# Intel ME Intel Management Engine is an embedded controller present in some Intel chipsets. Intel documents that it loads code from system flash, can operate before the host operating system, and has power states independent of the host OS. ## Stage placement In the interception-stage model it is a [[Boundary Object|boundary object]]: silicon and protected firmware at low stages, an out-of-band network and management surface at later stages, and an enterprise authority when AMT is provisioned. ## Evidentiary boundary The presence of Intel ME does not establish that Intel AMT was supported, enabled, provisioned, reachable, or used. Preserve platform generation, chipset and SKU, firmware version, AMT provisioning state, network interface, management certificates, user-consent policy, and management-server records. ## Notebook evidence [[Scanned_20260730-1719#PDF page 37 — HP EliteDesk startup menu and Intel ME-CIRA inventory|Scanned_20260730-1719, page 37]]. ## Sources - [[Index - Stages of Interception#Cross-stage residents — the out-of-band management plane|Cross-stage residents]]. - Intel, “What is Intel Management Engine?”: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000008927/software/chipset-software.html - Intel, “Active Management Technology Developers Guide”: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/docs/active-management-technology/developer-guide/2021/overview.html