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XopmoH

Member

From: Ukraine, Vinnitsa

Registered: 2019-10-20

Posts: 2

"intel-spi intel-spi: write to status register failed" in dmesg log

I see this messages in my dmesg log:

[    6.341909] intel-spi intel-spi: write to status register failed
[    6.341913] intel-spi intel-spi: fail to clear block protection bits
[    6.341916] intel-spi intel-spi: failed to locate the chip
[    6.341945] intel-spi: probe of intel-spi failed with error -22

What is this? And how to fix it?

cfeedback

Member

From: Portland, OR

Registered: 2019-05-11

Posts: 11

Re: "intel-spi intel-spi: write to status register failed" in dmesg log

Sounds suspiciously like a problem with your Intel Mangement Engine (ME). It can get corrupted sometimes, usually from BIOS updates but sometimes it just gets mucked up all on it's own.. You can download a tool from the AUR (I think you can still get it by itself, if not it's part of coreboot-utils-git) called intelmetool. When ran, you should see something like this:

/home/kale> sudo intelmetool -m
Bad news, you have a `H61 Express Chipset LPC Controller` so you have ME hardware on board and you can't control or disable it, continuing...

MEI found: [8086:1c3a] 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1

ME Status   : 0x1e000245
ME Status 2 : 0x66000106

ME: FW Partition Table      : OK
ME: Bringup Loader Failure  : NO
ME: Firmware Init Complete  : YES
ME: Manufacturing Mode      : NO
ME: Boot Options Present    : NO
ME: Update In Progress      : NO
ME: Current Working State   : Normal
ME: Current Operation State : M0 with UMA
ME: Current Operation Mode  : Normal
ME: Error Code              : No Error
ME: Progress Phase          : Host Communication
ME: Power Management Event  : Pseudo-global reset
ME: Progress Phase State    : Host communication established

ME: Extend SHA-256: 8cd545eac4b72fa930f06940ce352fe8f925572abb51424982b22b0d701f38d1

ME: Firmware Version 8.1.1590.70 (code) 8.1.1590.70 (recovery) 8.1.1590.70 (fitc)

ME Capability: Full Network manageability                 : OFF
ME Capability: Regular Network manageability              : OFF
ME Capability: Manageability                              : OFF
ME Capability: Small business technology                  : OFF
ME Capability: Level III manageability                    : OFF
ME Capability: IntelR Anti-Theft (AT)                     : OFF
ME Capability: IntelR Capability Licensing Service (CLS)  : ON
ME Capability: IntelR Power Sharing Technology (MPC)      : ON
ME Capability: ICC Over Clocking                          : ON
ME Capability: Protected Audio Video Path (PAVP)          : ON
ME Capability: IPV6                                       : OFF
ME Capability: KVM Remote Control (KVM)                   : OFF
ME Capability: Outbreak Containment Heuristic (OCH)       : OFF
ME Capability: Virtual LAN (VLAN)                         : ON
ME Capability: TLS                                        : OFF
ME Capability: Wireless LAN (WLAN)                        : OFF

The exact output will vary greatly depending on your chipset generation. It'll be pretty obvious though if it gives you a bunch of errors. You can add the "-d" flag for extra debugging info, although you may want to restart before running the tool again as it usuually gets a bit cranky if you run it back to back. The good folks at WinRaid have a very detailed and complete guide about all things ME related, including how to properly clean a corrupted engine. It's not terribly complicated, but you will want to follow the instructions step by step or you'll end up worse off than you began.

Win-Raid Forum (Drivers - Firmware - Modding) » Special Topics » Intel Management Engine

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Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But, of course, if you dig deeper, it’s how it really works. You have to grok what it is all about.

― S. Jobs

paulkerry

Member

From: Sheffield, UK

Registered: 2014-10-02

Posts: 611

Re: "intel-spi intel-spi: write to status register failed" in dmesg log

modinfo intel-spi

says "description:    Intel PCH/PCU SPI flash core driver"

There is lots of info online about that module and intel spi in general.
Make sure your bios is up to date and/or ignore those messages and/or possibly blacklist the intel_spi module if you are not using it.