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Intel and Microsoft release MICROCODE update. |
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Written by dekard
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Wednesday, 27 June 2007 |
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Its quite unusual for Intel and Microsoft to release a microcode update. Its also quite unusual for me to link to an article posted by the Inquirer. Well, I guess its going to be that kind of day.
The microcode is a almost unknown piece of software that give the CPU
in your computer its most basic instructions. When Microsoft and Intel
release a microcode update and simply call it a 'reliability update' I
start screaming conspiracy and run out and download the update ASAP. It
probably means a serious bug in the processor was found, it looks like
by Dell.
Here's a list of affected processors and operating systems. Its a long one.
Operating Systems
- Windows Vista Home Basic
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- Windows Vista Ultimate
- Windows Vista Business
- Windows Vista Enterprise
- Windows Vista Starter
- Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit Edition
- Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
- Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition
- Windows Vista Business 64-bit Edition
- Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition
- Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Processors
- Core 2 Duo E4000/E6000
- Core 2 Quad Q6600
- Core 2 Xtreme QX6800
- QX6700 and QX6800
So, anyway, go out and download the microcode update for your operating system and then you can take off your
tin foil hat. Man, I hate sounding like guy who's seen too many
episodes of Roswell.Oh, and here's the Inq's story.
Here's a bit more useful information from the intarweb:
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Originally Posted by caveman-jim
Around
April 10th, 2007, Intel released a microcode update (BIOS flash to the
rest of us) so resolve several major issues with how Intel Core 2
series processors operate.
Intel has provided a microcode update as a critical software fix. This
Intel microcode update addresses an improper Translation Lookaside
Buffer (TLB) invalidation that may result in unpredictable system
behavior such as system hangs or incorrect data. OEM's are making
available a system BIOS upgrade that integrates a new version of this
Intel microcode to address this potential but extremely rare issue.
While the occurrence of this issue is extremely rare, OEM's strongly
recommends upgrading the system BIOS to an updated version. Intel has
indicated that the microcode update has no known measurable performance
impact and provides a complete and comprehensive resolution to this
issue.
The issues can affect any workstation that uses Intel Core2 Duo desktop
processor E4000 and E6000 sequences, Intel Core2 Quad desktop processor
Q6600 and Intel Core2 Extreme processors X6800 and QX6700 processors.
While the implications of the issue are difficult to quantify, any of the following symptoms can occur:
The system may stop responding to keyboard or mouse input.
A system operating in a Microsoft Windows environment may generate a blue screen.
A system operating in a Linux environment may generate a kernel panic. |
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