Critical update for Intel Core CPUs

[youpla]

Found this on the Inquirer and though it would be worth reading for everyone who is running one of these CPUs and windows OS.

A COUPLE OF WEEKS ago, we heard that Dell was dealing with a certain situation considering Intel dual-core MCW and quad-core KC marchitecture, and that the company was releasing urgent BIOS and microcode versions for its line up.

We learned that the affected CPUs are the Core 2 Duo E4000/E6000, Core 2 Quad Q6600, Core 2 Xtreme QX6800, QX6700 and QX6800.

In the mobile world, people with the Core 2 Duo T5000 and T7000 need to visit Microsoft's site, while the server guys will want to use motherboard BIOSes if they do not rely on Microsoft Windows operating systems.

The affected servers are Xeon 3000, 3200, 5100 and 5300s - or just about every model from the second generation of Core marchitecture.

Oddly enough, Yonah - 32-bit Core Duo processor - isn't among the affected cores.

Link: http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=40567

And the link to download the fix from Microsoft if you are using a windows OS.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=936357

If you run another OS, then you need to get a BIOS update...

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.

 

[Rastalovich]

This seems a bit ambiguous.

I tend to think that if u apply this, and attempt to change OSs in some fashion, u may get some issues.

Seems bizzare also that some of the Intel files are called Amd64, and that it is OS-wide.

Perhaps it`s a variant of the AMD x2 patching process ???

Dunno, I`d be of the opinion that if it aint broke... don`t touch it.