If you are one of those people who have upgraded to AMD’s Ryzen or Intel’s Kaby Lake processors but have not yet upgraded Windows 7 to Windows 10, then you are in for some bad news from Microsoft. You won’t get access to new security patches and automatic updates.
Microsoft blocks Windows 7, 8.1 updates for some
Last year when Microsoft warned that it would restrict the most recent AMD’s Ryzen processors and Intel’s Kaby Lake chips to Windows 10, not many cared. But now, they should take that warning very seriously. Recently, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 8 and Windows 7 users whose devices are equipped with a seventh or later generation CPU will have no security patches unless they update to Windows 10.
You can, of course, run your computer on Windows 7 or Windows 8 but without the new security patches and automatic updates. If you try to run Windows 8, 8.1 or 7 on a desktop with the most recent PC processors from AMD or Intel, Windows will block all the updates automatically. This will compel the user to upgrade to Windows 10.
It must be noted that Microsoft already ended mainstream support for Windows 7 in 2015, and its extended support will expire in 2020.
Indirectly forcing users to adopt Windows 10
On Thursday, the news about this new Microsoft support document came. Now, an error message shows on your PC’s screen: “Unsupported Hardware: Your PC uses a processor that isn’t supported on this version of Windows and you won’t receive updates.” According to a Microsoft support document, you will see an error message if you attempt to download or scan updates through Windows.
You will need to upgrade to Windows 10 if you are using AMD’s Bristol Ridge, the Qualcomm 8996 chip, AMD’s Ryzen, processors, and Intel’s 7th-generation Core chips, according to Microsoft.
This was expected sooner or later, but the software giant could be a little too harsh, as it is now forcing users to upgrade to Windows 10 instead of continuing to use the older operating systems. Many users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 are now accusing the company of forcing them to upgrade to Windows 10. Users think that this update is just to increase the market share of Windows 10.
Many also support this update from Microsoft, saying the new updates are blocked for older versions because they have not been tested for them. They may work for that configuration, but since they have not been tested, there is uncertainly.