Alder Lake: Gigabyte with DRM Fix Tool
Gigabyte has published the DRM Fix Tool for Alder Lake on their own mainboards. This allows the problematic e-cores to be parked quickly.
Intel's Alder Lake has problems with some DRM measures that are built into games. The background to this is the e-cores, which upset the protective mechanisms that are usually deeply embedded in the system. There are technical solutions for offers like Denuvo, but they are not always patched into the game or the DRM system removed. And so Gigabyte now offers a solution for its mainboards that can help.
The program called DRM Fix Tool lets the user park the e-cores from within Windows. This sends the spark cores to sleep and can no longer be recognized by DRM technology. The advantage is that you save yourself the detour via a restart of visiting the BIOS / UEFI, in which you can adjust the core configuration of Alder Lake on most mainboards.
As expected, the DRM Fix Tool is only available for Gigabyte Mainboards and, logically, for the 600 series. The latest BIOS update is still required. The software can be obtained from Gigabyte's official website (ZIP download). The following mainboards are supported:
| Mainboard | BIOS | Mainboard | BIOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z690 AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 | F6a | Z690 AORUS XTREME WATERFORCE | F4a |
| Z690 AERO D | F5a | Z690 GAMING X | F5a |
| Z690 AERO G | F4b | Z690 GAMING X DDR4 | F6a |
| Z690 AERO G DDR4 | F6a | Z690I AORUS ULTRA | F4a |
| Z690 AORUS ELITE | F4a | Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4 | F5a |
| Z690 AORUS ELITE AX | F5a | Z690M AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 | F5a |
| Z690 AORUS ELITE DDR4 | F5a | Z690M AORUS ELITE DDR4 | F5a |
| Z690 AORUS MASTER | F6b | Z690M DS3H DDR4 | F2a |
| Z690 AORUS PRO | F6a | Z690 UD | F5a |
| Z690 AORUS PRO DDR4 | F6a | Z690 UD AC | F5a |
| Z690 AORUS TACHYON | F3a | Z690 UD AX | F5a |
| Z690 AORUS ULTRA | F5a | Z690 UD AX DDR4 | F5a |
| Z690 AORUS XTREME | F5a | Z690 UD DDR4 | F5a |
Alder Lake and DRM: List of Games
The games listed below are known to be impacted by the Digital Rights Management (DRM) software issue with Windows 11 *. The games listed in bold are expected to be patched sometime in mid-November with the upcoming Windows 11 update. We are working with developers to resolve issues with the rest of the games listed. In the meantime, the Scroll Lock workaround can be used.
This list will be updated as patches are released.
- Anthem *
- Bravely Default 2 *
- Fishing Sim World *
- Football Manager 2019 *
- Football Manager Touch 2019 *
- Football Manager 2020 *
- Football Manager Touch 2020 *
- Legend of Mana *
- Mortal Kombat 11 *
- Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1 and 2 *
- Warhammer i *
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla *
- Far Cry Primal *
- Remote bus simulator *
- For Honor *
- Lost in Random *
- Madden 22 *
- Maneater *
- Need for Speed - Hot Pursuit Remastered *
- Sea of Solitude *
- Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order *
- Tourist Bus Simulator *
- Maneater *
For Windows 10, the games above are affected, and we are working with developers to get a patch. The games below are also affected. For the list below, you can update to Windows 11 or use the Scroll Lock workaround while we work to get this resolved. This list will also be updated as patches are released.
- Ace Combat 7 *
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey *
- Assassin's Creed Origins *
- Code Vein *
- eFootball 2021 *
- F1 2019 *
- Far Cry New Dawn *
- FIFA 19 *
- FIFA 20 *
- Football Manager 2021 *
- Football Manager Touch 2021 *
- Ghost Recon Breakpoint *
- Ghost Recon Wildlands *
- Immortals Fenyx Rising *
- Just Cause 4 *
- Life is Strange 2 *
- Madden 21 *
- Monopoly Plus *
- Need For Speed Heat *
- Scott Pilgrim vs The World *
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider *
- Shinobi Striker *
- Soulcalibur VI *
- Starlink *
- Team Sonic Racing *
- Total War Saga - Three Kingdoms *
- Train Sim World *
- Train Sim World 2 *
- Wolfenstein Youngblood *
