"un actually yoir 2003 thinkpad insecure due to outdated microcode and linux isn't as secure as modern android or macO-" *gets shot*
November 7, 2026 at 9:53 PM
"un actually yoir 2003 thinkpad insecure due to outdated microcode and linux isn't as secure as modern android or macO-" *gets shot*
The dump covers the entire 4,096-line microcode address space. The ROM itself occupies 3,200 of those lines, roughly 12 KB of microcode.
I can't overstate how huge this feels. After all these years, I finally have it.
A full write-up is coming next year!
I can't overstate how huge this feels. After all these years, I finally have it.
A full write-up is coming next year!
November 5, 2026 at 4:20 PM
The dump covers the entire 4,096-line microcode address space. The ROM itself occupies 3,200 of those lines, roughly 12 KB of microcode.
I can't overstate how huge this feels. After all these years, I finally have it.
A full write-up is coming next year!
I can't overstate how huge this feels. After all these years, I finally have it.
A full write-up is coming next year!
After 25 years, the original Xbox's last hidden ROM has finally been dumped: the CPU's microcode!
This has been a goal of mine for over 6 years, and I've worked on it off and on ever since. 🧵
This has been a goal of mine for over 6 years, and I've worked on it off and on ever since. 🧵
November 5, 2026 at 4:20 PM
After 25 years, the original Xbox's last hidden ROM has finally been dumped: the CPU's microcode!
This has been a goal of mine for over 6 years, and I've worked on it off and on ever since. 🧵
This has been a goal of mine for over 6 years, and I've worked on it off and on ever since. 🧵
cpu with full program optimizing microcode interpreter
November 10, 2026 at 1:56 PM
cpu with full program optimizing microcode interpreter
"original xbox cpu microcode has been dumped" you mean a bog standard coppermine pentium 3?????????
November 6, 2026 at 4:11 AM
"original xbox cpu microcode has been dumped" you mean a bog standard coppermine pentium 3?????????
m68k microcode is like... several orders of magnitude more complex than 6502
luckily someone else developed a test suite with millions of tests
luckily someone else developed a test suite with millions of tests
November 7, 2026 at 5:50 PM
m68k microcode is like... several orders of magnitude more complex than 6502
luckily someone else developed a test suite with millions of tests
luckily someone else developed a test suite with millions of tests
The SNES sound chip is a little computer of its own: the SPC700 is an 8-bit CPU with 64 KB of RAM, feeding an 8-channel DSP with samples and real-time effects. Composers wrote microcode, not just notes. Which SNES score still floors you?
November 6, 2026 at 3:18 PM
The SNES sound chip is a little computer of its own: the SPC700 is an 8-bit CPU with 64 KB of RAM, feeding an 8-channel DSP with samples and real-time effects. Composers wrote microcode, not just notes. Which SNES score still floors you?
Oh hey NEC MIPS64 programming!
You generated it all in asm/microcode to get around Nintendo's language limits and the memory rates?
Wow!
You generated it all in asm/microcode to get around Nintendo's language limits and the memory rates?
Wow!
November 7, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Oh hey NEC MIPS64 programming!
You generated it all in asm/microcode to get around Nintendo's language limits and the memory rates?
Wow!
You generated it all in asm/microcode to get around Nintendo's language limits and the memory rates?
Wow!
After more than six years of work, @LoveMHz extracted the 12 KB ROM, covering 3,200 lines of the CPU's 4,096-line microcode address space.
The Xbox endured over 50,000 reboots during two weeks of hardware testing. A full write-up is coming next year!
#Xbox #RetroGaming #GeekRealmHub
The Xbox endured over 50,000 reboots during two weeks of hardware testing. A full write-up is coming next year!
#Xbox #RetroGaming #GeekRealmHub
November 5, 2026 at 8:21 PM
After more than six years of work, @LoveMHz extracted the 12 KB ROM, covering 3,200 lines of the CPU's 4,096-line microcode address space.
The Xbox endured over 50,000 reboots during two weeks of hardware testing. A full write-up is coming next year!
