Windows 11 24H2 is the next major update Microsoft will roll out later this year, and it may finally end the practice of unofficially running Windows 11 on older computers. Microsoft seems to be updating the minimum hardware requirements, and POPCNT functionality must be present on the CPU to boot Windows 11 24H2.
Next Windows 11 build will refuse to boot on unsupported CPUs
Almost all the better CPUs on the market currently support POPCNTM, so if you have recently purchased a new computer, it will not prevent you from enabling the next version of Windows 11. But if the computer you use is more than 15 years old, you may be affected. Why 15 years? POPCNT was first introduced by Intel on the Nehamen architecture Core i7 in 2008. If your store is older than this, you are very unlucky.
Bob Pony’s post on X indicates that Microsoft quietly included POPCNT as a requirement for running Windows 11 last year. This change first appeared in Windows 11 Insider Preview build 25905, which contains various system files that require a CPU capable of executing the POPCNT instruction. For example, the USB XHCI driver responsible for managing USB 3.0 and higher now takes advantage of the functionality of the above command.
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
Although there are many ways to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware before, all these tricks may not help you bypass the POPCNT-capable CPU requirement. Because unlike the past, the lack of a CCPU supported by POPCNT means that your computer cannot start at all.
