Windows 11 by default comes with a hardware requirement which means if the device is not running on the minimum prescribed set of hardware then Windows 11 will not be supported or run officially. However, there are some workarounds to make it work but anyway, there’s not an official method. But there’s a major nightmare coming for some users as there are alleged rumors that Microsoft may soon discontinue support of Windows on some older devices.
Yes, you heard it right. The next major update of Windows i.e., 11 24H2 is scheduled to release around later this year to all the supported devices. But there’s a catch, the new software is reportedly coming with a function termed as POPCNT instruction requirement. It was kind of an easy task to bypass the minimum requirement previously but the brand seems to be going strict against it.
What is POPCNT and how it will stop Windows updates for old devices?
POPCNT, which stands for population count instruction, will act like a gatekeeper from the upcoming Windows update. The function is meant to record and efficiently count set bits in the computer world. You may ask if this is quite normal and what’s the problem. The actual thing is that Microsoft will now make use of this POPCNT instruction in the core system files across the kernel and drivers.
So in simpler language, booting without POPCNT instruction would be impossible. And not every device would be affected. Some very old devices with poor hardware that cannot handle the instructions won’t be able to boot the update.
There’s no point in worrying if your device is not older than 15 years. Because SSE4.2 or SSE4a instruction sets were introduced 15 years ago they can handle the POPCNT very easily. But if your system is older than this and doesn’t support the instruction sets then mark your device as officially end of life.
This change may or may not affect individuals a lot, but it’s going to create hurdles for the enterprises or industries that use tons of Windows PCs running on outdated hardware.
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