Instruction
LMSW
Loads the low four bits of CR0 (PE, MP, EM and TS) from a word, the 80286's way into protected mode; ring 0 only.
- Extensions
- Forms
- 2 (2 Legacy)
- Data
- Intel XED v2026.08.23
Forms
| Instruction | Encoding | Requires |
|---|---|---|
LMSW m16
LMSW_MEMw | 0F 01 /6 | Base instruction set |
LMSW r16
LMSW_GPR16 | 0F 01 /6 | Base instruction set |
Operation
What the forms do, in pseudocode that our tests run against results recorded on real processors. How to read.
if CPL > 0:
fault(GP, 0)
v = src.read() # 16 bits at any operand size
p = cr0 & 1 | v & 1 # PE can be set, but not cleared
cr0 = cr0 & ~0xF | v & 0xE | p # PE, MP, EM and TS: bits 3:0 alone
Run on AMD Zen 5 (EPYC 9645): 4 cases. Every one raised an exception, at CPL 3, where the probe runs.
Operands
| Operand | Kind | Action |
|---|---|---|
LMSW r/m16 | ||
r/m16 | explicit | read |
CR0 | implicit | write |
Flags
None: XED records no flag that the forms test or change.
Attributes
What else XED records about the forms. How to read.
- All forms
- privileged: CPL 0 only; may abort a TSX transaction
CPUID and processors
Each form belongs to an XED ISA set. A form can be used when the processor reports every CPUID bit of one of its ISA set's alternatives.
| ISA set | CPUID | Processors |
|---|---|---|
I286REAL | No CPUID bit: part of the base instruction set. | Every x86-64 processor in XED’s model and Zen 3 to Zen 6 |
More System instructions
Sources
- Intel XED v2026.08.23 (commit
0bcb6237345c): forms, encodings, operands, flags, exception classes, attributes, ISA sets, CPUID bits and chip model. - The CPU data of x86-64.net: Zen 3 to Zen 6, from GCC’s
-marchfeature sets and AMD’s Processor Programming References, which the page of each processor cites. - Intel 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer's Manual, Volume 2 (325383-093, September 2026): Volume 2A, page 3-560 (LMSW)
- Intel 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer's Manual, Volume 3 (325384-093, September 2026)
The tables are derived from Intel XED, Copyright Intel Corporation, licensed under the Apache License 2.0; x86-64.net converted and reformatted them. The text is our own.