Microsoft starts blocking updates for Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs on newer hardware

You have a bad opinion :)). W7 needs to die.

Look, very simply Windows 7 has reached its end of life. Microsoft is not obligated to service, update or support an OS that is now 7 years old (will be 8 in July), when their resources are better spent innovating and improving on more modern technologies. Apple, Google and every other tech company, for that matter, follow similar policies. It's just how the tech world works.

Actually they promised extended support through Januaury of 2020. That doesn't necessarily mean support for new CPUs, but it also means that "Microsoft is not obligated to service, update or support" is not exactly true eirhter.

That extended support is only for security patches.

Yes, it's true they extended support till 2020, perhaps I should have been more accurate by stating no more non-security related updates (which is what support for newer processors would essentially be). My understanding is Extended support covers only security related patches for regular consumers, unless you're an organization willing to pay for non-security related updates. Point is my earlier statement remains mostly true in the context of the article.

First off, nothing they did was illegal, second, your question about P3 still working has nothing to do with the situation. They don't even offically support Windows 7 without users having to buy extended support and Windows 8 is not far off. This has been known for quite a while. I'm sure, nearly, every future version of Windows will support Kaby lake/Ryzen processors, but 15 years down the line, don't expect the current iteration of Windows 10 to run on the newest processor.

it was illegal and its still illegal but nobody gives a ..... just a little example: If I declined W10 and wanted to stay on 8.1 then why did my OS (8.1) download W10 and store it on my HDD without asking me anything?? IF this aint illegal then what??? just FIY: http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/21/14682256/microsoft-windows-10-eu-privacy-concerns

You're claiming it's illegal, please state the exact law broken or find something relevant to link to. Your link has nothing to do with this article so it's useless to your argument.

Sounds like you have a solid case. Get a laywer and sue! Easy money!

P3 still works because those processors were available long before Windows 7 and windows 8 were developed. It was reasonable to assume some people might use old hardware with a newer OS. People hanging onto windows 7 are just doing a disservice to themselves. 

I'm sure if you give Microsoft a few million or find some other that's happy to go through and update Windows for you for maybe less millions then go right ahead. Fact is, Windows 7 makes MS no money. They are not a charity. If they did keep updating old OS's then they'd have to start charging everyone at least the cost of providing the updates divided by the number of people that would be willing to pay such a price.

Windows 8.1 won't work on a Pentium 3, Windows 8 and newer require a processor that supports PAE, NX and SSE2. Windows 7 will however work on a Pentium 3!

@Pappale, your example is the reverse of the situation. They are saying that newer processors (not older, like your P3 example) won't work with the older OS. It would be bad if Windows stopped supporting the hardware it used to work with or the hardware on which it shipped, but they're not saying that. This simply says that if you are moving to a new computer system or doing foll MOBO upgrade (which basically means a new system), then you also need to have an equally modern OS.

Glad at least some people get it, and are not blindly licking Microsoft behind. This is another illegal anti-cobsumer move by Microsoft and hopefully EU regulators will put an end to this and get a few billion into EU coffers in the process, LOL.

its funny to read comments like this. People - young and older - are trully blindfolded and dont give a s*** about privacy or their own personal rights! And they say.. future looks better.... oh hell no....

Exactly, that's why lagdroid has its 80% market share

You have the right to not own a computer or deal with software companies shoveling whatever you agreed in the ToS to let them shovel onto your PC. Next time you should read the fine print before checking the agree box when presented with the ToS.

Windows 10 is full of spyware and Ms seems more interested in adding more and more rubbish that is not required than producing an Os that works. Concentreat less on Cortana, windows store, their stupid universial apps, spyware and more on making hardware work.   windows 10 is an awful OS, if you can even call it an OS anymore.  

That's a bit overblown, but I will say 8.1 is leaps and bounds less glitchy and less bug ridden than 10. MS does really need to raise the bar significantly.

It all depends on your hardware. My old Lenovo laptop runs perfect on 10. Perhaps check your hardware and/or your usage

8? Lol. Unusable for me.

Windows 10 is a service model.
And its Microsoft's OS. They are the first party. They can add things in which they will see profit. If you don't like the extra things, then don't use it.

