Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Intel/AMD x86 CPU microcode update system in non-free
On Tue, 06 Nov 2012, Stan Hoeppner wrote:
> So I'm left assuming that this initiative is the result of more and more
> Debian users purchasing systems sufficiently new enough that errata are
> being discovered, and new microcode being issued, after they receive
> their systems, and these folks aren't flashing their BIOS.
Yes. Intel and AMD became a lot more active re. microcode updates somewhat
recently, doing a lot of work kernel-side. Work that is still ongoing, soon
Linux will be able to update microcode *before* it brings the CPUs online
during boot.
Anyway, the younger the processor, the more likely it is to receive
microcode updates.
Most recent processors from both vendors require microcode updates. I think
nearly all Intel i3/5/7 and Xeon models from the last two generations have
microcode updates in the current microcode datafile, for example. Your
BIOS/UEFI might have the latest microcode already, obviously...
A bit of trivia: if the "microcode" line in /proc/cpuinfo reads anything
other than "0x0" (i.e. zero), the processor _is_ running with some sort of
microcode applied. If the Debian packages didn't do it, the BIOS/EFI did.
--
"One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
Henrique Holschuh
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