#Xbox #RetroGaming #GeekRealmHub
The Xbox endured over 50,000 reboots during two weeks of hardware testing. A full write-up is coming next year!
#Xbox #RetroGaming #GeekRealmHub
Not exactly, but sort of. For a start it will be about 100x faster, but a lot less accurate. The microcode is for the other half of this project. This is just the FPU. It uses direct evaluation 😉
November 7, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Not exactly, but sort of. For a start it will be about 100x faster, but a lot less accurate. The microcode is for the other half of this project. This is just the FPU. It uses direct evaluation 😉
Like an Intel 8087? You'll have to supply a microcode. What series algorithms will you choose?
November 6, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Like an Intel 8087? You'll have to supply a microcode. What series algorithms will you choose?
1978. A mainframe instruction behaves in a way nobody expected.
No cloud, no containers, no AI-generated code. Just hardware, microcode, and a debugging problem.
Some IT horror stories age remarkably well.
Ep24: When UNPK Broke.
ithorrorstories.eu#ep24
#Technology #Mainframe
No cloud, no containers, no AI-generated code. Just hardware, microcode, and a debugging problem.
Some IT horror stories age remarkably well.
Ep24: When UNPK Broke.
ithorrorstories.eu#ep24
#Technology #Mainframe
November 10, 2026 at 10:02 AM
1978. A mainframe instruction behaves in a way nobody expected.
No cloud, no containers, no AI-generated code. Just hardware, microcode, and a debugging problem.
Some IT horror stories age remarkably well.
Ep24: When UNPK Broke.
ithorrorstories.eu#ep24
#Technology #Mainframe
No cloud, no containers, no AI-generated code. Just hardware, microcode, and a debugging problem.
Some IT horror stories age remarkably well.
Ep24: When UNPK Broke.
ithorrorstories.eu#ep24
#Technology #Mainframe
November 5, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Discussion thread:
Dustin Holden successfully dumps Original Xbox's CPU Microcode
Posted in r/originalxbox by u/ibrown39 • 329 points and 44 comments
old.reddit.com
November 5, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Discussion thread:
A CPU running a full program that optimizes its own microcode interpreter, the same way I'd rewire a pump while it's still turning. I'd want every instruction traced before I trusted the new loop, and I'd still keep a spare wrench on the bench in case it seizes.
November 10, 2026 at 1:56 PM
A CPU running a full program that optimizes its own microcode interpreter, the same way I'd rewire a pump while it's still turning. I'd want every instruction traced before I trusted the new loop, and I'd still keep a spare wrench on the bench in case it seizes.
Nintendo didn't allow studios to reprogram the GPU's microcode until '97-8 and even then only a few like Rare, Factor 5 and Boss were allowed to. For WDC and Stunt Racer 64, Boss skipped the depth buffer and used a PS1/Saturn/DOS software renderer style simplified polygon ordering table instead
November 4, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Nintendo didn't allow studios to reprogram the GPU's microcode until '97-8 and even then only a few like Rare, Factor 5 and Boss were allowed to. For WDC and Stunt Racer 64, Boss skipped the depth buffer and used a PS1/Saturn/DOS software renderer style simplified polygon ordering table instead
Sooo
I kind of thought about installing libreboot on my thinkpad, cause edk2 imho is pretty nice and i really want to have microcode updates before kernel loads, so, using libreboot which has both by default sounds like pretty reasonable thingie
HOWEWER
I also want to mess around with bios and […]
I kind of thought about installing libreboot on my thinkpad, cause edk2 imho is pretty nice and i really want to have microcode updates before kernel loads, so, using libreboot which has both by default sounds like pretty reasonable thingie
HOWEWER
I also want to mess around with bios and […]
Original post on mastodon.ml
mastodon.ml
November 5, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Sooo
I kind of thought about installing libreboot on my thinkpad, cause edk2 imho is pretty nice and i really want to have microcode updates before kernel loads, so, using libreboot which has both by default sounds like pretty reasonable thingie
HOWEWER
I also want to mess around with bios and […]
I kind of thought about installing libreboot on my thinkpad, cause edk2 imho is pretty nice and i really want to have microcode updates before kernel loads, so, using libreboot which has both by default sounds like pretty reasonable thingie
HOWEWER
I also want to mess around with bios and […]
Hacking the T-Mobile Sidekick, 20 Years Too Late
Discussion | hackernews | Author: microcode
#SecurityResearch
Discussion | hackernews | Author: microcode
#SecurityResearch
Hacking the T-Mobile Sidekick, 20 Years Too Late
Danger stopped handing out Sidekick developer keys in 2010. I cracked its signing key and started making my own.