That's garbage that sounds like "you aren't allowed to complain, either go away or eat it." There's nothing wrong with stating a negative opinion about a situation. Microsoft's doing something I find gross, I'm not just going to ignore it as "their choice" because some Internet commenters don't like when their undying, fanboy support is disputed.

Ha ha..funny. Then keep arguing or make your own OS and softwares then everything will be in your hands. You don't have to be 'fanboy' like us.

That you think not being an OS maker means I'm not allowed to point out negatives is absurd.I feel like I lost IQ points reading something so asinine. You're the exact kind of person I am referencing when I talk about the idiotic toxicity of this site's worst commenters.

It seems you are also one of among them and expert at continuous personal attack. 
I'm not saying any harsh word towards you and dont want also. 
Finally I don't have so much spare time to waste on an invalid arguement like you have. 
So, keep wasting time. 

Oh boy you can't say that here, Windows fanboys won't understand that, that's too much and too complicated for them to understand.

As if you aren't a fanboy of anything in the world. 
Everyone has an obsession/fanboyism over something. So calling someone 'fanboy' repeatedly doesn't make you smarter or makes any sense. 

Yes, go and utilize your android/apple device, better still go Linux...

The most powerful computers in the world are on Linux so that's not such a bad idea.

Not every software / game run on Linux. (I'm a game programmer)

Lol, can't say I agree with you there. But more importantly is that you Tim Sweeney?

Linux is available if you dont like spyware. or you could still run Win XP or Vista. :-/

Except Ryzen currently runs better on W7 than W10. They're deliberately blocking updates to W7 for those CPUs, not making a widespread aim to EoL the OSes. If this were a full shutdown of updates, I'd be fine with it. I'm on W10, but this still irritates the heck out of me, forced obsolescence.

Perhaps... we don't know the full story though. It could be deemed necessary due to a rising number of complaints or support requests, and MS need to draw the line in the sand with what newer hardware they agree to support. It's obviously a business decision either way as it will be expensive to cater towards newer hardware. I just don't know if it's motivated by trying to "force" people to W10 or if they really just don't want to keep spending money to update an old OS.

I can understand why Microsoft dosn't officaly support Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 on newer CPU's. but why should they deliberately block updates when there is no technical reason for them not to work.

Nonsense, CPU doesn't need support software.
When you press the power button, it works.

Not exactly. Sure power goes to it, but software has to know what instructions to send to the CPU. Can't run full Windows 7 or 8.1 on an ARM processor either. No one seems to mind that.

The software you looking for is BIOS, not OS.
The point here is, if the PC turns on... Windows doesn't need drivers to know the CPU name.
The BIOS will enable the CPU features

You're not really arguing against my point. The OS still has to send instructions to the CPU and must be compatible.

Yes, but if it is possible to Install the OS in the first place then surely there is no reson why updates can not install.

goodbye MS.. thats the last straw. been running linux mint on the side for a while now that will be my next os.. Loads of good games on linux steam and and media content is great on it.. MS has been slowing sneaking forced user control and surveilance onto it's users and I wont stand for it any more..

See ya.

LOL. Goodbye and Good luck.

Lol been there, seen that. Good luck

That's awesome. I'm glad Mint is working out for you.  I wish everyone had a chance to try alternatives to Windows.  It's not a fit easy for most people, especially when most business/enterprise applications are only available for Windows. So, which version of Mint are you on?  Still on the 2009 version, 7? Maybe something newer, like 8?  Or are you on a more recent release?

LOL, a blind fanboy shines through straigt away, when defending anti-consumer policies agaist self interests.

this is just ridiculous. NOBODY will force me to do anything. I DECIDE what I want, not Microsoft or AMD Shame on them.

Wrong you use their hardware and software so its thier rules or go deal with any other manufacturer or just don't upgrade your hardware

You do get to decide.  You just can't decied on something that doesn't work.  For example you can't choose to run Windows on a piece of paper.  It's not supported.  You could always switch to macOS and then you can choose anything at the Apple store lol.
 

