Intel E6600 Specification Update - Page 45

Errata Implication: This scenario may only occur on a multiprocessor platform running an operating system that performs "lazy" TLB shootdowns. The memory image of the EFLAGS register on the page fault handler's stack prematurely contains the final arithmetic flag values although the instruction has not yet completed. Intel has not identified any operating systems that inspect the arithmetic portion of the EFLAGS register during a page fault nor observed this erratum in laboratory testing of software applications. Workaround: No workaround is needed upon normal restart of the instruction, since this erratum is transparent to the faulting code and results in correct instruction behavior. Operating systems may ensure that no processor is currently accessing a page that is scheduled to have its page permissions tightened or have a page fault handler that ignores any incorrect state. Status: For the steppings affected, see the Summary Tables of Changes. AI63. LBR, BTS, BTM May Report a Wrong Address when an Exception/Interrupt Occurs in 64-bit Mode Problem: An exception/interrupt event should be transparent to the LBR (Last Branch Record), BTS (Branch Trace Store) and BTM (Branch Trace Message) mechanisms. However, during a specific boundary condition where the exception/interrupt occurs right after the execution of an instruction at the lower canonical boundary (0x00007FFFFFFFFFFF) in 64-bit mode, the LBR return registers will save a wrong return address with bits 63 to 48 incorrectly sign extended to all 1's. Subsequent BTS and BTM operations which report the LBR will also be incorrect. Implication: LBR, BTS and BTM may report incorrect information in the event of an exception/interrupt. Workaround: None identified. Status: For the steppings affected, see the Summary Tables of Changes. AI64. Returning to Real Mode from SMM with EFLAGS.VM Set May Result in Unpredictable System Behavior Problem: Returning back from SMM mode into real mode while EFLAGS.VM is set in SMRAM may result in unpredictable system behavior. Implication: If SMM software changes the values of the EFLAGS.VM in SMRAM, it may result in unpredictable system behavior. Intel has not observed this behavior in commercially available software. Workaround: SMM software should not change the value of EFLAGS.VM in SMRAM. Status: For the steppings affected, see the Summary Tables of Changes. Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor X6800 and Intel® Core™2 Duo Desktop Processor E6000 and E4000 Sequence 45 Specification Update