[OS X TeX] TexShop crashes when running the bibliography program

[gsearby at free.fr]

On Jan 17, 2014, at 4:59 PM, Nathan A. Paxton <napaxton at gmail.com> wrote:

> 	Dear all,
> 
> 	I've been having a recurring problem with TS that I can't always reproduce. It's happened with three different documents, however.
> 
> 	Usually, I default typeset with pdflatexmk, as provided in TS. As typesetting is occurring, when the bibliographic program (seems to occur with both bibtex and biber) goes thru its run, TS crashes and quits. (That is, I am pretty sure it is the biblio program running when the crash happens.)
> 
> 	What can I do to stop this from happening?
> 
> 	I've attached the crash report. What other info could help?

Hi,
	I suppose you have tried re-booting and your pb still occurs?

An intermittent crash sounds more like a hardware problem than a software bug. If you (or other users) cannot reproduce it on another machine then I suggest you run 'memtest' to see if you have developed a faulty memory bank. The instructions may sound daunting, but it is really quite easy and without risk.

Info here:
    http://guides.macrumors.com/Testing_RAM

Download and install from here:
    http://osxdaily.com/2011/05/03/memtest-mac-ram-test

memtest must be run from the terminal, after installation just open the terminal and type
    memtest all

To test all available memory, it must run in the Single-user mode: Hold down 'Command-S' whilst booting
wait for the (verbose) dialogue to finish and then type
   memtest all

Note: in Single-user mode the keyboard ALWAYS reacts as if it has the QWERTY layout. If you have a non-US keyboard (like me) then some of the characters will be on the 'wrong' keys. The test is extremely thorough and reliable, depending on your amount of memory and processor speed, it will take several hours to complete. You can abort the test at any time with ctrl-C.
To exit the Single-user mode, type 
     reboot
(Or hold down the power button until shutdown)

I am on the daily 'digest' mode. If you need a fast response CC me directly.

Good luck,

Geoff Searby