Hoping to get beyond the 25H2 Milestone with my ineligible CPU

spapakons said:

For 24H2 and 25H2 which have the same hardware requirements, you need a CPU with SSE4.2 instructions. This is 1st generation Intel Core-i3 or equivalent AMD. So ALL higher generations, including my 3rd generation Intel Core-i7 CAN run Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2....

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The last Intel generation without SSE4.2 was the Core2 family (up to 2008), the first generation with SSE4.2 was the Intel Core family (i3, etc., 2009). Most, but not all, Intel CPUs since then have had SSE4.2. I currently have 24H2 running on a Pentium B950 (Sandy Bridge, 2011). One notable exception in my laptop collection is the Atom N2600 (Cedar Trail, late 2011) that still lacked SSE4.2. The Atom family didn't get SSE4.2 until a year or so later.

For the instruction sets supported by any particular CPU, look it up here: https://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/CPU.html

Bree said:

The last Intel generation without SSE4.2 was the Core2 family (up to 2008), the first generation with SSE4.2 was the Intel Core family (i3, etc., 2009). Most, but not all, Intel CPUs since then have had SSE4.2. I currently have 24H2 running on a Pentium B950 (Sandy Bridge, 2011). One notable exception in my laptop collection is the Atom N2600 (Cedar Trail, late 2011) that still lacked SSE4.2. The Atom family didn't get SSE4.2 until a year or so later.

For the instruction sets supported by any particular CPU, look it up here: https://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/CPU.html

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That's why I said 1st generation Core-i3 or higher. Pentium or Atom of the same generation are usually excluded as entry-level CPUs don't have all the features of mid-range and higher CPUs. To find out if your specific CPU has SSE4.2 you can download CPU-Z or similar tool. Also you can Google for Intel your_CPU. The first result is Intel's own specs, so open it to see details. For example, if you Google "Intel 3770" (my 3rd Generation Core-i7) you see these specs:


I have Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, but not AVX2 or higher (4th generation and higher), so for example, I can install up to Apple Mac OS 12 Monterey (with some tweaks), but not Apple Mac OS 13 and higher that require AVX2 in a virtual machine or natively, if I want to create a "Hackingtosh" (non-Apple computer running Mac OS). Smile, Apple is worse when it comes to hardware requirements.

Bree said:

The ISO method will be unnecessary. 24H2 and 25H2 share a common set of system files. By the time 25H2 is ready to be released (expected to be in October) the 25H2 features will already be in the 24H2 code, but in a dormant state.

The feature update to 25H2 will just require installing a small Enablement Package that will turn on the dormant 25H2 features. Shortly after the release of 25H2 you should be able to download the Enablement Package from Eleven Forums, as was the case for the 23H2 Enablement Package.

The good thing about these enablement packages is that they make no system compatibility checks, no workaround will be needed.

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I made a search for the Enablement Package to upgrade 23h2 to 24h2 and found that there is no such package.
"Windows 11, version 24H2 is a full OS swap so it isn't available as an enablement package."

Megahertz said:

I made a search for the Enablement Package to upgrade 23h2 to 24h2 and found that there is no such package.
"Windows 11, version 24H2 is a full OS swap so it isn't available as an enablement package."

What's new in Windows 11, version 24H2 for IT pros

Learn more about what's new in Windows 11 version 24H2, including servicing updates, Windows Subsystem for Linux, the latest CSPs, and more.

learn.microsoft.com

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We said 25H2 Enablement Package to upgrade from 24H2 to 25H2. To upgrade from 23H2 to 24H2 you have to download the 24H2 ISO and do a full upgrade, provided the CPU supports SSE4.2

spapakons said:

We said 25H2 Enablement Package to upgrade from 24H2 to 25H2. To upgrade from 23H2 to 24H2 you have to download the 24H2 ISO and do a full upgrade, provided the CPU supports SSE4.2

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Please read my post above and the comment Bree made

Y'all are basically "on-topic", so no criticism from me -- who started the thread.

Reporting my own trials and tribulations -- I first solved the problem of my "Media PC" proper audio-video connections with the Sony AV Receiver and the Bravia TV. I'm awaiting a cable replacement for the sub-woofer -- that's all it could be, really, when you have five of the six speaker output tests proven to work normally.

