Apple has a mechanism to update the microcode by the kernel, on-the-fly, but I'm thinking on the side of a error.
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MP51.0087.B00 10.13.5 BootROM update: Missing Microcode...
- Thread starter LightBulbFun
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Apple has a mechanism to update the microcode by the kernel, on-the-fly, but I'm thinking on the side of a error.
they did not get firmware updates as intel canned the Spectre patched Microcode for all Penryn arch CPUs sadly...
as you say Apple does have a means of loading Microcode post-facto and even that is not working with 0087 so something is properly screwed up IMHO...
even if Apple was not planning to update the MP5,1 BR for spectre patching then why did they remove the microcode entirely? they did not issue a FW update to the Core 2 Duo Macs removing their Microcode...
im defo thinking that this is a bug/mistake/screw up on Apples part (yay for Apple QA :/ )
Yeah, I’m expecting another fw update in the near future to correct this.
Let's hope that it won't be a compulsory one and that we can update the MicroCode by ourselves.
Just to you know:
Downgrade from 0087 to 0084 with RomTool + MP51_0084_00B_LOCKED.fd works - but you will need to reserialize your Mac (no iCloud/FaceTime/iMessage without serial number).
I'll try with 0085 next.
Edit: another caveat, EFI nvram cleared, so you will need to reconnect your Apple Wireless KeyBoard, you will need it to run Blank Board Serializer. It's easy to just get a USB keyboard, you will need for csrutil disable too.
Edit 2: Just for kicks, opened High Sierra 10.13.5 installer and it asked to upgrade the firmware again…
Edit 3: The need for reserialize is a GIGANTIC pain in the as_, since I have two HDDs on my Mac Pro optical bay and to run Blank Board Serializer you need a dvd. I’m first trying asr imagescan/restore with Blank Board Serializer dmg and a pen drive.
Edit 4: Serial number re-serialized with Blank Board Serializer via pen drive (works!), doing all the song and dance with iCloud/FaceTime/iMessage/iCloud Keychain…
Edit 5: RomTool + MP51_0085_00B_LOCKED.fd works too.
Downgrade from 0087 to 0084 with RomTool + MP51_0084_00B_LOCKED.fd works - but you will need to reserialize your Mac (no iCloud/FaceTime/iMessage without serial number).
I'll try with 0085 next.
Edit: another caveat, EFI nvram cleared, so you will need to reconnect your Apple Wireless KeyBoard, you will need it to run Blank Board Serializer. It's easy to just get a USB keyboard, you will need for csrutil disable too.
Edit 2: Just for kicks, opened High Sierra 10.13.5 installer and it asked to upgrade the firmware again…
Edit 3: The need for reserialize is a GIGANTIC pain in the as_, since I have two HDDs on my Mac Pro optical bay and to run Blank Board Serializer you need a dvd. I’m first trying asr imagescan/restore with Blank Board Serializer dmg and a pen drive.
Edit 4: Serial number re-serialized with Blank Board Serializer via pen drive (works!), doing all the song and dance with iCloud/FaceTime/iMessage/iCloud Keychain…
Edit 5: RomTool + MP51_0085_00B_LOCKED.fd works too.
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oh thats very Awesome
I had noticed that the .fd files looked a lot like Full BootROMs my self but I never actually tried to flash one. pretty cool to see that it works.
its worth noting that when you flash a .fd file like this not only does your system serial number go missing but also your motherboards serial number is in the BootROM as well so that would go missing as well, with this missing your system UUID will change. and the Motherboard serial number is not set by BBS or SSSN AFAIK so you would have to manually hex edit that in.
oh thats very Awesome
I had noticed that the .fd files looked a lot like Full BootROMs my self but I never actually tried to flash one. pretty cool to see that it works.
its worth noting that when you flash a .fd file like this not only does your system serial number go missing but also your motherboards serial number is in the BootROM as well so that would go missing as well, with this missing your system UUID will change. and the Motherboard serial number is not set by BBS or SSSN AFAIK so you would have to manually hex edit that in.
BBS worked nicely, but my UUID changed and I had to do all the all the song and dance with iCloud/FaceTime/iMessage/iCloud Keychain - btw still doing it…
yeah thats because BBS only sets your System Serial number it does not set the Logic-board serial number, for that you have to hex edit it in manually.
take my MacBook2,1 for example, here is its System serial number notice "ssn" next to it (also notice "son" which is system/sales order number"
then right at the end of the BootROM is another Serial number, this is the Serial number of the Logic-board it self (ie when an Apple store order a replacement logic-board for a mac it will have a blank System Serial number but the Logic-board serial number itself will have been set at the factory)
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Ahh, that's explain my song and dance with iMessage… I'll edit it, thx!
