If you ask any ordinary person which is the most used operating system in the world, the answer they will give you is Windows. But, there really is an operating system within Intel hardware that most are unaware of called MINIX. What is this operating system on your PC and what is it used for?
A few years ago, it was discovered that Intel hardware internally runs an internal operating system: MINIX. But this operating system has a reason for being,
What is MINIX?
MINIX is a Unix-like operating system created by himself by Andrew Tanembaum, which was designed to teach the subject of operating systems to computer engineering students. This operating system was made to run on x86s, as most Unix systems out there in the 1980s did not run on PC CPUs and a Unix license was very expensive.
With the arrival in the 90s of Linux and BSDs for x86, the use of MINIX was forgotten, but it must be taken into account that it is an operating system that was originally designed for teaching, since it was the software that accompanied the book «Modern Operating Systems: design and implementation» by Tanembaum himself.
Intel uses MINIX internally in its processors, something that Andrew Tanembaum himself was never aware of until the hacker community in full exploration of the secret recesses of Intel hardware discovered it.
Where is MINIX on your Intel CPU PC?
Actually, MINIX is not inside the Intel CPUs, but is part of the Media Engine, which takes control of the CPU as it is the element with the most privileges within the system, so it is in the privileged ring -3.
The privilege or execution rings indicate the hierarchy when it comes to accessing CPU control as well as system resources. Technically negative rings do not exist and in theory, it is the operating system that has the greatest privileges, but there are situations in which the software can take full power from the processor. That is why Intel to avoid this created the Media Engine, a CPU that works in an isolated and isolated manner that creates a level of trust or "Trust" in the system, which has nothing to do with the usual meaning of the word.
When we talk about software trust, we are not talking about stability, but rather that it does not perform functions that manufacturers do not want it to do. Thanks to the Media Engine it is possible to remotely block the use of certain software and even the use of hardware. It is a back door that all PCs with an Intel CPU have and if we talk about AMD then we must talk about its Platform Security Processor, but the peculiarity is that only the Intel Media Engine makes use of MINIX.
What is MINIX used for in Intel CPUs?
In order for the Media Engine to perform its function, it needs to run an operating system in a totally isolated environment, this means that it cannot do so by accessing the system's RAM memory or the storage of the system itself. Needing for this its own RAM memory and also its own storage, which in this case is in the Media Engine itself.
The choice of MINIX for the Media Engine functions makes sense for Intel, as it is an operating system that is light enough to fit into the ME's NAND Flash and can be used in isolation by the ME. In addition, its location in the chipset gives access to all the input and output interfaces of the chipset, including the network ones, which is necessary for remote control of the system.
The relationship between MINIX and Intel vPro
The fact of controlling a PC remotely is something that today is not something that can surprise us. But what if we talk about being able to manipulate the BIOS and even install an operating system? Well, this is possible with Intel's vPro technology, which is what allows Intel itself and hardware manufacturers to transparently and invisibly manage PCs even if they are in sleep mode.
This can be done remotely thanks to what we have discussed above. That is, thanks to the Media Engine that MINIX runs. If we add that in version 6.0 of its Active Management Technology Intel implemented the Keyboard Video Mouse Remote Control then remote control becomes totally possible.
In other words, it is the same as remote control software but with a difference, since Intel's KVM works at the hardware level. This allows you to control the system even without an operating system in the middle. The reason? It runs its own operating system, MINIX, so it does not need an operating system.
Is it possible to control my PC remotely?
After all this explanation you will surely be wondering if it is possible to control a PC remotely as manufacturers can do through the Media Engine. Well, yes, it is possible to do it, but for this, you will have to first make sure that your CPU supports Intel vPro, which is the Intel technology that will allow you to remotely manage the PC.
Once you have made sure of it, then you have to enter the system BIOS and make sure that you can activate a tab that says BIOS Verbosity. Restart your computer, re-enter BIOS and look for an option titled firmware verbosity or boot verbosity and make sure they are active. By the way, make sure that the option for the installation or setup prompt is also on.
The next step is to restart the PC where the following message should appear, press CTRL + P to enter the Intel AMP configuration that will allow you to configure your PC to be used remotely. In the case that it asks you for a password, this is usually "admin" in 99% of cases, but without the quotes. From this point on you will only need to configure remote access, as well as KVM to be able to manage your PC remotely.
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