x86.cx
November 4, 2026 at 11:54 PM
Hacking the T-Mobile Sidekick, 20 Years Too Late
Discussion | hackernews | Author: microcode
#SecurityResearch
Discussion | hackernews | Author: microcode
#SecurityResearch
I will die on this hill
November 3, 2026 at 3:37 PM
I will die on this hill
That was the C30 IMP. They had an alternate microcode load that was vaguely PDP 11-like, running a weird version of Unix with an addressing range of 1M 10-bit bytes. I wrote software tools for that.
November 1, 2026 at 3:05 AM
That was the C30 IMP. They had an alternate microcode load that was vaguely PDP 11-like, running a weird version of Unix with an addressing range of 1M 10-bit bytes. I wrote software tools for that.
They have to pay for this part and this part.
Basically the new warzone coming in 5 days will finally fix the microcode. That means they knew dick goes in pussy all the way back in 2019.
Call of Duty at 100 frames also pay for this part, just use the super sampling and shut up.
Basically the new warzone coming in 5 days will finally fix the microcode. That means they knew dick goes in pussy all the way back in 2019.
Call of Duty at 100 frames also pay for this part, just use the super sampling and shut up.
November 3, 2026 at 12:05 AM
They have to pay for this part and this part.
Basically the new warzone coming in 5 days will finally fix the microcode. That means they knew dick goes in pussy all the way back in 2019.
Call of Duty at 100 frames also pay for this part, just use the super sampling and shut up.
Basically the new warzone coming in 5 days will finally fix the microcode. That means they knew dick goes in pussy all the way back in 2019.
Call of Duty at 100 frames also pay for this part, just use the super sampling and shut up.
Discover the groundbreaking Intel 8087 chip, which revolutionized floating-point arithmetic with its precision in addition and subtraction. Dive into the microcode that powered this innovation and shaped modern computing. Unco…
https://www.righto.com/2026/10/8087-addition-subtraction-microcode.html
https://www.righto.com/2026/10/8087-addition-subtraction-microcode.html
October 31, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Discover the groundbreaking Intel 8087 chip, which revolutionized floating-point arithmetic with its precision in addition and subtraction. Dive into the microcode that powered this innovation and shaped modern computing. Unco…
https://www.righto.com/2026/10/8087-addition-subtraction-microcode.html
https://www.righto.com/2026/10/8087-addition-subtraction-microcode.html
Discover the groundbreaking Intel 8087 chip, which revolutionized floating-point arithmetic with its precision in addition and subtraction. Dive into the microcode that powered this innovation and shaped modern computing. Unco…
https://www.righto.com/2026/10/8087-addition-subtraction-microcode.html
https://www.righto.com/2026/10/8087-addition-subtraction-microcode.html
October 31, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Discover the groundbreaking Intel 8087 chip, which revolutionized floating-point arithmetic with its precision in addition and subtraction. Dive into the microcode that powered this innovation and shaped modern computing. Unco…
https://www.righto.com/2026/10/8087-addition-subtraction-microcode.html
https://www.righto.com/2026/10/8087-addition-subtraction-microcode.html
The mainframe (ICL 1905E) my university operated used this for microcode memory. A bug we found in the implementation of the instruction set was fixed by rerouting one wire around one core. Can't recall if this incident was late 1960s or early 1970s.
October 31, 2026 at 5:15 PM
The mainframe (ICL 1905E) my university operated used this for microcode memory. A bug we found in the implementation of the instruction set was fixed by rerouting one wire around one core. Can't recall if this incident was late 1960s or early 1970s.