:57 IST

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  • Professional video editors across Los Angeles were reporting that their Apple Mac Pro computers were mysteriously crashing and not rebooting on Monday. 
  • Since many video editors commonly run the Avid video editing software, it was thought that Avid had something to do with the Mac Pro issues. 
  • At the end of the day, the issue stemmed from a simple Google Chrome web browser update, which affected macOS systems that had a specific, obscure setting disabled.
  • Many video editors reportedly disable this specific setting on their Mac computers to connect specialized audio and video hardware to their computers.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A mysterious wave of crashing Apple Mac Pro computers affected several film and TV editors in Los Angeles on Monday, and it was initially thought that video editing software Avid was to blame, according to Variety

Indeed, the crashing Macs appeared to be localized in Los Angeles, and those reporting the crashes commonly run the Avid video editing software. 

The incident caused editors to warn their colleagues to refrain from turning off their Mac computers running the Avid software, as they might not get the computers to turn back on. The industry appeared almost panicked. 

 

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Avid itself seemed to go to red-alert. The company told Variety that it was aware of the issue, and Avid CEO Jeff Rosica and its CTO Tim Claman even posted a video on Tuesday reassuring its customers that the company was working "around the clock" to fix the issue and that company engineers were scrambled to locations where Macs were affected, according to Variety. 

However, in the end, it was a Google Chrome web browser update that was the offender, Variety later reported on Wednesday.

Google published a post in its Chrome support forum that the latest version of Chrome could affect some macOS systems. 

In its post, a Chrome support manager stated that the issue would only occur if a Mac's "System Integrity Protection" was disabled.

That's not something most Mac users would do, but professional video editors may disable their Mac's System Integrity Protection setting in order to connect external audio and video hardware that aren't typically compatible with Mac computers. 

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Google told Business Insider it had no other comment to add on the incident beyond the company's forum post, linked above. 

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