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Microsoft Windows 7 or 8.1 users on Intel Kaby Lake or AMD Ryzen CPUs will not be able to download Windows updates.
Microsoft announced some time ago that new silicon as the company called it back then would not be officially supported on Windows 7 or 8.1.
This meant basically that only Windows 10 would support Intel's, AMD's and Qualcomm's new processors, while Windows 7 or 8.1 would not.
This does not mean that Windows 7 or 8.1 won't install on machines running these new processors, but that Microsoft (and the manufacturer) won't offer any form of support for those devices.
A new support page on the Microsoft website suggests that users who run an unsupported processor on an older version of Windows -- read Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 -- won't be able to scan for or download Windows updates anymore.
Users will get the following error message when they run the scan:
Unsupported Hardware
Your PC uses a processor that isn't supported on this version of Windows and you won't receive updates.
It looks like I'll be moving to BSD or Linux sooner than I planned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 19 2017, @02:06AM (4 children)
1. Install VM software (VMware, VirtualBox, etc)
2. In the software, create a virtual machine (there is usually a wizard)
3. Start the created VM and install an OS to it, either from a disk or from an image
4. ???
5. Profit
In other words, just get the software and try it. The only thing you need is OS installation media or its image. Even if you mess up, it's very easy to delete the VM and start over. And unlike the reinstalls directly on the hardware, you can keep using the PC as usual while doing it :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 19 2017, @03:45AM (1 child)
step 3) is what most people dont understand: you can either connect the real physical dvd drive with install media to the new virtual maschine to install -or- if you have iso image file (file ending in .iso) you can "insert", as in select the iso file, to be "inside the virtual dvd drive of the virtual maschine and let the vm boot from there and then go thru os install setup.
its awesome!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 19 2017, @03:58AM
Also, you can download ISO files directly from Microsoft now, so no worry about any viruses added by parties not Microsoft.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Sunday March 19 2017, @05:51AM (1 child)
And unlike the reinstalls directly on the hardware, you can keep using the PC as usual while doing it :)
Won't this use up the Internet activations associated with your product key, instead forcing you to make a phone call, wait on hold for several minutes (payable per minute to your phone provider), and explain your use to a representative in a low-wage country with a thick accent for several minutes (likewise payable per minute to your phone provider)?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 19 2017, @12:49PM
Won't this use up the Internet activations associated with your product key
IIRC, you can use Windows (at least Win7) for up to a month without activating it. So you could fiddle around, wipe and reinstall until you're satisfied (if that word can be used with a Windows installation), and activate only once.
Then you back up the activation token [alternativeto.net], so you don't have to activate it ever again (or as long as your virtual hardware doesn't change).
(Or you could just crack it, cause activations are bullshit, and you should be able to use the software that you paid for without begging for permission.)