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#1 2017-10-03 13:42:56

maxxon
Member
Registered: 2017-10-02
Posts: 13

Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

When I installed my archlinux under a VIrtaulBox VM, I added the intel-ucode package.

When I start up my VM I get the following message:

[    0.000000] [Firmware Bug]: TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata; please update microcode to version: 0x22 (or later)
starting version 234

I didn't try to use the VM without the intel-ucode, so I don't know if it is really needed, but I assumed that it was.  According to /proc/cpuinfo it is a Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4720HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz.

So I was going to use the iucode-tool to see if that would shed some light on what is going on.  Unfortunately, I got this:

==> Making package: iucode-tool 2.2-1 (Tue Oct  3 09:31:49 EDT 2017)
==> Checking runtime dependencies...
==> Checking buildtime dependencies...
==> Retrieving sources...
  -> Downloading iucode-tool_2.2.tar.xz...
  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100  146k  100  146k    0     0   146k      0  0:00:01 --:--:--  0:00:01  196k
  -> Downloading iucode-tool_2.2.tar.xz.asc...
  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100   833  100   833    0     0    833      0  0:00:01 --:--:--  0:00:01  2619
==> Validating source files with sha256sums...
    iucode-tool_2.2.tar.xz ... Passed
    iucode-tool_2.2.tar.xz.asc ... Skipped
==> Verifying source file signatures with gpg...
    iucode-tool_2.2.tar.xz ... FAILED (unknown public key FE11BFA68B158E98)
==> ERROR: One or more PGP signatures could not be verified!

Not sure what to do now.

Last edited by maxxon (2017-10-03 14:17:02)

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#2 2017-10-03 13:55:18

V1del
Forum Moderator
Registered: 2012-10-16
Posts: 21,427

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Installing the intel-ucode package does not automatically set it up, it depends on your bootloader config: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mi … de_updates

As for the PGP error: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ma … e_checking

And please post output in [ code ] tags not [ quote ] tags in the future.

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#3 2017-10-03 14:16:26

maxxon
Member
Registered: 2017-10-02
Posts: 13

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Um, ok.  I looked in the /boot/grub/grub.cfg file and it has this menu entry:

menuentry 'Arch Linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-fba453c4-f95c-4022-8454-6a69600f9177' {
        load_video
        set gfxpayload=keep
        insmod gzio
        insmod part_gpt
        insmod ext2
        set root='hd0,gpt2'
        if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt2 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt2 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt2  fba453c4-f95c-4022-8454-6a69600f9177
        else
          search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root fba453c4-f95c-4022-8454-6a69600f9177
        fi
        echo    'Loading Linux linux ...'
        linux   /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=fba453c4-f95c-4022-8454-6a69600f9177 rw  quiet video=1600x1200
        echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
        initrd  /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-linux.img
}

This shows that the /boot/intel-ucode.img is in the correct place, right?  So what else do I have to do to configure it?

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#4 2017-10-03 15:04:42

V1del
Forum Moderator
Registered: 2012-10-16
Posts: 21,427

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Was your /boot partition mounted when you installed intel-ucode? Reinstall the package with the partition mounted, if this is an UEFI setup.

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#5 2017-10-03 15:07:36

loqs
Member
Registered: 2014-03-06
Posts: 17,196

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Can a virtual machine apply microcode updates?

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#6 2017-10-03 17:20:56

maxxon
Member
Registered: 2017-10-02
Posts: 13

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Hi V1del.  Was my /boot partition mounted?  It is part of the main fs.  And no, this is not a UEFI setup, it is a BIOS/GPT setup.

Hi loqs. I dunno.

Last edited by maxxon (2017-10-03 17:22:16)

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#7 2017-10-03 17:54:54

Slithery
Administrator
From: Norfolk, UK
Registered: 2013-12-01
Posts: 5,776

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

You shouldn't run microcode updates on a VM, this should have already been done by the host system.


No, it didn't "fix" anything. It just shifted the brokeness one space to the right. - jasonwryan
Closing -- for deletion; Banning -- for muppetry. - jasonwryan

aur - dotfiles

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#8 2017-10-03 19:15:44

maxxon
Member
Registered: 2017-10-02
Posts: 13

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Ok @slithery, I'll remove it and see what happens.

If that is correct, then perhaps it should be mentioned in the VirtualBox wiki and the Installation Guide?  There's no mention of it in either location.

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#9 2017-10-03 19:29:32

Slithery
Administrator
From: Norfolk, UK
Registered: 2013-12-01
Posts: 5,776

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

It doesn't matter if you try to upgrade the microcode from the VM, it will just fail as it's already been updated.
It shouldn't make any difference to the system if you do install the firmware, it's just not necessary.


No, it didn't "fix" anything. It just shifted the brokeness one space to the right. - jasonwryan
Closing -- for deletion; Banning -- for muppetry. - jasonwryan

aur - dotfiles

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#10 2017-10-03 20:48:38

circleface
Member
Registered: 2012-05-26
Posts: 639

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

maxxon wrote:

There's no mention of it in either location.

The installation guide does have it in the Boot Loader section.

Installation Guide wrote:

If you have an Intel CPU, install the intel-ucode package in addition, and enable microcode updates.

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#11 2017-10-04 01:00:42

maxxon
Member
Registered: 2017-10-02
Posts: 13

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Um, @circleface, that doesn't say that I shouldn't enable microcode updates if I am using a VM.

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#12 2017-10-04 01:52:00

circleface
Member
Registered: 2012-05-26
Posts: 639

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Sorry, I thought you were referring to the main system.

