Latest updates for Windows 7 and 8 are incompatible with the latest AMD and Intel processors.

Some users of Windows 7 and 8 have encountered a problem like "Your computer uses a processor that is not supported by this version of Windows." This is due to the fact that Microsoft artificially limited the support of the latest processors from AMD and Intel by these operating systems.

The seventh generation Intel processors (Kaby Lake) and AMD processors manufactured using the Bristol Bridge technology came under compatibility limitation. In addition, the compatibility issue has touched Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 and higher processors, as reported on the official Microsoft support site.

The only solution to this problem is to upgrade Windows 7 or 8 (8.1) to Windows 10, which is directly indicated on the user support page.
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The incompatibility of the latest updates with the latest processors is not a bug: this is an artificial limitation created by Microsoft to encourage users with powerful PCs to upgrade to Windows 10.

This turn did not come as a surprise, albeit unpleasant. Back in 2016, Microsoft officially announced that Windows 7 and Windows 8 (8.1) systems will not support Intel Kaby Lake and AMD Zen microarchitecture processors. Previously, the company tried to stop supporting Intel Skylake processors on its older operating systems, but after a massive negative reaction from users, it abandoned this idea.

Microsoft does not hide the fact that such a decision limits the freedom of choice of users, but at the same time promotes the Windows 10 market, the installation of which becomes mandatory in the case of using the latest processors. Processors will continue to run on Windows 7 or 8 operating systems, but with a number of performance limitations.

Following Microsoft, support of processors on Win 7 and Win 8 is also stopped by the chip makers themselves, since now it is meaningless for them. At the same time, they do not have serious levers of influence on Microsoft policy in this matter, since they are dependent and work in one ecosystem.

This manufacturer policy applies only to computers running Windows and does not affect users of Linux or MacOS.