Win 10/g3258/h81 microcode issue = no boot/install

[Madpacket]

This is funny. I have an MSI H81 ITX board with a G2358 overclocked to 4.2 which works perfectly using Windows 8.1. I was going to use this same box to test Windows 10 over the next few weeks but I guess I'll change to one of my APU systems instead.

Looks like AsRock is issuing BIOS updates for all boards affected but I'm still unsure if the new BIOS's will still allow overclocking rather than just the enabling of 2 cores without the boot loop.

This doesn't appear innocent or by accident either. It's looking like the G3258 is maybe selling a little too well so Intel gave Microsoft the CPU microcode update on purpose to gimp their best value processor on Windows 10 and called it a patch for "stability" reasons.

Hopefully BIOS updates will be issued by other manufactures MSI, Asus, etc to get around the microcode patch and re-enable what we've all been taking advantage of for the past year.

 

[escrow4]

I recommend people to do clean installs. Because while the clean install got issues of its own. Upgrade seems to be a complete mess on what works and what doesnt in the OS afterwards. And I am not talking about 3rd party apps.

But MS is having huge issues with the keys. So while you may get unactivated upgrades. Its pretty much close to impossible to do an activated clean install currently.

Even better if you can wait a month.

Activated clean install here that I did Day 1. No issues.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

I only managed to get it to install on one of three machines yesterday. :thumbsdown:

Then your doing it the hard way. Just use the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft to create the ISO or bootable Flash Drive.

 

[Shivansps]

mmm its not the only one, today i attemped to install W10 on a Asrock N68-GS4 FX, it can install it, but it cant boot since it will always freeze after 2nd reboot.

 

[JoeRambo]

But MS is having huge issues with the keys. So while you may get unactivated upgrades. Its pretty much close to impossible to do an activated clean install currently.

My clean install was activated on the morning without further action, so the plan of win 8.1 -> upgrade to win10 -> clean install of win10 is actually working without entering any keys.

And Windows seem to be working fine for me, didn't notice anything out of order coming from win7 background.

 

[lyssword]

I'll report back after trying this http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...9bd-24e4-4b4a-8d39-abc738a3dec5?page=6&auth=1

EDIT: YAY It works Problem fixed!

 

[Dufus]

I'll report back after trying this http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...9bd-24e4-4b4a-8d39-abc738a3dec5?page=6&auth=1

That's no different than was suggested in post 18 of this thread. :/

 

[lyssword]

That's no different than was suggested in post 18 of this thread. :/

No, because when you install win 10 it uses its OS files which preinstalls that microcode. As in, a purely fresh install (or any install) won't let you boot with 2 cores, no matter if you deleted that file from 8.1. Only after finding out that win 10 install boots at all with 1 core, and then later modifiying that file it worked. If you said delete that file after gimp-installing win10 you'd b very correct

 

[Dufus]

I was under the impression from your first post that you were installing with only 1 core enabled.

Windows only applies the microcode update when it is loading or are you saying it crashes in the middle of an install and not after a restart?

A cold boot should still post and instead of loading Windows you could run a shell and modify the file that way.

The update uses microcode version 0x1C, version 0x1D has been out for a while, does it cause the same problem?

Note that repairs such as SFC / DISM can re-instate the microcode update but if 0x1D works then having that in the BIOS should hopefully prevent Windows trying to install 0x1C.

 

[lyssword]

In hindsight it seems simple, but when I was posting it I didn't want to risk installing win10 with potentially no easy way to downgrade to 8.1 and being stuck with 1 core
*Also, I don't know which hex version it is, but it was created on 7/10/2015 inside the win10 system32

 

[plonk420]

i can't tell who is more at fault: intel or MS.

either way, i highly urge everyone to submit tech support tickets to their board manufacturers. i've submitted one to Gigabyte (7 month old board). it seems that Asrock has already released a fix for at least one of their boards.

supposedly the following chipsets are affected: H81, B85, H87, Q87, and H97

 

[ShintaiDK]

The 0x1C containing microcode is from july 2014.

 

[jji7skyline]

Z87 chipset seems to be affected too, possibly Z97.

 

[Dufus]

The 0x1C containing microcode is from july 2014.

Maybe somewhat ironically the day before Independence day. 0x1D is also dated 2014.

 

[ShintaiDK]

MS wanting to ship microcode to make sure people that dont update BIOSes or BIOS vendor doesnt update anymore gets the latest, fine.

But MS shipping outdated microcode. Then they can just as well stop doing it.