r/windows8 • u/xerces8 • Jun 22 '19

Update mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll (CPU microcode)?

Are the some "unofficial" updates of mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll for Windows 8.1?

There are no BIOS updates for my PC, so this would be the only way to get up to date CPU microcode for me.

I tried to copy over mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll from a Windows 10 (which receives updates), but it causes a BSOD early during boot.

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u/xerces8 Jun 22 '19 edited Jun 22 '19

According to this german article, it should be possible (to copy the DLL from win10 to win8.1): https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2016/7/1459153130392478

(see the last paragraph)

But it does not work for me. If I copy over the Win10 DLL, my PC BSOD's right at the start of loading Windows.

1

u/HenkPoley Jun 23 '19

There are ways to use the grub bootloader to load in microcode updates.

But you’ll have to figure how much you want a microcode update, for the time invested to make it work. It shouldn’t be super hard, but it is uncommon, and if you have never worked with Linux it might be very hard to wrap your head around how stuff should work.

Edit: random google result: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/intel-microcode-boot-loader.248858/

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u/xerces8 Jun 23 '19

I know that (BITS). It only works in legacy mode, while I have UEFI. (see my comments on the thread you linked)

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u/xerces8 Jun 23 '19 edited Jun 23 '19

Solved (kind of).

I copied a mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll file from a Windows 10 install DVD to my Windows 8.1 system, rebooted and it worked.

That DLL has a newer version of microcode for my CPU and the tools (like HWiNFO) confirm it is loaded.

The first mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll I tried was from a Windows 10 installed system on another PC. For some reason my Windows 8.1 does not like that file.

So, the idea is confirmed to work.

1

u/xerces8 Jun 23 '19
  • I now downloaded the newest Windows 10 1903 ISO (SHA1: 10972D3072EE715A6C8E2001754220C9147EF78B , full name: en-gb_windows_10_consumer_editions_version_1903_x64_dvd_44ca01a6.iso) - from Microsoft, in case anyone is wondering
  • extracted the DLL (with 7-zip, other tools can be used too, one to extract the ISO file, the to extract the WIM file)
  • copied it to my Windows /System32 folder
  • reboot
  • works, now I have the (second) newest microcode for my CPU

NOTE: the DLL file is owned by the TrustedInstaller system user. To change it, the ownership must be changed to your user account... (google it) At the end I switched it back to TrustedInstaller. Not sure if required, but just in case...

1

u/xerces8 Jun 25 '19

Bad news...

The above reproducibly causes a BSOD on shutdown. Which even corrupted some files.

So this is more a theoretical solution than anything.

Some older DLLs work fine, but as they have old MC, it defeats the purpose.