There is no reason why it wouldn't work. Windows 7 might not be properly optimized to work with Ryzen or Kaby Lake CPU's but it should still "work"!

"I DECIDE what I want"
Nobody's trying to tell you what you want, they're making you offers you don't like. You could want a unicorn, nobody's going to tell you to not want a unicorn, but nobody is going to sell you one either.

I have a unicorn that I can sell him, it's in great shape and only been seen by one other person.lol

Ah, the old illusion of control over one's existence. Charming.

When did Dan turn so bitter? Seems like it was around the time his Windows Phone enthusiast site was transformed into a Microsoft apologist site. Charming.

To each his own. I love when Dan slaps down silly commenters. I do miss the windows phone enthusiast days though. :(

Lol, well put.

He isnt bitter, its his dry wit coming through in his posts. :-)

No Prozac today???

I've honestly never seen you Daniel disagree with Microsoft.
And I don't think that's healthy.
In this instance, you're wrong... Even if WC was partly funded by MS (not saying it is). @Pappale has a choice and it's not up to the Indian CEO to say otherwise.

Dan it's only an illusion if you accept it it as such. It is my free willed choice to install and use windows if I so wish. I choose not to.. It is really very simple you know..

That has to be one of the most beautiful comments I have seen here.  Thank you Dan for making my week.   And while Papple might decide what he wants, what is provided to him can be quite different.  Sometimes we work with what we have.  Overall quite happy with Windows 10.  

Those W7/8 user should be grateful because MS will not sent them updates anymore. They suppose to be rejoice.

Actually. You don't decide. Lol. You don't have the option. It's either stay on slower hardware forever, or move to windows 10 on faster future hardware. Same happened with Windows 95 and XP.

yes, you said it Richard they are FORCING you to do what THEY want and thats against the rules. I wouldnt be suprised if somebody would sue Microsoft for this.

I really can't tell if you're serious.  What rules did they break?  What would they sue Microsoft for?? No, actually, I can tell you're not serious.

Sadly I think he might be. He's kind of a moron (or an amazing troll)

I agree with@Pappale, Infact I continue to build 8.1 Media Center on new hardware.
This is the other reason for this cheeky move by Microsoft.

Not really, they don't have to do anything to stop 8.1 on new machines. It's a natural order that they will stop selling new licenses for 8.1, and you can only reuse yours so many times. Don't be a conspiracy theorist.

They are stopping updates before End of Support. That's the problem here, not license sales

No they aren't. I can buy a brand new processor today that is compatible with Windows 7 or 8 and continue to get updates.

This is unproductive.
The headline says 'starts blocking updates'

Should I also sue Microsoft because I can't run Windows 7 on my Tab S2? I should be able to use the hardware is want with their OS not what they say is compatible.
Or why not sue Apple for limiting what hardware their OS runs on? They force you to use Intel. I see nothing wrong or illegal with this, it's almost as absurd as saying Microsoft should be sued for not adding Cortona to Windows XP and forcing users to upgrade to get it. It's their software, they own it, we agree to terms when we use it, as a consumer you are NOT FORCED to get windows 10. The way people cling to windows 7 reminds me how people clung to XP, I personally prefer windows 10 and was glad I could update all my systems for free.

Haha... Funny. Their OS. They are 1st party. They can decide what they like.

I don't know what you're smoking. I'm smoking weed and can figure out you are acting crazy. To demand MS to update it's OS (older ones) to support a CPU newer ones that are made by Intel and AMD. And those three firms figured out that it was best for the laptop ecosystem, battery life, power that only new OS be supported. Are you retard to not understand this.
If you were to buy a Qualcomm CPU 835 would you get gingerbread or kit Kat on it. No because you can't as Qualcomm won't give you drives for it.
Or do you demand your phone OEM to downgrade your phone to older OS (to you that probably would be upgrade) because you liked that.

You are welcome to create your own OS. Then you get to do more decision making.

... Cool story bro.

I remember I installed Windows 98 on a machine I put together when quad core was new. Ran with no issues. This is surprising.

It runs perfectly. You just won't get new updates

You sound like a complete idiot. Do you put what ever fuel you want in your car, or are you "forced" to use the compatible fuel?

