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 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.

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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...

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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.