Random Shutdown in Big Sur (ThunderboltNHI) driver problem

Well guys, for those who have problems booting/freezing up after upgrades to Big Sur or Catalina from previous MacOSes, I would not upgrade directly by just having a Time Machine backup. If you have enough free space on your drive (Catalina requires about 25gb and Big Sur wants 46gb to preform an install), I would create a new partition (Extended Journaled not APFS) via Disk Utility. Install the new OS onto that partition and test it out by booting from that partition. I have High Sierra, Mojave, Big Sur on separate partitions. You can always resize them to include more space if you have. At least this way you have a bootable machine. On High Sierra and Mojave, just renaming the AppleThunderboldNHI.kext did fine. But on Big Sur, I followed the instructions, it still freezes. Still trying to figure out why. Haven't tried disabling the Firevault. Can someone help me with this. Thanks.

Another thing if your drive's name has a space in it, need to put it in double quotes like Big Sir should be /Volumes/"Big Sur"/ ... .

If you don't have enough free space on you SSD, use an external USB drive, create a new partition on it and install the new OS onto that partition and test it out. Run all the commands on it to see if it is stable. It will be slower since it is on an external drive. Just be careful when creating and deleting partitions, once deleted it is NOT RECOVERABLE!.

Good Luck.

Just now, I had the Dev Tools open in Chrome and went to full screen and it froze my computer. When I leave my screens NOT full screen, I don't seem to have the freezing issue. Is this also the case with any of you?

Code Block 
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
2.6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

@sf98723

I tried your solution but when I attempted to restart mac I got the startup error (black screen with a circle and line through it) I know this is a problem with startup disk.
I went back into recovery mode and ran disk utility but that didn’t help. But, after looking through the details of disk utility results I noticed that it checked the snapshot and said “warning: snapshot fsroot/file key rolling tree corruptions are not repaired; they’ll go away once snapshot is deleted”
so I’m guessing I have to delete the snapshot. Could you please advice on how this could be done or on any other way I can fix this issue. Thank you.

UPDATE: after looking through the thread I disabled csrutil & csrutil authenticated root and the MacBook started up perfectly. Seems like the drive is gone. Will update later if I’m still experiencing random shutdowns or if MacBook works fine. But also if anyone can provide info on how to access and delete the snapshots (without installing os or updating) that would be nice. Thank you.

Ok. Found this working solution with Big Sur.

1. Reboot in rescue mode (reboot while "Cmd + R")

2. csrutil disable

3. csrutil authenticated-root disable

4. mount -uw /Volumes/[MacOS <your custom stuff here>]

5. delete (or rename, or move elsewhere) the AppleThunderboltNHI.kext directory (I've moved all thunderbolt kext directories since I have no needs about this interface, but I think it works only by disabling AppleThunderboltNHI)

6. REBUILD the extensions cache ! (new has-to-do in Big Sur...)

Code Block 
kmutil install -u --force --volume-root /Volumes/[MacOS <your custom stuff here>]

7. DON'T FORGET to create another system snapshot to take these modifications under account at next reboot

Code Block 
bless --folder /Volumes/[MacOS <your custom stuff here>]/System/Library/CoreServices --bootefi --create-snapshot

8. reboot (in rescue mode). This step may be unnecessary, not tested straight to 9.
9. csrutil enable
10. Reboot

1. Enjoy. Cheers..

Here following step in other answer does not work for me, instead above step 6 works.

Code Block 
Kmutil install -u --force --volume-root /Volumes/Macos (Enter WHATEVER YOUR MACOS DRIVE NAME IS, my macOS drive name is Macos)/System/Library/Extensions

Were you able to solve the issue?

