Windows 11 24H2 Update: Older Computers May Not Boot due to New CPU Requirement

The early days of Windows 11 and its hardware requirements were simply one big mess. According to a new possible discovery, the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 may be a little easier – older computers simply won’t boot the operating system.

And by old computers we mean old computers. A Twitter user claims that he has discovered a hard stop on computers from the last decade, based on a cpu instruction that is now required.

So HUGE discovery found in Windows 11 Version 24H2, since build 25905.
A CPU with the instruction “POPCNT” IS NOW REQUIRED!
There are various system files requiring the POPCNT CPU instruction, from the Windows 11 kernel to the USB XHCI drivers.

Without POPCNT, it doesn’t boot! pic.twitter.com/vCWYvzfu6k

— Bob Pony (@TheBobPony) February 11, 2024

The instruction in question is POPCNT, or population count. Why Microsoft’s Windows requires this instruction is not known.

What we do know, however, is that POPCNT debuted 15 years ago, in 2008, as part of the Nehalem architecture, although it also appeared in AMD processors at the time. In Intel’s Core processors, the instruction was commercialized in the second generation Core chip, known as Sandy Bridge, launched in 2011. Intel is shipping its 14th generation Core chips this year. Even if you don’t have the latest hardware, you likely have a computer that can handle the new requirements.

If you don’t have it, the consequences are simple: It simply won’t start, according to the data. Windows 11 24H2, which will apparently not be called Windows 12, is due to launch this fall.

When Windows 11 launched, the industry received a number of different reports about whether or not Windows 11 would be able to run on your hardware. Now the answer seems to be much clearer. Chances are, however, that your computer is almost guaranteed to meet the new requirements.

2024-02-14 21:28:30
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