Spectre microcode update for ivy bridge

[MRodr22]

On the Revision Guidance, it shows that the microcode update is in production for the i5 3450 chip (Ivy bridge)

I can't seem to find it anywhere. Dell refuses to provide BIOS or any updates for any of their older legacy products, of which my Vostro 470 would be one.

What do I do?

[n_scott_pearson]

Well, for starters, I would never purchase another PC from Dell. This "ship it and forget it" attitude is totally unforgivable.

It appears that Microsoft is releasing microcode updates through Windows Update. See here for status: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4090007/intel-microcode-updates KB4090007: Intel microcode updates. I would presume that the older microcode updates contained within your older BIOS are sufficient to allow Windows to be booted (i.e. provides fixes for all errata that would prevent this from happening). Thus, having updated microcode loaded by Windows should be clean (the same methodology is used in Linux as well).

Hope this helps,

...S

[AlHill]

"This "ship it and forget it" attitude is totally unforgivable."

Ditto.

Doc

[MRodr22]

I haven't really had many problems with my Dell at all other than this. I have even upgraded some of the hardware (Graphics and RAM) with no issues.

That MS link you provided does not list any of the 3rd gen i5 chips. Again, I need the microcode for Ivy Bridge. According to this link: https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/03/microcode-update-guidance.pdf https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/03/microcode-update-guidance.pdf, the microcode for Ivy Bridge is in production already. I just can't find it anywhere.

I fully understand why Dell isn't doing anything. It's a legacy computer. Trashing Dell isn't going to solve my issue though.

I am also running Windows 10 Pro 64. I did do the MS updates for Meltdown. I just need for the code for Spectre Variant 2.

[MRodr22]

I just noticed that it says the 3rd Gen i5 MOBILE processors. The i5 3rd Gen DESKTOP processors aren't listed under the Ivy Bridge section.

Does this mean that I will not get a Spectre microcode? It doesn't make much sense that the mobile processors do but the desktop ones don't.

[n_scott_pearson]

Don't worry about that. It isn't the only place where Desktop is left out of the description (it's the Rodney Dangerfield of the Intel processor world). Simply go by the CPUID Family/Model/Stepping code and ignore the description.

...S

[ADamo]

I'm not sure what your skill level is, but there's a tool called UBU out there that you can potentially use with MMTool to patch your own BIOS if it's the right type. I did it successfully today with an old BIOSTAR Socket 1155 board. ASRock patched my X99 mobo and Dell patched my wife's Broadwell laptop so the 8-year-old Socket 1155 mobo with Ivy Bridge CPU (like you) was all I had left.

The other option is just to follow N. Scott Pearson's advice above and wait until Microsoft patches the microcode for you with a manual update in Windows Catalog. This will patch the microcode on the fly before Windows boots so not as good as a BIOS patch but better than nothing if you run Windows only. They are slowly working down the list which is why only a few types are currently listed. Just keep checking back:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4090007/intel-microcode-updates https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4090007/intel-microcode-updates