The next Windows 11 version will refuse to boot on unsupported CPUs (original) (raw)

Windows Copilot in Windows 11

Summary

Windows 11 24H2 update requires the POPCNT CPU feature, making it impossible to run on super-old PCs.
Modern CPUs support POPCNT, so if you recently bought a new PC, you won't have any issues.
PCs older than fifteen years will be affected by this change and won't be able to boot Windows 11 without POPCNT support.

Windows 11 24H2 is the next big update that Microsoft will roll out later this year, and it might finally put an end to the practice of running Windows unofficially on super old PCs. The software giant seems to be in the process of updating the minimum hardware requirements, making the POPCNT (stands for Population Count) CPU feature required to be able to boot Windows 11 24H2.

All the best modern CPUs support POPCNT, so if you recently bought a new PC, it won't come in the way of booting the next version of Windows. Instead, people who are still running PCs that are more than fifteen years old will be affected by this change. Why fifteen years, you ask? Well, the POPCNT instruction was first introduced by Intel on Nehalem-based Core i7 processors, released way back in 2008. If you've PCs older than that, you're out of luck.

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Bob Pony's post on the X platform indicates that Microsoft quietly made POPCNT a requirement to run Windows 11 last year. The change first arrived with Windows 11 Insider Preview build 25905, which consists of various system files requiring CPUs that are capable of executing POPCNT instructions. For example, USB XHCI drivers, which are responsible for managing USB 3.0 and later, now utilize the functionalities of the said instruction.

There are several ways to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, but all those tricks will likely not be able to help you bypass the requirement of the POPCNT CPU feature. Because unlike in previous times, not having POPCNT support means your PCs with unsupported CPUs will simply not boot.