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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
Microsoft blocked the delivery of Windows Updates recently to Windows 7 and 8.1 devices powered by a next-generation processor.
The company announced the support change in January 2017. Broken down to the essentials, it means that Intel Kaby Lake and AMD Bristol Ridge processors are only support by Windows 10, and not older versions of Windows.
To hammer that home, Microsoft made the decision to block Windows Update on Windows 7 or 8.1 PCs with those next generation processors.
The company introduced patches, KB4012218 and KB4012219 for instance, which introduced process generation and hardware support detection on Windows 7 and 8.1 systems.
Windows users who run Windows Update get the unsupported hardware error prompt when they try to scan for and download the latest patches for their -- still supported -- operating system.
GitHub user zeffy made the decision to take a closer look at how the actual blocking is done on the operating system level.
Details on exactly what was done are available in the article.
Source: https://www.ghacks.net/2017/04/18/bypass-for-windows-update-lock-for-modern-processors-found/
This will be especially handy for those whose machines were entitled to updates but were mistakenly blocked from receiving them.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday April 21 2017, @02:52PM (4 children)
Handling the beast.
At home: don't use Microsoft products. (or Apple, since 1999) Linux only.
At work: Windows, SQL Server, but I don't pay for them nor am I responsible to install or maintain them. I just use them. Including installing Windows VMs, which I know the procedure for by heart. What I build works with them just fine, but is not married to Microsoft products. An interesting side effect that has been noticed is there are no third party royalties on what I build. All open source libraries and code (java). But in the .NET world, everything you use comes with someone holding their hand out for (lots of) money. Also I can soothe my MS misery with the sweet hardware I get to use. I won't brag about my box at home, but the boxes at work are something else. Of course, it all makes money. But I think about the money that could be saved without MS.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday April 21 2017, @03:07PM (3 children)
What specification is in your opinion demanded for the MS-in-VM setup?
And could the stuff that uses MS right now be done with open and free software without starting a in-house development department?
I recall some licensing condition that one may not run MS in virtualization.. ;)
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday April 21 2017, @04:09PM (2 children)
Negotiated volume licensing is the key. Any of our developers can run up to four virtualized MS Windows on their desktop workstation. Our std developer configuration is 32 GB. On my server box (64 GB, raid 5, 2 xeons, etc) in my office a few feet away from my workstation, it has an MS Windows with license that exceeds cost of the hardware, but lets me run as many virtualized MS Windows as I want or can fit in 64 GB. (And I don't want Windows, but it is mostly a windows shop, good job, etc.) There are things that run Linux and various technologies, PostreSQL, etc in some other groups. Open source isn't banned or anything like that. There is some Apache, PHP etc on Windows in a few places. But I am not responsible to maintain the Windows running on bare metal. (Windows in a VM is my own problem to deal with. And hey, it works.)
If you're asking why to run Windows in a VM, I would say: MS (or Linux for that matter) in a VM is just too darned convenient. Easy to make checkpoints and restore entire OS to earlier state, etc. Spin up or throw away OSes as you like. It's a productivity booster. Like dual monitors.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday April 21 2017, @04:27PM (1 child)
I'm curious if the services done using Windows could be done with available open and free software?
(Why to run Windows in a VM ought to be obvious ;-)
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday April 21 2017, @05:04PM
It really depends on what you're talking about.
Take a legacy Windows desktop application (yuk) and offer it to customers over the internet, virtualized with RDP access. Probably always will need Windows. (Thank God that I never have to touch a project like that!)
Developing a modern application? Well you could pick your choice of technologies. (Like I did years ago.) Some projects pick .NET because they perceive they can get a lot of cheap developers. And not necessarily US citizens.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.