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#13 2017-10-04 02:06:52

maxxon
Member
Registered: 2017-10-02
Posts: 13

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

I am still getting the error.  Am I supposed to just ignore it?

Thanks

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#14 2017-10-04 02:21:00

Scimmia
Fellow
Registered: 2012-09-01
Posts: 11,466

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Best option is to update your firmware from the manufacturer. If there's no update available, ignoring it may be your only option if the host system isn't Linux.

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#15 2017-10-04 07:41:20

rusty725
Member
Registered: 2014-02-16
Posts: 91

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

maxxon wrote:

I am still getting the error.  Am I supposed to just ignore it?

Thanks

try this

sudo pacman -S intel-ucode
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

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#16 2017-10-04 08:13:12

progandy
Member
Registered: 2012-05-17
Posts: 5,184

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Scimmia wrote:

Best option is to update your firmware from the manufacturer. If there's no update available, ignoring it may be your only option if the host system isn't Linux.

VMware seems to provide a driver that enables microcode updates for bare-metal windows installations.
https://labs.vmware.com/flings/vmware-c … ate-driver
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads … ws.787152/

Last edited by progandy (2017-10-04 08:15:12)


| alias CUTF='LANG=en_XX.UTF-8@POSIX ' |

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#17 2017-10-05 22:44:12

Lepick2010
Member
Registered: 2017-10-05
Posts: 1

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

rusty725 wrote:
maxxon wrote:

I am still getting the error.  Am I supposed to just ignore it?

Thanks

try this

sudo pacman -S intel-ucode
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Saw the same firmware bug message today on my Lenovo, the steps above removed the error. Thanks!

Last edited by Lepick2010 (2017-10-05 22:44:32)

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#18 2017-10-07 10:21:54

bruno.unna
Member
Registered: 2013-05-05
Posts: 7

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Hi all.

I have the same problem maxxon is having, but in a physical machine.

I'm running a newly-upgraded system:

(538) bruno@chimera:/tmp$ uname -a
Linux chimera 4.13.4-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Thu Sep 28 08:39:52 CEST 2017 x86_64 GNU/Linux

My processor is an Intel i5 (four cores, but only one is shown below):

(539) bruno@chimera:/tmp$ cat /proc/cpuinfo 
processor	: 0
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 60
model name	: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4200M CPU @ 2.50GHz
stepping	: 3
microcode	: 0x16
cpu MHz		: 2494.411
cache size	: 3072 KB
physical id	: 0
siblings	: 4
core id		: 0
cpu cores	: 2
apicid		: 0
initial apicid	: 0
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 13
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm cpuid_fault epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs		:
bogomips	: 4990.68
clflush size	: 64
cache_alignment	: 64
address sizes	: 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

I've carefully followed the article at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/microcode.

I have installed package intel-ucode. I have also installed AUR package iucode_tool. I am booting using grub, and have already re-run grub-mkconfig. I think it works ok because:

  1. the initrd of /boot/grub/grub.cfg looks like this: initrd  /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-linux.img

  2. file /boot/intel-ucode.img exists and looks healthy

I don't have a separate /boot partition. I've a single root partition, of which /boot is only a directory:

(544) bruno@chimera:/tmp$ cat /etc/fstab 
# 
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
#
# <file system>	<dir>	<type>	<options>	<dump>	<pass>
# /dev/sda6 LABEL=linux
UUID=7031fc29-3f61-4d2a-a247-54e5dad9a488	/         	btrfs     	rw,relatime,space_cache	0 0

When I boot I see the TSC_DEADLINE message, that also appears with dmesg:

(545) bruno@chimera:/tmp$ dmesg | grep microcode
[    0.000000] [Firmware Bug]: TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata; please update microcode to version: 0x22 (or later)
[    0.813546] microcode: sig=0x306c3, pf=0x10, revision=0x16
[    0.813680] microcode: Microcode Update Driver: v2.2.

The kernel thinks I'm running microcode 0x16:

(546) bruno@chimera:/tmp$ grep microcode /proc/cpuinfo
microcode	: 0x16
microcode	: 0x16
microcode	: 0x16
microcode	: 0x16

But I believe the update to version 22 should have been applied:

(547) bruno@chimera:/tmp$ bsdtar -Oxf /boot/intel-ucode.img | iucode_tool -tb -lS -
iucode_tool: system has processor(s) with signature 0x000306c3
microcode bundle 1: (stdin)
selected microcodes:
  001/148: sig 0x000306c3, pf_mask 0x32, 2017-01-27, rev 0x0022, size 22528

What am I missing? Any help would be very appreciated.

Regards.

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#19 2017-10-07 12:57:42

bruno.unna
Member
Registered: 2013-05-05
Posts: 7

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Update: I've updated the BIOS of my machine. By doing that, the microcode version I have jumps from 16 to 1c. But not to 22, which is what I was expecting.

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#20 2017-10-08 10:08:48

bruno.unna
Member
Registered: 2013-05-05
Posts: 7

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

Update: it turns out the problem was due to Grub ignoring the contents of the 'initrd' line in its configuration file. Ater running 'grub-install' again, as per https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB#UEFI_systems, things are working ok.

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#21 2017-10-21 19:06:27

loqs
Member
Registered: 2014-03-06
Posts: 17,196

Re: Firmware Bug TSC_DEADLINE disabled due to Errata

In reference to the original issue on virtualbox https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke … a3d56c8af8

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