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Windows 11 24H2 to enforce hardware requirement
Microsoft is working on the next feature update for Windows 11 currently, which it calls Windows 11 version 24H2. The company confirmed the name of the update this month and ended speculations that it would release Windows 12 instead this year.
The feature update focuses on AI functionality, but it will also include a change that affects some devices running Windows 11 negatively. It appears that Microsoft is introducing a new hardware requirement in Windows 11 version 24H2 that prevents systems that do not support it from booting the operating system.
What makes this more troubling than the general hardware requirements of Windows 11, which can be bypassed, is that this particular requirement cannot be bypassed.
If the CPU does not support POPCNT, Windows 11 version 24H2 will not boot. The instruction requires a processors that supports SSE4.2 or SSE4a.
The change affects Intel and AMD processors that are relatively old. Intel launched support for SSE4.2 in Intel Nehalem core processors in late 2008. AMD added support for the instructions in late 2011. Older processors continued to be sold for some time.
Up until Windows 11 Build 25905, machines with these older CPUs would run Windows 11. Users would have to resort to bypassing the operating system's other hardware requirements to get the operating system to install, but it worked.
Once Windows 11 version 24H2 will be released, this will not be the case anymore. Since there is no bypass, as this functionality is required, these Windows 11 systems will have to remain on Windows 11 version 23H2.
This is the first case in which incompatible systems are left standing in the dust. A new update cannot be installed on them and users need to find a way to cope with the situation.
Windows 11 version 23H2 continues to be supported until 2025. This is the year that Windows 10 is also going to get hammered, as Microsoft is ending support for the operating system officially. Windows 10 users may extend support by up to three years, but this comes at a price. Microsoft has not yet mentioned how much it will charge for extended support. Back when it introduced extended security updates for Windows 7, it charged $25, $50 and $100 in year one, two and three respectively.
As for Windows 11, Microsoft is expected to release a new Moment update in February as a preview. This update is integrated into the March 2024 cumulative update then. The 2024 feature update for Windows 11 will be released in the second half of 2024, likely in September or October of the year.
Windows users may check their processors for compatibility. One of the best tools for the job is the free CPU-Z application.
Download it from the official website and run it afterwards. You can use the portable version, provided as a ZIP archive, or install it.
Check the supported instructions on the CPU tab to see which instructions the processor supports. If you see SSE4.2 or SSE4A, you should not have any issues running Windows 11 version 24H2.
Windows 11 version 24H2 is still in development. There is a chance that Microsoft will make changes to the system before its official release that removes the requirement.
For now, it looks as if the next version of Windows 11 won't run on systems with these older processors anymore.
