Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Windows 10 Creators Upgrade Cuts Support For Some Intel PCs Early (pcworld.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the end-of-the-road dept.

Windows PCs with Intel's Clover Trail Atom chips will not upgrade to the Windows 10 Creators Update, which could wind up being trouble in the future. PCWorld reports: Owners of some Windows 10 laptops and tablets are crashing into a worrying roadblock when they try to install the Windows 10 Creators Update. Windows Update initially says the notebooks are compatible with the upgrade, but fails to install it after downloading the setup files, instead displaying the following message: "Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC. Uninstall this app now because it isn't compatible with Windows 10." That sounds ominous, but you don't need to uninstall your existing version of Windows 10, and there's no app to uninstall. Instead, the message means your PC's hardware isn't compatible with the Creators Update.

A recent ZDNet article thrust this issue into the spotlight, but Microsoft laid out details about the error in an April forum post. Microsoft won't let affected hardware install the Creators Update because "Icons and/or text throughout the Windows interface may not appear at all, or may appear as solid color blocks on some devices." Can I install the Windows 10 Creators Update? Nope. But you might be able to in the future, according to the April forum post. "Microsoft is working with our partners to provide compatible drivers for these processors. Until then, Windows Update will prevent devices containing one of the processors listed above from installing the Creators Update." [Devices with these Intel "Clover Trail" processors are impacted: Atom Z2760; Atom Z2520; Atom Z2560; Atom Z2580.]

13 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. low end 32bit only cpus at the amd was all 64 by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    low end 32bit only cpus at the time amd was all 64 for some time.

  2. Sounds like... by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The problem is due to the vendor's failure to provide proper drivers in a timely manner. This sounds like it's a blatant attempt to capitalize on many people's hatred for Windows 10 by blaming Microsoft for Intel's (or Asus'?) problem.

    1. Re:Sounds like... by unixisc · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But this issue is the opposite - preventing not just the Creators upgrade, but Windows 10 itself from running on certain older CPUs. The mention of 32-bit vs 64-bit support doesn't make sense, since Microsoft made a conscious decision to include 32-bit support for Windows 10, despite the fact that one needs 4GB of RAM minimum to run this OS adequately.

      Microsoft can't have it both ways - try to force everybody to upgrade to Windows 10, but then throw up when people try to do it on computers that were otherwise working perfectly fine for them

    2. Re:Sounds like... by willy_me · · Score: 5, Informative

      Of course you can run Windows 7 on the latest Intel CPUs. Windows will not use all the hardware features included with the new CPUs but it will still run - just in an unsupported state.

    3. Re:Sounds like... by ls671 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Also, "lack of proper driver to display icons and text correctly" doesn't really sound like a serious excuse.

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    4. Re:Sounds like... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The fact that PowerVR-based Atoms have worthless driver support is Intel's fault: Microsoft's contribution to the debacle is creating a situation where upgrading the OS actually shortens the support window. If running Win8.1, these devices would get the pre "windows as a service" treatment; which in the case of 8.1 is mainstream support until 1/09/2018; extended support until 1/10/2023; if running Windows 10, a given major update gets only "at least 18 months"; after which you are potentially out of luck unless you can move to the next major update. And, since 'feature' and 'security' updates are now being aggregated; having a GPU with drivers that don't play nice with some aspect of WDDM means no security updates.

      Intel's support for the PowerVR-based Atoms has always been shamefully bad; and they deserve full blame for that; but that doesn't change the fact that Microsoft's big push for Win10 upgrades...doesn't look so good...for hardware where it now(well after users made the choice, and without any way for them to know) means that Win10 devices will fall out of support faster than Win8.1 devices will.

      It's also not a favorable anecdote for the 'Windows' glorious stable driver interface!' argument that always gets trotted out: It's not a huge surprise that an older part that always had shit support isn't getting shiny new drivers with WDDM 2.2 support; but Win10 1703 has apparently changed enough that those parts, which do have functioning drivers for earlier WDDM versions(probably 1.2 or 1.3; since they were introduced to support Win8; maybe 2.0 depending on how much polish they received for Win10) can't even continue to offer the features that they previously offered if you update to version 1703; while they did work in 1607.

      That sort of stability an backward compatibility used to be something that Microsoft at least tried at and cared about; the change isn't a flattering one. Entirely in keeping with Microsoft's Apple-envy approach of late; but not a good thing.

    5. Re:Sounds like... by viperidaenz · · Score: 2

      Not being able to read any text would be a pretty serious issue.

    6. Re:Sounds like... by Kjella · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That sort of stability an backward compatibility used to be something that Microsoft at least tried at and cared about; the change isn't a flattering one.

      On the application side perhaps, the driver side has never been that way. Microsoft releases a new version of the OS, the manufacturer may or may not update their driver. Which if it was a shitty vendor often did not happen on products more than a few years old because they already have your money and want to sell you the shiny new stuff. But that was okay because you could just stay on your current Windows version and get 5+5 years of support from MS even though the manufacturer dropped the ball after two.

      I thought it was bloody obvious what the consequences of "last version of Windows ever" and "the supported lifetime of the device" were, basically Windows will continually change and the hardware vendor has to keep up. If it doesn't, put it in the junk bin (or install Linux, but last I heard these PowerVR chips had even more terrible Linux support). Did you really think the plan was to continue to give you 10-15 years (manufacturer supporting version N+1, then 5+5 from Microsoft) of useful device life? Oh no, this is planned obsolescence at work.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    7. Re:Sounds like... by Merk42 · · Score: 2

      You computer is now too old, it will not longer allow windows 10, buy a new computer but don't forget you previous copy of windows 10 is tied to the old computer we wont provide upgrades for

      So it's like a Mac?

  3. Nothing to Worry about ... yet by williamyf · · Score: 3, Informative

    Creator's Update was released On April 11 2017, and on THAT DATE Microsoft advised owners of affected chips NOT to apply the Update while the situation was resolved.

    Those people are (for the time being) on Aniversay update, which was launched on August 2016, and has 18 months of security updates. That leaves Micrusoft until May 2018 to solve the problem and alow those people to update, or since aniversary update is a "Current Branch for Business"release, and therefore, keep receiving security updates for 5+5 years, may release said patches to affected users, or declare defeat and officialy cut suppport for said chips.

    But, being that it's been only 4 months since the problem started, it is sort of premature to declare that support has been cut for said Hardware...

    The article was mostly clickbait... and boy so many clicked... (meesssa included, young yedi)

    More info here:
    https://www.thurrott.com/windo...

    --
    *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
  4. If I read this correctly... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 3, Interesting
    ... if the customers had stayed with Windows 8 and fought off the egregiously aggressive Windows 10 updates, those customers would continue to receive updates through 2023. But because Microsoft hijacked their PCs and all-but-forced an upgrade to Windows 10, updates for the PCs will be shutdown very soon.

    .
    Welcome to the new Micro[screw the customer]soft.

  5. where is the basic VESA mode fail back driver? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

    where is the basic VESA mode fail back driver?

  6. Still crap by martinX · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Uninstall this app now because it isn't compatible with Windows 10."

    That sounds ominous, but you don't need to uninstall your existing version of Windows 10, and there's no app to uninstall. Instead, the message means your PC's hardware isn't compatible with the Creators Update.

    And that's reason number eleventy billion why Windows is still crap. A simple message that is completely wrong. They can't even get that right.

    --
    When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."