Certain Windows 10 Users Will Need to Buy New PCs Next Year Due to Problematic Creators Update
There’s an alarming error message making its way around the Windows 10 community this week. It was recently discovered that the Creators Update effectively breaks certain Windows 10 PCs.
We haven’t heard much about the Creators Update since it was released back in May. The update is working as intentioned, and it’s been generally well-reviewed by most Windows 10 users.
Unfortunately, some Intel users – specifically, those using Intel’s Atom Clover Trail processors – have been greeted with an alarming message saying,
“Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC.”
The issue was first reported by ZDNet. The chips were used in entry-level PCs starting in 2012 and later. Those computers came with Windows 8 or 8.1 pre-installed. With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft made the newest OS available as a free update.
Many users took advantage of that free update. Unfortunately, in May, when the Creators Update rolled around, these users discovered they could not install the update. When they tried to do so, they saw the “Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC” message.
That means these users are stuck on version 1607 of Windows 10. Which, as you’ll learn below, is a very bad thing.
These Users Will Be Forced to Buy New PCs in 2018
The Creators Update isn’t just a UI upgrade. It’s an integral upgrade to keep your system up-to-date with Microsoft’s security protocols.
The Intel Atom Clover Trail processor users stuck on version 1607 will only receive security updates for 18 months from version 1607’s date of release. That’s how long Microsoft supports each previous version of Windows 10. That means the 1607 build, which was released in August 2016, will lose support starting in 2018.
In other words, Intel Atom Clover Trail processor users will be stuck with an unsecured, unsafe system in 2018 – despite the fact that they didn’t really do anything wrong.
Those computers will become increasingly vulnerable as the months proceed. Every day that passes without a Microsoft security patch, your computer becomes more vulnerable to exploits and attacks.
To add insult to injury, Microsoft will officially support Windows 8 and 8.1 until October 2023 – so if those users had stuck with Windows 8, they would have continued to receive support
Microsoft Is Working on a Solution
For those thinking the problem is just a glitch, it may be more serious. Acer has announced that the Atom Z2760, Atom Z2520, Atom Z2560, and Atom Z2580 are not compatible with the Windows 10 Creators Update.
However, Microsoft has given some hope to Intel Atom Clover Trail users. According to Acer, “Microsoft is working with us to help provide compatible drivers to address this incompatibility.”
We’ll keep you posted on how this conflict proceeds. For now, if you see the message, “Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC”, you’re safe until at least 2018.
