Windows 7 and 8.1 users with newer computer processors will no longer receive updates to their operating systems due to Microsoft’s support policy changes.
As announced in early 2016, Microsoft has dropped updates for their previous operating systems on systems using newer processors going forward. PCs running windows 7 or 8.1 and equipped with 7th generation Intel processors and AMD’s Ryzen CPU will no longer receive the regular patches that keep Microsoft’s operating system secure and relatively stable.
Microsoft has pledged to support Windows 7 until 2020 and Windows 8.1 until 2023, but these changes clearly illustrate the difference between the company’s and consumers’ definition of “support.”
Initially, the plan was to include all of 2015’s 6th generation Intel “Skylake” processors in the cutoff, but Microsoft later released a limited list of exceptions to that rule. But if your machine isn’t listed, you can expect to lose support by July 17, 2018.
If you or your business use pre-2015 hardware, you will be unaffected and can expect to continue receiving support for a few more years. But Microsoft’s official solution to anyone affected by this change is pretty straightforward: buy Windows 10.
While Microsoft’s latest operating system is competent, some may not have been particularly thrilled with Microsoft’s forcible upgrade program, which one woman successfully sued the company over, or Microsoft running actual ads within the operating system. The former was devastatingly commonplace enough to have become a widespread meme.
Follow Nate Church @Get2Church on Twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology, and snarky opinions on both.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.