Microsoft has suspended updates for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users with Intel's 7th generation (Kaby Lake) processors, AMD's 7th generation (Bristol Ridge) processors, and Qualcomm's 8996 processors or newer.
The company said earlier that there will be no more release of new drivers for older Windows versions to support new hardware, but now it has stopped Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users with these new CPUs from scanning or downloading from Windows Update.
The decision makes sense for Microsoft. Windows 7 debuted in 2009, and Windows 8.1 was released in 2013. Neither was made with current generation processors in mind, and in the years since, Microsoft has shifted its focus away from those older operating systems and towards Windows 10.
But as we explained in our review of Intel's Kaby Lake lineup after we experienced problems with HD Graphics 630 on both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1:
"This may be a minor concern to enthusiasts who already keep up to date. But the estimated 47% of worldwide computer users who still use Windows 7 (and the 8% on Windows 8.1) need to account for the cost of Windows 10 as part of a Kaby Lake upgrade. Microsoft allows a limited number of component changes before invalidating your OS license, so it is a valid concern if you plan to upgrade an existing system with a 100-series chipset. It's noteworthy that Microsoft's official mainstream support for Windows 7 expired in January 2015, but the company has obviously not convinced a majority of users to upgrade. Interestingly, Microsoft still offers 'mainstream support' for the unpopular Windows 8 until Jan 2018, though that's misleading since it isn't supporting modern processors with the OS”.
Microsoft t tried to warn those people about its decision. The company said in a January 2016 blog post that it would only support new silicon with Windows 10--older operating systems would be restricted to older processors. Here's what the company said about its plans:
"Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support. This enables us to focus on deep integration between Windows and the silicon, while maintaining maximum reliability and compatibility with previous generations of platform and silicon. For example, Windows 10 will be the only supported Windows platform on Intel’s upcoming 'Kaby Lake' silicon, Qualcomm’s upcoming '8996' silicon, and AMD’s upcoming 'Bristol Ridge' silicon".
Systems running on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 with new
processors who try to scan or download updates via the Windows Update tool are
greeted with one of two brick wall messages. The first is straightforward:
"Unsupported Hardware [...] Your PC uses a processor that isn’t supported
on this version of Windows and you won’t receive updates." The second
message isn't quite as clear:
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