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Tom’s Hardware
Tom’s Hardware
Technology
Aaron Klotz

Older systems now won't be able to update to newer versions of Windows due to reliance on an arcane CPU instruction often used for AI neural networks: Report

Bob Pony Microsoft Intel Corporation
Microsoft Copilot logo on a laptop screen.

Bob Pony on X (formally Twitter) reports that the Windows 11 24H2 update now requires the processor to support an instruction that was previously not a showstopper, leaving systems that don't support the feature out in the cold — Windows 11 users who wish to upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 will need a system that supports the underappreciated POPCNT (population count) instruction that debuted in Intel's Nehalem chips back in 2008. 

Bob Pony reported the issue, saying Windows 11 24H2 failed to boot with POPCNT deactivated. He also discovered that much of the Windows 11 subsystem requires this instruction, including the kernel and USB XHCI drivers.

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