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Microsoft blocks updates for new hardware


abarbarian

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Microsoft begins blocking updates for older Windows versions on newer hardware

 

 

Windows 7 is supported until 2020, and Windows 8.1 will get updates until 2023, right? Not if you're trying to run those older Windows versions on new hardware, as some frustrated customers discovered this week.

 

Anyone running an older version of Windows on new hardware received a rude shock this week when the latest Patch Tuesday updates rolled around.

 

Instead of receiving the latest security updates for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, those customers saw an error message instead.

 

Unsupported Hardware

 

Your PC uses a processor that isn't supported on this version of Windows and you won't receive updates.

Those greedy folk at Microsoft were originally going to stop extended updates on the Skylake platform which at the time of the original announcement had only just gone on sale.

 

 
When Microsoft initially announced the restrictions, they were also intended to impact some PCs that use 6th-generation Intel processors ("Skylake"), which went on sale in late 2015. The company backed off slightly on that plan, releasing a
. (Microsoft's official list of
was last updated in August 2016, shortly before the Kaby Lake launch.)

 

Skylake-based systems on the supported list will receive updates through the official end of Microsoft's extended support phase for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 (Jan. 14, 2020, and Jan. 10, 2023, respectively). Systems that aren't on the supported list will
as of July 17, 2018.

 

:breakfast:

Edited by Corrine
Title Edited.
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V.T. Eric Layton

I still use 7, but it hasn't been updated for months. Doesn't need to be. I only game with it. It's doesn't have Networking enabled. So there, Microsoft.

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I still use 7, but it hasn't been updated for months. Doesn't need to be. I only game with it. It's doesn't have Networking enabled. So there, Microsoft.

I would block networking on Win 10 too, except I sometimes have to go online to search how to get through a level in a game. :shifty:

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V.T. Eric Layton

Not me. I've been playing the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games with numerous different mods for nearly a decade. I'm the badest mfer in the zone. ;)

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I admit I have "upgraded" two of my Windows Machines to Windows 10. I did this mainly to assist others in my 'hood who have either upgraded or bought new machines.

The main obstacle I found is in machines with MBR formatted disks. The system reserved partition might be too small and subsequent updates won't install. You can make this larger with a partitioning tool and it's advisable to do so if upgrading.

Otherwise I have installed Classic Shell, silenced Cortana, don't use Edge, Mail or any other Microsoft app so it's not that much different than Windows 7. It seems to be no worse on resources and works fine on my 4 year old Sandy Bridge i5 machine.

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I reported this because the title is wrong

Microsoft blocks updates for old hardware

 

 

MS is blocking updates on NEW CPUs not old hardware.

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Indeed the title is wrong.

 

It's not surprising they want to drop support though. Debian Jessie needs a few hoops jumped through to get working properly on Skylake, and Jessie is only a couple of years old. Windows 8.1 is 18 months older than that!

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Title edited to fit the article text.

 

Note in particular what Ed wrote and the Microsoft quote which refers to specific hardware:

 

This issue occurs with newer hardware equipped with 7th-generation Intel processors ("Kaby Lake") and AMD Ryzen ("Bristol Ridge") chips. Systems with the Intel CPUs installed went on sale in late 2016. Devices built using AMD's new chips are just beginning to reach the market.

 

Although the sudden end of updates might come as a surprise to some PC owners' date=' it isn't unexpected. Microsoft announced the change in its support policy more than a year ago, in January 2016.

Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support... Windows 10 will be the only supported Windows platform on Intel's upcoming "Kaby Lake" silicon, Qualcomm's upcoming "8996" silicon, and AMD's upcoming "Bristol Ridge" silicon.
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It's sort of the reverse of the Wintel shuffle we played back in the 90s. Back then you needed new hardware to run the latest version of Windows; now you need the latest version of Windows to work with new hardware. The driver may be different, but it looks like the car is the same.

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