The Media PC is my file-backup server, or "synching server". It was updated to Windows 11 and then to 25H2 successfully within the last several days. Now, there's a new update to 25H2 -- from the "Insider" preview -- which failed, and failed again. Ya know what? I know what will solve this, besides postponing updates until September 9. Disable MalwareBytes and uninstall Stablebit Drive pool -- then reinstall the latter and re-enable the AV software after retrying the Windows Update.

Anyone want to bet on this? I think I will!

I see LIGHT at the end of this TUNNEL! I'm not flattering myself to say that most people wouldn't have the patience for these shenanigans. If I have such patience, it's an obsession that costs me time and energy. "Not the sharpest knife in the drawer", don't you think?! It says something about Feature Updates with complicated hardware configurations. Extra periodic chores!

It looks like Microsoft doesn't like third-party antiviruses or that third-party antiviruses give a lot of false positives.

There's still a lot of people running 23h2 because they didn't want to go to 24h2 for whatever reason. Someone clarify something for me.

From what I've read, if one is on 23h2, he MUST first go to 24h2 before he can get 25h2 because it's an enablement package. It's my understanding one can not even upgrade from 23h2 to 25h2 even using the 25h2 iso when it is released. He would have to do a clean install. Am I right in that? Or does that theory only apply to upgrades through WU? I'm somewhat confused.

No need to upgrade to 24H2 first. Just download the 25H2 ISO to upgrade directly from Windows 11 23H2 to 25H2. Also from Windows 10 or any earlier Windows 11 version. But, if you do run 24H2, you don't need the ISO to upgrade to 25H2. Just use the upcoming 25H2 Enablement Package.

spapakons said:

No need to upgrade to 24H2 first. Just download the 25H2 ISO to upgrade directly from Windows 11 23H2 to 25H2. Also from Windows 10 or any earlier Windows 11 version. But, if you do run 24H2, you don't need the ISO to upgrade to 25H2. Just use the upcoming 25H2 Enablement Package.

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For reasons we had discussed here and elsewhere, I discover that my difficulties for being slightly outside the MS hardware requirement are so far less. What I see here are people who've had experience over more than one cycle of version update going back to the initial W11 release.

At the moment, my chores to get an "update to the update" within the Insiders' agenda of previews -- are likely straightforward, but just annoying and tedious chores.

The steps and strategies to accomplish feature updates seem like an annoyance to many. ALSO! I now notice that my 2021/22 Win 11 laptop is still running under 24H2, but with some updates common to those struggling over 25H2. I bought that laptop with the $1,500 stimulus check we received as taxpayers. Was that 2021? Yes it was -- my younger brother was still alive that summer. Since the hardware was totally compliant, I'm just going to "let it do its own thing." Among the laptops passing through my hands, it is definitely not my favorite. But the only one I have.

If it is Windows 11 compliant, installing all updates you will eventually offered 24H2 or 25H2. If you don't want to wait, just download the ISO and run Setup. For compliant computers no workarounds required.

spapakons said:

If it is Windows 11 compliant, installing all updates you will eventually offered 24H2 or 25H2. If you don't want to wait, just download the ISO and run Setup. For compliant computers no workarounds required.

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Probably what I MIGHT have to do or COULD have to do. But I'm watching the " . . . . 5770" installation now as we speak. I did what I should have done to assure best chances for it: uninstall Stablebit Drive-Pool and disable the MalWareBytes Security software. I notice at least one sign that this is going to succeed: the previous attempts had memory (RAM) loading up to 100% before WU declared "update failed". Now it just stays at about 50% of total RAM.

UPDATE -- So . . . that was it: Uninstall StableBit Drive-Pool, and disable MalwareBytes. "Installation 100% . . . Your computer will restart several times . . "

All good to go. I have met at least a few here who -- like me -- are slightly (or more) disqualified the the Win11 Eligibility Club. I hope my experience so far gives some the fortitude they need to go forward on this path.

I just hope that I don't find -- in coming days or even weeks -- that I need to install an "update to the update, which was an update to the previous update".

All the other "little updates" should not be a problem. These updates -- from 24H2 to 25H2 and then a total revision to 25H2 -- just require extra attention. Lord know what it will be like next year or following, though!