Can Skylake be used under Windows 7/8.1?

[Matthew Wai]

http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-updates-support-policy-new-cpus-will-require-windows-10/
It says 'Microsoft says PCs based on new CPU architectures, including Intel's Skylake chips, will require Windows 10.'
Does that mean Skylake cannot be used under Windows 7/8? Or does that mean Skylake can be used under Windows 7/8 but will not receive support from Microsoft?

 

[Paul NZ]

From what I've read it hasnt happened yet, but it will for both of them. You will have to have Win10 if you want Skylake

 

[InvalidError]

That's just Microsoft wording it to motivate people with new PCs to get the newest Windows incarnation. Any newer PC will be able to run most older Windows versions. You just lose support for all the new hardware and features.

You can probably still run Windows 3.0 on Skylake, you just won't have PCIe, USB, SATA, etc. support beyond legacy compatibility mode. Finding a sub-2GB HDD to install it on due to FAT16 limitations and hooking it up to your PC somehow (PATA-to-SATA adapter or PATA add-in board) might be the biggest challenge.

 

[RonWesley]

Intel's sixth generation of processors called as Skylake, that will be supported on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Support are provided till July 17, 2017 and its recommended that these systems be upgraded to Windows 10 as presently as soon as possible. Afte July 2017, the foremost important Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 security updates are self-addressed for these configurations, and can be released if the update doesn't risk the reliability or compatibility of the Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 platform on alternative devices.

 

[Corwin65]

Why the reluctance to use Windows 10? New architecture, wouldn't you want the newest OS? Are there that many issues that people are having with W10 or is it just human nature's reluctance to change?

 

[Supernova1138]

Why the reluctance to use Windows 10? New architecture, wouldn't you want the newest OS? Are there that many issues that people are having with W10 or is it just human nature's reluctance to change?

Most people who have problems with Windows 10 seem more concerned with Microsoft feeding everything you do directly to the NSA or something like that with Windows 10's telemetry features. Problem is, Microsoft is patching all that in to Windows 7 and 8.1 as well, so if you're really worried about government snooping, you don't really have much of a choice outside of switching to Linux, or hoping third party utilities can disable all the telemetry features in Windows.

In any case, Skylake will work with Windows 7 or 8.1, though you may have some issues with Windows 7 installation if you want to do it with a USB stick or only have a USB keyboard due to the removal of the EHCI protocol for USB. All that is going to happen is Microsoft will stop adding in support for new platform features on the older OSes, so things like advanced power management or newer instruction sets might not work on anything older than Windows 10 from here on out.

 

[Matthew Wai]

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1480/25133338912_186b515f6e_o.jpg
The above is my account settings. Why have I not received any emails after your replies?

 

[Matthew Wai]

You can probably still run Windows 3.0 on Skylake, you just won't have PCIe, USB, SATA, etc. support beyond legacy compatibility mode.

What new features of Skylake can be supported by Windows 10 but not by Windows 7?

 

[InvalidError]

What new features of Skylake can be supported by Windows 10 but not by Windows 7?

The future problem with Skylake on Win7/8/8.1 is that Microsoft won't provide updates for Skylake on Windows 7/8. If a new bug is found in Microsoft's Skylake-specific code after that point, you'll be out of luck.