Haha good analogy

Car makers don't stop supporting fuels already compatible with the car.
They don't force you to replace the engine or buy a new car.

Ever hear of leaded fuel? That stopped being made a while ago. So yes, compatible fuel does have an EoL as well. Your options are buy a new car, or alter unleaded fuel on your own.

but yet again you HAD OPTIONS - alter unleaded fuel, we dont have options. If I buy a new piece of HW iam FORCED to use one OS. Still dont get it??

No you are NOT forced to ise one OS. You are free to use Mac OS or Linux. You can even use Windows 7 or 8.1, you just can't take updates. Those are your options Still don't get it?

He paid for the products, he can demand its use.
Lets move on now

You can demand all you want, doesn't mean anyone has to listen. I paid for my tv, should I demand Sony put a different OS in it? I paid for my car, should I demand Ford make it a diesel?

Have a nice drive

You are still perfectly free to choose compatible hardware. There are plenty of powerful options available to you. Even a first generation i3/i5/i7 would be a great choice. My older PC has an i7 930 and it's running Windows 7. I do have W10 on a separate drive for the same PC (took advantage of the free upgrade, but didn't remove W7) but I bought a new PC soon after so I just left the old PC running W7.

They offered a replacement which cost the owner nothing.
"alter unleaded fuel on your own" = False, you had to do nothing

What are you talking about? Unleaded fuel in a car designed for leaded causes timing to be off and wear on the valve seats. So you need to add a lead additive to the unleaded fuel (alter the fuel yourself) or you can adjust the timing and install hardened valve seats (pay to alter the engine)

Maybe in Trump country you pay.
In South Africa it was called Lead-replacement fuel, which was Unleaded for old cars.
No-one paid anything to convert their car.

Cool story bro.

You are correct, noone is forcing you to do anything. You can decide what you want. Your OS will continue to work in its current state, You just don't receive any updates.   So you Choice/Decision is to use an OS that no longer receives updates on the new hardware, or don't use it. Up to you :)

That's awesome... Your so bad, stand up... SHAME, SHAME...

@Pappale, what do you believe someone is forcing you to do? This only says that if you are buying a new motherboard (new system), you'll have to start it with Windows 10. That's not forcing anything on you. Any hardware you have that runs Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 will continue to do so foreover and continue to receive official updates from MS for the supproted life of those OSs, which reliably adheres to Microsoft's long roadmap. Microsoft supports each version of the OS longer than its competitors.

Granite, my problem is very simple: i dont care about the future or history in global. I pay a lot of money to buy a CPU... that CPU should run WHATEVER i want OLD or NEW doesnt matter! Its MY MONEY but Microsoft is like: boy, give us YOUR money and use what WE want! How the hell is this okey?? In which world? And the privacy concerns about W10 is another good reason why to stay off this boat Give us cheaper CPUs powered by Microsoft and I will be blindfolded too... but 600USD to get a i7 which can run only W10.... hell no

@Pappale, I understand that's what you want, but I would hope you agree it would be absurd for MS or any company to do that. If you extend your logic to the only possible conclusion, then MS should support every OS they've ever released on all hardware for the tiny, tiny fraction of users who might buy new hardware and then install an old version of Windows on it. That's an outrageous request, ESPECIALLY when you consider very few users buy computers without an OS (most buy a system with whatever OS comes on it and this has no effect on them) and of these, only an ever smaller number upgrade the CPU and motherboard without also upgrading to the latest version of Windows at the same time. Then also factor in the substantial cost MS would incur to do that for an infinitesimal​ number of users, and that it's pulling resources away from doing work for the vast majority of their customers, and it's pretty clear that MS is doing the right thing here. Anything else would be irresponsible and justify complaints from the majority of users (and stockholders) that MS is wasting time and money on the extreme fringe group of users who upgrade hardware but want to keep running an old OS.

Go linux then and don't bother us any longer. Windows belongs to Microsoft, its there IP, you can buy a license to legally use it but it is not nor wil it ever become yours. Microsoft can and should decide what they do with Windows!

Good idea

Ubuntu to the rescue.

Most techie at my school is talking about Ubuntu but I think it's S.H.I.T. Based on experience.

