Messages in this thread | | | Date | Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:57:19 +0100 | From | Alan Cox <> | Subject | Re: [PATCH] x86: mtrr cleanup for converting continuous to discrete layout v5 |
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> The best definition I have heard of SMM mode is: smack the stupid OS > that isn't doing what it should be doing at runtime mode.
Its also used for all sorts of ugly horrible hacks - like some boards with broken latches on timers where the firmware uses SMM to emulate the hardware and spins until the low byte flips before loading the time into the RTC.
Thankfully on the newest cpus SMM mode is a bit more elegantly designed, the original is a weird not quite real mode with extra bugs while nowdays its more of a virtual machine
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