Users getting unsupported hardware error and told to upgrade

Mar 17, 2017 07:34 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has already warned that the latest-generation processors would only work on Windows 10, and now it turns out the company has made one big step towards forcing users of older operating systems to upgrade their PCs should they want to take advantage of the new chips.

Devices featuring Intel’s Kaby Lake or AMD’s Ryzen processors and powered by Windows 7 are now getting an error that explains an upgrade to Windows 10 is necessary for getting more updates.

Microsoft details the error in documentation published on its support page, saying that users trying to update Windows 7 on a system running on the latest chips developed by Intel and AMD could get this message: “Unsupported Hardware. Your PC uses a processor that isn’t supported on this version of Windows and you won’t receive updates.”

Additionally, another message is displayed in the Windows Update window: “Windows could not search for new updates. An error occurred while checking for new updates for your computer. Error(s) found: Code 80240037 Windows Update encountered an unknown error.”

Upgrade to Windows 10, Microsoft says

Microsoft then puts it simply and explains that installing Windows 10 on these computers is the only option, as Windows 7 is no longer supported on the latest generation chips.

“This error occurs because new processor generations require the latest Windows version for support. Because of how this support policy is implemented, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 devices that have a seventh generation or a later generation processor may no longer be able to scan or download updates through Windows Update or Microsoft Update,” it says.

The only problem with this new restriction is that Windows 7 continues to be the world’s number one desktop operating system with nearly 50 percent of the PCs out there still running it. Windows 10, on the other hand, is getting close to 25 percent.

Although this decision to force users to upgrade to Windows 10 could boost adoption of the latest operating system, it can also backfire quickly against Microsoft, as not only that some users might refuse to upgrade but they could also switch to Linux and give up on Windows completely.

Criticism for this decision is growing these days, so it remains to be seen how many Windows 7 users are willing to upgrade to Windows 10 and install the new-generation chips.