Windows 10: AMD acknowledges Ryzen stuttering issues on Windows 10 and 11 are caused by fTPM bug

Are you experiencing intermittent stutters on your AMD computer? You are not alone, the Santa Clara-based company has acknowledged that it is a known issue that affects Ryzen systems running on Windows 10 and 11.



This is not the first time AMD has run into trouble with Microsoft's operating system, a similar problem was discovered and fixed in October 2021.

The new issue, occurs on computers that have the Firmware Trusted Platform Module (fTPM) enabled. As you may know, TPM is a mandatory requirement to install and update Windows 11. This has prevented users with older computers, that don't have the security module, from upgrading to the new operating system, though there are several ways to bypass the restriction, should you feel the need to do so.

But here's where it gets interesting, Windows 11 is not the only OS that is affected by this bug, Windows 10 is also impacted. Betanews reports that AMD has issued a statement to address the intermittent system stutter problem.

Article PA-410 released by the company explains that the systems that have the fTPM module activated, may be computing extended fTPM-related memory transactions in SPI Flash memory (SPIROM), and that this leads to temporary pauses in the responsiveness of the computer. Does that sound a bit too technical? Don't worry, I got you, the translation is that the computer lags or stutters randomly because the fTPM chip is working in the background continuously.

It is good to see that the issue has been acknowledged but, AMD has not announced which Ryzen motherboards are impacted by the stuttering issues. It is not clear how many systems could be affected by this bug.

AMD says that it is working on fixing the Ryzen stuttering issues, the bad news is that it is going to a while for it to arrive. The chipset maker will provide a system BIOS update to patch the fTPM performance issues, and expects a fix to be available in early May, 2022. The microcode for the firmware will be based on AMD AGESA 1207 or newer.

What about users who are facing problems right now? Well, AMD has mentioned a workaround that users may try. Affected users can optionally switch from fTPM to a hardware TPM (dTPM) module. This fix is not exactly user-friendly, as it requires a TPM 2.0 header on the motherboard. The other issue is that the hardware chip, the TPM module that you need to buy, is not exactly cheap. Techpowerup says that these TPM chips can cost about $50 to $100.

If that does not deter you, you can try switching to TPM. But before you do so, you will need to make sure that BitLocker has been disabled, because the security feature relies on TPM-backed encryption systems. AMD has also advised users to take a back up of their data before switching from fTPM to dTPM.

Many AMD users who bypassed the TPM requirement for Windows 11 say that they have not faced this problem on their computer. While they won't have the additional security features that the chip provides, I think that having a usable computer will ultimately be preferable.

Do you have a Ryzen computer? Are you facing stutters while using the system?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post AMD acknowledges Ryzen stuttering issues on Windows 10 and 11 are caused by fTPM bug appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

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TPM 2.0 with AMD fTPM bios setting enabled on Asus x570 mobo

With MS getting in a funk and making TPM 2.0 a mandatory system requirement I ran the Windows 11 system checker MS released. It said my main system with an Asus ROG Strix x570-E Gaming (bios 3603) wasn't compliant because there was no TPM 2.0.

btw I'm running Windows 10 21H1 - 19043.1081.

So I dived into the bios set AMD fTPM Configuration to Enabled and now the PC is TPM 2.0 compliant.
Does anyone have experience with the mobo Q code 9E (listed as being for future use) which now displays? I know it shows after running the AMD Ryzen Master app.

Has anyone had any issues when this Q code 9E displays? I'm going to leave the fTpm setting in the bios enabled to see what happens. There are no error messages in the Event Viewer nor system crashes etc. so far.

Here is a screen capture from the TPM module in Windows:

 

AMD Ryzen 2200G systems hang, usually no BSOD

Problem: Systems hard lock after anywhere from a few minutes of uptime to a couple of days. Image is frozen on screen and no mouse cursor is visible, pressing Ctrl+Shift+Win+B to reset graphics driver does nothing. Only one of the PCs has ever bluescreened
and it only did so one time, with error code 0x1000009f DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE for ntoskrnl.exe. I tried updating, downgrading, and reinstalling GPU, NIC, and sound drivers but no luck. Every other time the PCs don't bluescreen when they lock up and there
is nothing in the Event Viewer that is helpful.

Troubleshooting steps tried:

1. Updated AMD drivers from 18.5.1 to 18.7.1 and 18.8.1.
2. Clean installed both 18.8.1 and 18.5.1.
3. Installed Realtek LAN and audio drivers from ASRock.
4. Clean installed 17.7 AIO driver package from ASRock (listed as 17.40).
5. Updated BIOS from 4.70 to 4.90.
6. Reset BIOS.
7. Uninstalled August 2018 Windows 10 patches.
8. Switched to Balanced power plan instead of Ryzen Balanced.
9. Disabled USB suspending and PCIe ASPM
10. Switched to High performance, disabled ASPM & USB SS
11. Increased SOC voltage to 1.1 and RAM voltage to 1.3.
12. Removed AMD drivers, used Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.
13. Uninstalled Malwarebytes Premium 3.5.1
14. Started in Safe Mode w/ Networking
15. Repair install 1803.
16. Used only one RAM stick at 2133MHz.

Next steps:

1. Clean install 1803
2. Install 1709, delay 1803 update
3. RMA ASRock motherboards
4. Replaced ASRock motherboards
5. Replace AMD with Intel

Identical systems specs:

• AMD Ryzen 2200G CPU
• ASRock AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX Motherboard
• G.Skill Ripjaws V 8GB (4GBx2) 2666MHz DDR4 RAM
• Samsung 860 EVO 250GB SSD
• EVGA 450W Bronze PSU
• Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Case
• Windows 10 Pro x64 v1803

Other system specs:

• AMD Ryzen 2200G CPU
• Asus TUF B350M Plus Gaming Micro ATX Motherboard
• Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (4GBx2) 3000MHz DDR4 RAM
• Samsung 860 EVO 250GB SSD
• Corsair TX650M Gold PSU
• Fractal Design Node 804 Micro ATX Case
• Windows 10 Pro x64 v1803

Details:

I built four identical systems and one with different motherboard and RAM, all of them are having this problem to varying degrees of severity. The worst one locked up within 15 minutes, but the best one used to work for over a week without issues. I tried
doing a repair install on one of the systems, during the preparation period for the upgrade the system locked up at 16%. I was able to get it to complete to the point of restarting to do the majority of the install, but that locked up multiple times as well.

I've looked through the event log, and there is nothing between the systems that points to the source of the problem. There is no one thing that causes the systems to lockup, and there is no rime or reason to when they lockup. One of them did seem to lockup
every hour, but otherwise it happens at random.

I'm at my wits end; in over 15 years of troubleshooting and building PCs I have never had issues of this scope or inconsistency. I repair computers for a living, and I have never seen issues like this. I have a server based on AMD's Epyc 7351P and my main
desktop is based on the Ryzen 7 1700, and I haven't had issues anywhere close to this on those systems. At this point I'm seriously considering replacing the CPUs and motherboards with Intel equivalents. I've I'm willing to try any suggestions any one has,
no matter how much of a long shot they are or how stupid they seem.

Here's a link to the dump file, driver list, and system info: Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

 

AMD Readies B2 Stepping of the Ryzen "Summit Ridge" Silicon

I'm not apologizing, I'm just reacting to FUD. Please list me 3 major bugs that affect my Ryzen build. I'm dying to know ...

Also, another rumor that denies the stepping has popped up: Ryzen "B2" Stepping a False Rumor (apparently)