Windows 11’s upcoming version update (24H2) won’t support processors without POPCNT instruction. But now NVIDIA has surprised users by announcing the end of life support for CPUs that don’t support POPCNT. Starting with Release 555, unsupported Windows 10/11 PCs will encounter BSODs if you install this driver version.
The driver will install fine, but when you restart your PC, it will look for POPCNT and, if missing, BSODs galore. So, you must not update to the display driver version 555 or higher to avoid this issue. Or, you’ll have to use the recovery environment to remove the driver or reinstall the OS and then install an older version of the display driver.
NVIDIA highlighted the change in its official announcements post, which instructs on checking whether your CPU supports POPCNT. It recommends a command-line tool named Coreinfo to check if the specific instruction set is present. The tool didn’t work for and kept closing instantly.
There are other tools, such as CPU-Z and WhyNotWinAI, to check it. You can even use the official processor specs page by Intel or AMD to learn about it.
System checking for POPCNT | Image Courtesy: WindowsLatest.com
POPCNT came into the limelight after Microsoft’s system requirements for Windows 11 24H2 surfaced. The Redmond giant hasn’t clarified about ditching the older CPUs without this instruction set, but many OS features won’t work without it in 24H2.
The instruction set began appearing in processors almost 16 years back, and that means a huge chunk of Windows 10 users won’t be affected by this issue.
However, NVIDIA GPU users who earlier ran Windows 10 with a CPU without this instruction set are now in for a disappointment.
Windows 11 24H2 POPCNT isn’t bypassable
When Windows 11 launched, its pesky system requirements hindered many from installing it. Gradually, workarounds appeared which allowed us to install the OS, and even Microsoft published an official bypass method. But with 24H2, the CPU requirement will get more problematic.
When you begin the Windows 11 24H2 installation, the setup will check if your CPU supports the specific instruction set. If not, you cannot continue the installation. In that case, you will have to stick with the older versions of Windows 11 (21H2, 22H2, and 23H2), which don’t enforce this rule.
That being said, the POPCNT requirement only rules out very old hardware that is unqualified to support Windows 11 features. The AI push is getting stronger with 24H2, infusing Copilot into unimaginable areas of the OS.
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