Hi, I have recently updated my MacBook to MacOS Big Sur and have been experiencing random shutdowns. I had similar experience since last 2 MACOS but I was able to fix it by either removing or disabling the below 2 files-
AppleThunderboltNHI.kext
IOThunderboltFamily.kext

I was able to make changes to the OS files on MacOS High Sierra and Catalina but I am not able to make the same changes in the new OS.
Where it is mentioned to follow the below steps- Reboot in recovery mode (CMD+R)
Utilities -> Terminal
csrutil disable
csrutil authenticated-root disable
mount - uw /Volumes/Macos (Enter WHATEVER YOUR MACOS DRIVE NAME IS, my macOS drive name is Macos)
cd /Volumes/Macos (Enter WHATEVER YOUR MACOS DRIVE NAME IS, my macOS drive name is Macos)/System/Library/Extensions
rm -rf AppleThunderboltNHI.kext
rm -rf /System/Library/Caches/*
Kmutil install -u --force --volume-root /Volumes/Macos (Enter WHATEVER YOUR MACOS DRIVE NAME IS, my macOS drive name is Macos)/System/Library/Extensions
bless -folder /Volumes/Macos(Enter WHATEVER YOUR MACOS DRIVE NAME IS, my macOS drive name is Macos)/System/Library/CoreServices —bootefi --create-snapshot
FORGET THE PROBLEM :-D
You’ll need to perform these steps every time you update Big sur with their security updates n all.
No need to enable SIP

But even after following the above process I still fave the random shutdown. Moreover when I go to the /System/Library/Extensions and look for the the above mentioned 2 files. They are not changed which wasn’t the case into the earlier OS.

I am sure I am not the only one facing this issue. Hence requesting to share the solution to this issue so it can help other users too.

I am also experiencing this issue on my late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina running macOS Big Sur. Apple could not diagnose it and suggested that I replace the logic board for a cool $500.

I would love to learn how to fix this without shelling out that kind of money.

UPDATE

One week later and no random shutdowns. Solution posted by @sf98723 works. If you get startup problem after implementing solution then follow steps I outlined in my earlier post.

by the way:

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)

This is a widespread bug affecting tens of thousands of MacBook Pros all over the world.

This utility is guaranteed to solve this problem on any affected unit. It’ll cost you $15.00 as a permanent solution. You can even update the software and never worry about writing terminal code ever again.
email me for more info - amanjeet.arora@icloud.com

Simply click to run the app and crashes will be gone. If you are are satisfied, add it to your log in items and it will start automatically and run silently in the background to prevent these annoying crashes.

This is absolutely ridiculous. This issue has been around for years now and every time there's an update it requires a hack to sort it out. What about the poor people who don't even know what Terminal is. Time to fix this Apple!!!!!

It almost seems with every new version of Mac OS that they make it harder and harder to fix the problem. I've been at it for 3 hours now and still no joy. Lots of success and then a fail at the end. This is with the bless command which wasn't required for earlier versions. Getting a Permission Denies/Couldn't mount the volume mounted at/

So frustrating!!!

I have the same Mac pro and the same problem, i took it to Apple dealer and he told me its the problem for all similar users

Did anyone fix it ?

SOLVED

Hello from Russia, comrades!
The solution posted earlier by @sf98723 helped me with my MacBook Pro 15" mid 2014.
I had this problem since I've updated to Mojave, but it was much easier to cope with this issue renaming AppleThunderboltNHI.kext to AppleThunderboltNHI.kext.BAK, but unfortunately it does not work with Big Sur.
I am really grateful to @sf98723 and @HSODHI for finding out and posting the solution.

I tried the post by amanjeetarora, but it did not work for my MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013, the sudden shutdown started with big sur update Apple must fix this.

Same thing here. I’m disappointed with Apple’s approach to taking care of older machines support.

Hey guys, 

I keep getting an error that says:

mount: unknown special file or file system /Volumes/...

I would really appreciate any feedback as my computer is unusable right now 

The best thing that worked for me was to reinstall Catalina (just Google “install older Mac OS”) then rename the thunderbolt extensions. However, today I did a security update, and now my laptop is shutting down randomly again, even with the kext files renamed and on Catalina.

