Abarbarian
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Microsoft begins blocking updates for older Windows versions on newer hardware
Those greedy folk at Microsoft were orginaly going to stop extended updates on the Skylake platform which at the time of the original announcement had only just gone on sale.
Windows 7 is supported until 2020, and Windows 8.1 will get updates until 2023, right? Not if you're trying to run those older Windows versions on new hardware, as some frustrated customers discovered this week.
Anyone running an older version of Windows on new hardware received a rude shock this week when the latest Patch Tuesday updates rolled around.
Instead of receiving the latest security updates for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, those customers saw an error message instead.
Unsupported Hardware
Your PC uses a processor that isn't supported on this version of Windows and you won't receive updates.
Those greedy folk at Microsoft were orginaly going to stop extended updates on the Skylake platform which at the time of the original announcement had only just gone on sale.
When Microsoft initially announced the restrictions, they were also intended to impact some PCs that use 6th-generation Intel processors ("Skylake"), which went on sale in late 2015. The company backed off slightly on that plan, releasing a list of Skylake-based systems that will be fully supported. (Microsoft's official list of Skylake systems supported on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 was last updated in August 2016, shortly before the Kaby Lake launch.)
Skylake-based systems on the supported list will receive updates through the official end of Microsoft's extended support phase for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 (Jan. 14, 2020, and Jan. 10, 2023, respectively). Systems that aren't on the supported list will lose access to updates for older Windows versions as of July 17, 2018.