2024-02-13 23:30:52
Since the launch of Windows 11 in 2021, Microsoft has imposed precise hardware specifications for the processor, but some users cheat to install the system on “old” PCs. Indeed, Microsoft officially imposes an 8th generation Core (2017) or a second generation Ryzen (Zen+2018) but until now it was possible to install the system on any PC with a 64-bit processor (or almost) by cheating, for example with Rufus.
But with the 1124H2 version expected at the start of the school year, that will change according to XDA : Microsoft will put aside many (old) PCs. The reason is simple: the system will be compiled with a more recent version of the x86 instruction set and a specific instruction (POPCNT) will become mandatory. This is not an artificial restriction: the first feedback on the beta version shows that many drivers (and the kernel) benefit from this instruction, which can speed up certain processing.
In practice, if the official limit therefore remains the same, the unofficial limit evolves. At AMD, you will need at least a K10 (i.e. from the Phenom and its evolutions, a range which dates from 2007). At Intel, the instruction appeared on Nehalem, i.e. the 1st generation Core (2008). The major exclusions are therefore all machines based on Core 2 (Duo or Quad) as well as various evolutions of the Atom.
The likely outcome without the necessary instruction.
Obviously, this problem will mainly affect those who try to override Microsoft’s limits (whatever the reason) and they are probably not in the majority, given the current market shares of Windows 11. We can only hope that the system will check the presence of instructions avant to perform the update, to avoid blocking old PCs. Finally, it should be remembered that the CPU is not the only required component: Windows 11 also requires a TPM chip, and it is ( once more) possible to override it… for the moment.
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#Microsoft #block #illegal #CPUs #Windows