News

Microsoft Blocks Ryzen and Kaby Lake From Windows 7 & 8.1 Updates

Last month, some troubling news came out from Microsoft. According to a change in their terms of service, Redmond would no longer honour their Windows Update commitments. Moving forward, new processors would no longer get updates of any kind with new processors. This policy was trialled with Skylake but was delayed due to heavy consumer backlash. With this latest generation of processors, it looks like Microsoft is finally pulling the trigger.

Announced back in January and modified in March, the policy means that Ryzen and Kaby Lake processors will only be supported on an ongoing basis on Windows 10. This leaves all Windows 7 and 8.1 users out in the cold. In a weird compromise, it appears that Microsoft was willing to drop the ball on Skylake as well. However, in a generous move, several OEMs have stepped up to the plate and offered to do the testing on their systems.

On the face of it, Microsoft has two main goals with this objectionable move. First off, they manage to save money on software quality control, validation, and certification. Since the company laid off a large group of testers a few years back, quality has been somewhat inconsistent and ditching Windows 7 and 8.1 will let their existing teams focus on Windows 10. A slightly more sinister move is to push for greater Windows 10 adoption and reduce users on older Windows, something they’ve been done with nefarious means in the past.

In some ways, Microsoft does have a merit in their position. Ryzen and Kaby Lake do have some new features that would require patching the older Windows OS to support. However, the whole point of x86 is to ensure backwards compatibility. Surely it would not be too much to simply let the older operating systems run, but not support newer features. After all, Windows 7 already runs on Ryzen just fine. At the very least, Microsoft should still release the updates to the operating system but have a disclaimer that these updates were not certified.

More troubling is the fact that Windows 81. is still in mainstream support for another year. While Windows 7 is only in extended support and new features are not expected, mainstream support means new features should still be added. If Microsoft can’t be bothered to keep their promises regarding Windows 8.1 support, how can they ask us to trust them for Windows 10?

Samuel Wan

Samuel joined eTeknix in 2015 after becoming engrossed in technology and PC hardware. With his passion for gaming and hardware, tech writing was the logical step to share the latest news with the world. When he’s not busy dreaming about the latest hardware, he enjoys gaming, music, camping and reading.

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

All Xbox Games Could Come to Other Platforms in the Future, Says Phil Spencer

Halo, Starfield, Fable, Gears of War, and many other Xbox-exclusive franchises could potentially arrive on…

2 hours ago

Bethesda Employees Strike Over Remote Work and Outsourcing Policies

This year in the gaming industry has been far from ideal. January started with waves…

2 hours ago

Intel to Launch 7 New Core Ultra 200 and 200-T Processors With TDPs of 65W and 35W

Intel has just launched the new Arrow Lake processors, which were initially presented in their…

2 hours ago

AMD Plans to Rebrand Ryzen 8040 “Hawk Point” as Ryzen 200 Series by CES 2025

To complete the range of AMD Ryzen AI 300 processors, the manufacturer plans to launch…

2 hours ago

AGON by AOC Unveils AGON PRO AG276FK: A 27-inch 520 Hz Gaming Monitor

AGON by AOC has unveiled the AGON PRO AG276FK, the latest addition to its professional…

3 hours ago

Sapphire RX 7700 XT FROSTPUNK 2 Edition Graphics Card Bundle is Too Good to Miss!

Upgrading your graphics card is pretty easy in 2024, as you simply need one thing,…

12 hours ago