Have you seen this message: “Speed of Processor X In Group 0 is Being Limited by System Firmware”. Learn how to fix it with our guide!

The Event ID 37 error, accompanied with the “Speed of Processor In Group is Being Limited by System Firmware” warning message is a relatively common problem users tend to experience, mainly due to Intel SpeedStep Technology. Some of our readers have recently encountered this message and were wondering what it means and how to deal with it, which is why we’ve created this article.

On its own, SpeedStep technology is actually a pretty useful and even necessary tool, which is built in a lot of Intel processors. It regulates your processor’s clock speed depending on the demand for it at a given point in time. For example, when there is a certain process or software running, SpeedStep technology increases the clock speed of your machine, so that the task or program runs quickly and smoothly. The same built-in Intel feature is responsible for decreasing the speed of your processor, when it’s idle and not in use. This, in turn, will significantly lessen the electricity consumption of your computer and will prevent it from heating up.

The Event ID 37: “Speed of Processor In Group is Being Limited by System Firmware”  warning message, caused by this feature, is visible in the Windows Event Log and typically informs you of the processor being in “reduced performance for seventy one seconds since the last report”. Below are a few steps to help you fix that.

Event ID 37: “Speed of Processor In Group 0 is Being Limited”

The Guide

  1. To begin with, you will need to reset your BIOS settings to Default.
  2. Be sure to have the latest drivers for your hardware and especially for these three: Chipset (Motherboard), Intel® Rapid Storage Technology, Video Card.
  3. Clean your computer from any dust – you will have to open it and clean it by hand. Check online if you are unsure how to open your PC make for this purpose. This is important to make sure your machine isn’t overheating.
  4. Next, you will have to disable SpeedStep Technology, which you can either do in your BIOS or in Windows Environment. We will show you how to do both.

Disabling SpeedStep Technology from BIOS:

  1. Enter your computer’s BIOS (check online if you’re not sure how to do this, as this is different from PC to PC brand and model) and reset them to Default.
  2. Navigate to a setting that will be called one of the following:
    Dynamic CPU Frequency, Intel SpeedStep, SpeedStep or EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep). Select either Disable or Always High, depending on the options given. If you see none of these, move on to the next method.

Disabling SpeedStep Technology from Windows:

  1. Press the Windows + R key combination and in the resulting dialog box type “control panel”. Press Enter.
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  2. Locate Power Options (switch View to Small Icons if necessary) and open it.
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  3. Under Preferred plans, click on Change plan settings opposite the plan that is ticked.
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  4. Choose Change advanced power settings.
  5. In the new window, select High Performance from the dropdown menu.
  6. Click on Processor power management to expand it and set both the Minimum and Maximum Processor State to 100%. After this, click Apply and OK.
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  7. Restart your PC.

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