Microsoft now blocks Windows 7 updates on Ryzen and Kaby Lake systems
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Many Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users are angry with Microsoft due to the recent update limitations the company has imposed on AMD Ryzen and Kaby Lake systems. According to a recently updated support page, users running Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 on new generation of processors will get an error message when they try to install the latest OS updates.
New processors + old Windows OS = no match
More specifically, Microsoft warns users that the following error message may appear on the screen when they scan or download Windows updates: Your PC uses a processor that isn’t supported on this version of Windows.
The Redmond giant also explains that Windows 10 is the only version of Windows that is supported on the following processor generations:
- Intel seventh (7th)-generation processors
- AMD Bristol Ridge
- Qualcomm 8996
In other words, due to this support policy, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 computers that have a seventh generation or a later generation CPU may no longer be able to scan or download updates through Windows Update or Microsoft Update.
Microsoft recommends users to upgrade their Windows 8.1 and Window 7 computers to Windows 10 if the devices are equipped with a seventh generation or a later generation CPU.
A new attempt to force Windows 10 on users?
Many Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users accused Microsoft of trying to force them to install Windows 10. They believe that this update install limitation is just another attempt to forcefully increase Windows 10’s market share.
The processors in question are fully backwards compatible and have all the capabilities of the older processors. As such they can run Windows 7 and 8.1 in the same way that the old processors can without extra support from Microsoft. […]
Now, before some fanatics come out to remind me that Microsoft announced that they were not supporting the new CPU’s months ago, I’ll remind everyone that “no support” is not at all the same thing as actively preventing users who installed Windows 7 or 8.1 on the new CPU’s from using the software.
It seems that this is the latest of Microsofts tactics intended to force people to Windows 10.
On the other hand, other users praise Microsoft for making such a decision. When a new Windows update is released, many users usually complain that the patch breaks their computers.
The supporters of this decision say that the new updates are blocked because they haven’t been tested for that configuration. Indeed, it’s likely they would still work, but being untested means that whether they work or not is uncertain.
If one of those untested updates was to cause, say, an unbootable system, that’s going to incur support costs regardless of whether the system configuration is unsupported, even if they turn everybody away.
Basically, Something being “unsupported” doesn’t mean they will continue to support your use of unsupported configurations.
Does this recent update constrain influence your choice of software and hardware? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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