DON'T FORGET to create another system snapshot to take these modifications under account at next reboot : bless --folder /Volumes/[MacOS <your custom stuff here>]/System/Library/CoreServices --bootefi --create-snapshot

I followed the instructions by sf98723 on Catalina while trying to update from 10.15.4 to 10.15.7 but when I try this part:
bless --folder /Volumes/[MacOS <your custom stuff here>]/System/Library/CoreServices --bootefi --create-snapshot

... it doesn't work. it works if I leave off "--create-snapshot" but then when I finished the process my system had reverted to 10.15.4 without the update.

So my question is can someone give more detail about the part where you create a snapshot, and why might --create-snapshot not work? It said something about not a valid command.

I followed the instructions by sf98723 on Catalina while trying to update from 10.15.4 to 10.15.7 but when I try this part: 
bless --folder /Volumes/[MacOS <your custom stuff here>]/System/Library/CoreServices --bootefi --create-snapshot

I think the snapshot might be new for Big Sur, so if you're on Catalina, I think there may be a different set of instructions to get around the AppleThunderportNHI issue.

I was having the random shutdowns after upgrading to Big Sur on my MBP mid 2014 this afternoon. I was running Mojave previously. I followed all the steps from sf98723 but was experiencing the same issues as mergenc with the 'Your computer restarted because of a problem" error. I restarted in recovery mode and ran both of the following:

Code Block 
csrutil status
csrutil authenticated-root status

...both were enabled. Not sure how the authenticated-root got re-enabled, but I disabled the authenticated-root and rebooted and everything is working. So far no unexpected shutdowns.

Thanks for the solution.

@dstnrgrs That is true, the rebuild and snapshot were not necessary in Catalina, as I figured out.

Just today I finally decided to try Big Sur, and if I do the "bless" step, I am having the "restart" problem also. But if I don't, the change doesn't "stick."

Everytime I have gotten to the point where it is just restarting with the error, I have done a reinstall from Recovery Mode because I didn't know what else to do.

Is it really just as simple as doing another Recovery Mode and authenticated-root disable?

Did the AppleThunderboltNHI.kext file restore itself on your system?

Same problem here: Using a MBP retina late 2013, 16Gb/512Gb/2.3Ghz Quad core i7.

• screen turns black, with backlight still on, fans start to spin, system crashes

• note: after startup, some interesting processes appear, like MRT, using al lot of CPU power for a short wile. Apple's standard procedure after something indefinite happened?

Suspicious actions (some time) before the problem appeared:

1. using a corroded power-connector (just replaced)

2. upgrade to Big Sur

3. putting in a new battery

4. using a 45W power adapter.

(in this order)

Attaching ethernet via thunderbolt + power adapter works for me. Not tested without power adapter yet. No further actions like python script etc. Next step is to connect something useful via thunderbolt, like a portable hdd (and attach it to the lid with velcro tape, like my phone). Luckily, I have a macbook air 13" mid 2011 that is still running without problems!

k.r. Olav

@Olav73 the least expensive/obtrusive hardware solution that worked for me was a "dummy" HDMI plug. Currently they are less than $10.

Update: at end of the day I disconnected the ethernet cable from the ethernet adapter, leaving just the pity adapter attached to my thunderbolt port (since I have two TB-ports: I use the port next to the power connector). Also, I disconnected the power cord. Unless reporting otherwise in the next few days, this may be enough for you too.

@ddownn
Thanks for the tip! Guessing you mean a 'dummy display emulator': it is €8,- in the Netherlands and they come in al sorts of colours, even gold finish, which is great! ;-)

@Olav73 that's the one. It kept my computer from crashing for many months until I finally found out about disabling the driver

I just updated to Big Sur and have been following sf98723's guidance. I'm having trouble on step 5 when I attempt to mount MacOS (mine is called Macintosh HD).

Typing:

mount -uw /Volumes/Macintosh HD

Resulted in:

mount: unknown special file or file system /Volumes/Macintosh.

I saw someone added a space between '-' and 'uw' so I tried that:

mount - uw /Volumes/Macintosh HD

Resulted in:

usage: mount [-dfruvw] [-o options] [-t external_type] special mount_point
       mount [-adfruvw] [-t external_type]
       mount [-dfruvw] special | mount_point

Am I doing something wrong here?

Using Macbook Pro 15 Late 2013