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There are isolated problems with current patches, but they are well-known and documented on this site. |
Is your computer 64 bit capable? In other words do you have a 64 bit processor? If so, I would install the update. (I’m assuming you do have a 64 bit processor and that’s why you’re being offered the update.) You may at some point use the computer to run a 64 bit OS, and if you do, you’ll want to have installed the microcode update.
My experience is, if it’s already there on your system, you can check via synaptic package manager – Search, take the offered 257kb amd64-microcode update and future ones and don’t lose sleep over it 🙂
If your CPU is 64 bit, it will need a 64 bit microcode, even if you are running a 32-bit OS. The microcode operates at a lower level than the OS, being loaded directly onto the CPU at boot time. It is generally a good idea to use the latest microcode for reasons of security and stability, although rarely you may want to use an older one if there is a bug in a newer one. I had such a situation with my Acer Swift 1 (not the Swift in my sig), where the latest microcode would cause periodic lockups anywhere from right after boot to more than a day later. This is rare, though, and should not be a reason to avoid a specific microcode version unless you know it is bad.
Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/16GB & GTX1660ti, KDE Neon
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, KDE Neon (and Win 11 for maintenance)
Yes, install the microcode on the i-5. I believe it’s called amd64 instead of intel64 for historical reasons; amd was first to make a 64 bit processor. I’ve installed amd64 micocode on 3 Mint (not LMDE) computers that all have Intel processors and never had an issue.
Some P4 are 32 bit and some are 64 bit. Do a web search on “is an Intel P4 processor 64 bit or 32 bit” to get more details.
On Mint 20.3 Cinnamon go to the Start Menu/All Applications/System Reports, then click System information on the left. I see 64 bit in several places.
Ok on my LM21.1 laptop I issued the command “lscpu” and got a lot of information about my i5 cpu. There was one line that stated it was an x86_64 (I can’t remember exactly what it said) but it did state 64. I also checked in Software Manager and there was an old file that was being replaced by this new file. So I went and updated with out issue.
Next I will check my desktop running the P4 and determine if it’s capable of x86 or 64bit or both. I am out of town the next couple of days so won’t be responding until I return. Thanks all.
Well my LMDE is running on a P4! I assume it’s a 32-bit processor. Is there a Linux command to check?
Along the same lines, my other laptop with an i-5 is running 64-bit LM21.1. It is being offered the same file amd64-microcode. Should I install even though I have an Intel chip and not an AMD?
The Linux kernel includes support and drivers for various possible hardware configurations and their dependencies (ex. Intel/AMD cpus/microcode/firmware, system board chipsets, 32/64 bit, etc.). During boot the kernel scans your hardware and only loads what is needed. So it’s important to trust Update Manager and install all available updates to ensure system security and stability.
In that case, with the CPU being that old, it’s not going to make any difference whether you install it or not. Installing a microcode package only makes the microcodes available to the system… it will not actually use any of them if it is not the correct one for the CPU in question, so you need not worry that installing this will make the system use an invalid microcode and mess things up.
It is being offered because either it is a dependency of one of the packages on the system or because it was a part of the initial installation of LMDE, and once it’s there, it gets updated if a newer version comes out. These microcode packages get installed on everything in general, just to make sure the bases are covered if one of the CPUs that do have an update available is present
While “AMD64” is sometimes used to describe the architecture of modern Intel CPUs, in this case, the package in question is indeed AMD microcodes.
The reason for the AMD name being used with Intel CPUs is that AMD came up with the 64-bit extensions to x86 that are currently used on nearly all PCs. Intel’s version was the Itanium, abbreviated to IA-64, but it was not backwards compatible with the existing x86 software, which made it a hard sell. AMD’s version gave the benefits of 64 bit while maintaining compatibility with the older stuff, so it prevailed in the marketplace, with Intel licensing the AMD64 extensions from AMD.
AMD64 is the same as x86-64.
Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/16GB & GTX1660ti, KDE Neon
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, KDE Neon (and Win 11 for maintenance)
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