Just updated to 10.13.5, build 17F77 on authentic 5,1 with dual 3.46. Still on boot ROM MP51.0085.B00 and SMC 1.39f11. Had non-EFI GTX 1080 FE installed during update and (as expected) was not prompted to install a firmware update.
Leaning towards not throwing an EFI card in and trying to install the FW update until there is at least some clarity on the reasoning for the update, or what is going on with the "0" references.
Leaning towards not throwing an EFI card in and trying to install the FW update until there is at least some clarity on the reasoning for the update, or what is going on with the "0" references.
Appstore update or combo update won't ask for firmware update at all. Only when you install via the full installer will get it.
Does this mean that I don't get the update unless I install using a usb made with the createinstallmedia command? I hadn't looked in to it, but it would explain some odd behaviours with newly installed machines being unable to boot to the APFS formatted partition
NO, you should NOT (may be CANNOT) update the firmware via any USB thumb drive.
You SHOULD simply download the full installer from appstore, and run it like any other normal applications. Then it will prompt you for the firmware update (and it will NOT install the OS until you finish the firmware update, and command it to do so. So, no need to worry about it automatically install the OS without your permission).
Tested my spare 4,1 dual cpu tray today with the updated 0085 firmware.
The tray has a pair of Nehalem X5570 2.93ghz cpu's, and they worked fine, machdep shows microcode 28 for those cpu's.
The tray has a pair of Nehalem X5570 2.93ghz cpu's, and they worked fine, machdep shows microcode 28 for those cpu's.
@LightBulbFun, do you think you can change the version string in the boot rom to a version later so the macOS installer won't try and flash a firmware someone has modified?
Also, @dosdude1 and @LightBulbFun, I think it a good idea if we could come up with a small tool that reports the Boot ROM checksum to the user, if we are going to be modifying Boot Roms.
I don't know if we can probe the IOReg of that value, if we can, that would be best. We'll have to think one it and see what can be done. Apple patched .87 so malicious code couldn't inject itself into the boot rom, tho you would think SIP was enough, I suppose an unaware user could still be fooled by a blackhat hacker's "firmware update".
Further, I now suspect Apple is patching the microcode via the kernel, but I have no proof of that, and it just isn't reported via the way we are checking.
Also, @dosdude1 and @LightBulbFun, I think it a good idea if we could come up with a small tool that reports the Boot ROM checksum to the user, if we are going to be modifying Boot Roms.
I don't know if we can probe the IOReg of that value, if we can, that would be best. We'll have to think one it and see what can be done. Apple patched .87 so malicious code couldn't inject itself into the boot rom, tho you would think SIP was enough, I suppose an unaware user could still be fooled by a blackhat hacker's "firmware update".
Further, I now suspect Apple is patching the microcode via the kernel, but I have no proof of that, and it just isn't reported via the way we are checking.
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I agree. Thinking about it more I find it hard to believe that Apple simply 'forgot' the microcode in 0087. While I'm sure there's precedent, that would be unbelievable sloppy.
But, yes, we need to determine if the tool for checking the active microcode is looking in the right 'place'. It's quite likely it just reads the bootROM rather than probing memory or the kernel.
You're likely correct, and there has been no activity on my bug report, tho Apple is busy with WWDC right now. It would be nice if they were a little more forthcoming, I'm sure everyone would like to know if they patched Spector/Meltdown, regardless of how they did it.
If they say they did, then we can be pretty sure they did it via the kernel, unless they drop a supplemental FW update on us.
I installed 10.14 on my 2010 Mac Pro and am in the same problem as everyone here. My microcode now shows 0. What should I do about this, should I wait for the next preview hoping it has a firmware update in it?
Wanted to post an update.
LightBulbFun successfully added the Westmere30/Nehalem28 microcodes to the new 0087 EFI.
I flashed it to my spare 2009MP and it works perfectly.
I tested it with a dual X5570 tray, and a dual X5672 tray, both show the correct microcode of 28 and 30.
LightBulbFun successfully added the Westmere30/Nehalem28 microcodes to the new 0087 EFI.
I flashed it to my spare 2009MP and it works perfectly.
I tested it with a dual X5570 tray, and a dual X5672 tray, both show the correct microcode of 28 and 30.