Maybe your school is not doing a very good job then,   

Lol

LOL

We'll, move along...

Hey guys, does anybody know if the Ryzen or Kaby Lake platforms will run Mac OSX 10.6?  Or Ubuntu 9.10?  They were released about the same time as Windows 7, so I figure support will be the same for them.

No version of macOS (previously OS X) supports anything beyond Skylake and ONLY on Apple built hardware. No version of Linux that was built and last updated before XYZ processor SUPPORTS that processor  No version of any OS supports anything it wasn't updated and tested to work with. That doesn't mean those things won't WORK on those processors.  People need to understand the difference between "supported" and "will (probably) work."  Windows 7 or 8 or Vista, or freaking Win98 will "work" on Kaby lake or Ryzen. They just aren't updated to be optimized for new hardware anymore and aren't tested on new hardware and so Microsoft can't guarantee it will work perfectly and thus do not SUPPORT those old OS's on new hardware.  They can't push new updates on new hardware because then they'd have to test those updates on new hardware.  It is not a trivial thing to keep old software updated for new hardware - the basic function of the CPU's are highly backwards/forward compatible, but to optimize and guarantee full compatibility is a whole other ball game.  With new CPU comes newer ways to do power management, thread control, new data buses, etc. etc.  

Yup. Maybe my comment was too snarky, but I get that.  Microsoft does an amazing job at qualifying hardware from years ago.  Nobody else does that.

Nah didn't think it was snarky, was going to post anyway but you had the perfect comment to reply to since you mentioned other OS's in this context ;) 

"With new CPU comes newer ways to do power management, thread control, new data buses, etc. etc."

True enough, and it's understandable that MS wouldn't, maybe couldn't rewrite parts of 7 to take advantage. But, if you don't have those features now, realize that you won't have them after a CPU upgrade, and so agree beforehand [by upgrading] that you won't miss them, what's the harm? That said, it's expected, maybe even reasonable for MS not to want to support more updates on more hardware. Look at the problems they had causing in some cases a 4 month delay rolling out the last general release build of 10. The idea of not having to support win7 hot fixes on new CPUs has to appeal to a company that has so many issues with updates not working already -- it's got to mean less work.

Not surprised at this aggressive stance at all but there are a still alot of legit 7 and 8.1 users out there that didnot upgrade to 10. They seriously want those W10 numbers lol.

They don't want to upgrade and most of them don't like MS sent them update. this suppose to be blessing for them.

Actually you'll find people will complain as I imagine is what happened last time as well. Those who down voted... Well probably can't tell the difference between understanding something and agreeing to something lol.

This has no effect on ANY Windows 7 or 8.1 users. This only applies to NEW hardware.

@GraniteStateColin, it applies to new hardware, yes and it does affect Windows 7 and 8.1 users.... Hence the article! :)

@TechFreak1, no it doesn't affect typical Windows 7 and 8.1 users. It only affects a Windows 7 or 8.1 user who spends hundreds or more dollars to upgrade to the latest hardware but then wants to install an old OS, which is a tiny, tiny fraction of users and not a rational expectation. It would be downright irresponsible of MS to do that both to their customers and to their shareholders. They have to put their resources where they do the most good for the most customers, without abandoning their existing paying customers. "Not abandoning their existing customers" means they need to make sure that Windows 7 and 8.1 (as actively supported but no longer produced OSs) continue to work with all hardware that they used to work on. If an update broke compatibility with existing hardware Windows 7 or 8.1 had run on, I'd be with you in criticizing, but that's not the case. Windows 10 is the only current active OS from MS. So MS should only expend resources developing new hardware support for Windows 10 with the expectation that customers follow the license agreements that Windows is installed on one system. MS has screwed customers in the past with respect to hardware support, like when they promised Kinect was part of the Xbox One and would be supported as part of the platform, then abandoned it. There they dropped support for hardware on the same system they had promised would receive that support. Similarly, they promised Windows Phone 8 users that they would be able to upgrade to Windows 10, and then failed to provide an upgrade path for all Windows 8 users. I give those examples to prove that I'm not just blindly defending MS here. But those are completely different from this situation. In this case, MS has acted responsibly and is doing the RIGHT thing for its customers by putting resources where they should for their users. And finally, MS provided a full year's free upgrade and still provides a free upgrade path to Windows 10 (intended for Accessibility users, but anyone who wants can still use this path), which makes this whole complaint even more outrageous -- because even if you own Windows 7 or 8.1 and you do buy a whole new high-end computer system and if you also absurdly feel you shouldn't have to buy the current OS for the new computer, MS has you covered by giving you Windows 10 for free.

