Intel microcode updates on dell inspiron 3580 on windows 11 pro

Question

I got a Dell Inspiron 3580 core i7 with Windows 11 pro. I have done all the windows updates. Dell has a program called "dell update" that does driver and bios updates. I have done all of them as well. I have Virtualbox with a couple of Linux virtual machines. I know Virtualbox is not a Microsoft product and Linux is not a Microsoft product either. On bootup all these virtual machines complain about spectre vulnerabilities in the cpu. Does that mean my HOST doesn't have all the microcode updates or is this a Virtualbox issue? I did post in the Virtualbox forum but could not get a suitable answer. I managed to download the processor identification utility from Intel. I found out that my cpu id is 806EC and the revision is F0. How do I know if there are any outstanding microcode updates and how do I do them if needed? Apparently windows update does sometimes push out microcode updates, but not always. Some say the oem, in this case dell, is suppose to do it. Should I rather post this question in a dell forum? It's also the latest Virtualbox with latest extentions and latest Linux guest additions. I coudn't find anything useful on google. Please help.

Answer 1

For the host hardware I'd check that the firmware is up to date and that windows is patched fully. The virtualbox guest error may need an update to the hypervisor but virtualbox support or forums will know more about the last point.

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Answer 2

You could check if the pc has this one.

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-sr/000200571/dsa-2022-160-dell-client-security-update-for-intel-june-2022-mmio-vulnerabilities

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Answer 3

Hello there,

Both the OEM and the OS is responsible for the microcode updates.

Can you share the exact error message during bootup ?

Microcode updates can be loaded onto the CPU by firmware (usually BIOS even on computers that technically have UEFI firmware instead of old-style BIOS) or by the operating system.

To allow Windows to load updated microcode onto the CPU, make sure Windows Update is enabled and set to install updates.

To see the processor microarchitecture and which microcode revision is in use, run the command reg query HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\CentralProcessor\0 in the Windows command prompt.

Hope this resolves your Query !!

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Answer 4

Both windows update and dell update shows there aren't any outstanding updates. I know what the processor revision is. I want to know what the latest revision no is for that processor. That will tell me if I have all the micro code updates. It looks like only businesses are allowed to post in Intel's forums.

The intel processor identification utility shows my update number but it doesn't show what the latest update number is for that processor. I tried googling it but couldn't find anything.

Answer 5

You could look for it here.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00615.html

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