@GraniteStateColin. You can try to justify what you said, there is no issue with that. However you said "any" windows 7 and 8.1 users, you clearly placed the emphasis on "any". So please stop contradicting yourself :) and oh should you go back to try and change your initial comment - I've taken a screenshot ^_^.

@TechFreak1, fair point. My emphasis referred to people who are using Windows (no one using Windows is suddenly incapable of using Windows on their existing hardware system), as opposed to people who want to upgrade their hardware. But I agree, that wasn't clear.

It will affect me, I am going to update my computer to a Ryzen chip, and I want to use my retail version of windows 8.1, but MS do not want me to do that and want to force me to use Windows spyware 10. I am not the only one it affects either, a fair few people even in my little circle build their own computers, so if they want to update to a next gen processor, they will be forced to use spywear 10

@ad47uk. Lol, everything has telemetry and analytics... the difference is that it's much more "widely" covered because of Microsoft. How do you think for instance you get side adverts showing paint and diy gear after you spend time looking at DIY gear from Homebase? Or recommended for you list given to you by Amazon? They look at your browsing habits, how much time you spend looking at an time, do you click on more information about an item etc etc. TV, for instance if you sign upto a TV service, most reps wont ask you if want "targeted adverts" they will just opt you in. Those who know their staff ask however even if you opt out... You still get adverts... So there have a few real world examples of telemetry and analytics ^_^. There are many others.

@ad47uk, I agree that you are in that small segment of users who would be affected -- you want to build a new system and install on old OS. But first, Windows 10 is no more (nor less) spyware than any prior version of Windows. (@TechFreak1 made a good point on this too.) Cortana does track a lot of your data, but that's entirely an optional feature. Windows 10 makes it easy to disable any of the new tracking features, easier than it was in prior versions of Windows. It may be that some of these default to being on (I'm not sure), but if you're building your own system, you're certainly technical enough to go the Privacy settings and disable those. But more important, I would say that while your desire to stick with an older version of Windows is fine (each of us can want whatever we want), it's also not at all unreasonable that you can't do it. When you bought your copy of Windows, the license states that it is to be installed on one system for one user. Sure you can replace any component, including the CPU and motherboard, but the license is specifically worded to avoid creating an obligation for MS to support the OS you bought on hardware that didn't yet exist. In other words, Windows 7 and 8.1 are still supported, and even running on CPUs and motherboards that are newer than the OS (e.g., Skylake), but not the latest round of CPUs. If MS spent their time doing that, that would be taking effort away from supporting the majority of users who are not trying to install old OS on modern hardware. They made the right choice here.

Windows 8.1 is still in mainstream support. It would appear to me that Microsoft is contractually obligated to update Windows 8.1 to support Ryzen and Kaby Lake. The same is not true of Windows 7 given its extended support phase. I don't like what Microsoft is doing here. Selectively cutting off support for 8.1 early is wrong. If 7 and 8.1 run under the Ryzen and Kaby lake chips without any special software then they should be allowed to function as normal. Microsoft shouldn't intentionally spite their customers for not upgrading to Windows 10. Some people have very legitimate concerns or issues that prevent them from using 10. It's not just people resistant to change.

Firstly not all consumer's have software assurance agreements, i doubt many even know such a thing exists. Secondly, Microsoft own's the software one is merely renting it (the same applies to console software - you sort of own the hardware whereas with a PC unless leased or paid in instalments, you fully own the hardware). They can alter support dates should they desire and we can't do anything other than point this out. So this move as callous as it is... It is what it is. Time will tell if they will have to lament and wait until 8.1 reaches extended support stage.