Windows 11 Support on AMD A9 processor?

[ThinkPad560X]

Was checking to see if the AMD A9 CPU is supported for Windows 11 on Lenovo IdeaPad 130-15AST. Funny I open my browser and it is set as bing but only can go to google if I press HOME "Google Search is my home Page" as I don't use bing but typed anyway. And the AI response automatically.

"Certainly! Let’s explore whether the AMD A9 processor is supported for Windows 11.
According to Microsoft’s official documentation, the AMD A9-9420 processor is not explicitly listed as a supported processor for Windows 11. However, there’s a workaround that allows you to install Windows 11 even on unsupported CPUs. Here are the details:" I Didn't want to copy-paste the rest.

But even Microsoft's AI is telling me it's not supported but you can still bypass and install it if want to and will show you how. Then why didn't Microsoft just officially support these systems then? I think all the Intel Core i series should be supported for Windows 11, or at least till 4th / 5th Gen and up. Even my Core 2 Duo machines and EVEN MY PENTIUM 4 x64 PRESSCOTT/CIDER MILL can run it. I even have machines that fit all the requirements that Microsoft demands, like Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 but only processor not supported.

I still remember the days of Installing Windows XP on old hardware like my IBM ThinkPad 560 and it ran ok, not the greatest but it ran it. Even on my 600X and similar year models. And those were machines that were around 5-6 years older than XP. The box that Windows use to ship in gave you the system requirements. If I remember it was like 64MB of RAM with a 233MHz processor to run XP. Windows 11 is the same in system requirements as 10 minus all the extra Security features that added in plus the Home Edition require internet.

But just found it funny that Microsoft's AI even tells you that you can bypass the Windows 11 installation to install it. But you will not get certain updates.

[TPFanatic]

The ai is just a text regurgitator. At least it’s not a Nazi like their last chatbot.

My opinion is the restrictions are to encourage general public people to replace their otherwise fully functional and adequate PCs. These are the people who use the PC as a TV or as a game console or something else barely touching on its capability. Microsoft and its partners of course want the people to use more powerful computers so they can put those resources to work on the data collection you agreed to when you operate Windows 11. Even a31p can play my movies and childhood games and cabinet emulation, could edit my images and write my papers too, it’s not very good at telemetry though.

[axur-delmeria]

I'd wager a half-decent reason: maintenance burden. Device manufacturers rarely update drivers for old hardware to work with new OSes-- for example, the older 3945ABG and 4965AGN causes BSODs on Windows 10 because their drivers were never updated by Intel.

[ThinkPad560X]

Yeah, the drivers part makes since, and they want you to move onto a new device as soon as possible like smartphones. Only supported for 2-3 years and next Android version isn't compatible with your 2–3-year-old phone. Now pay again. Maybe you can get a few dollars knocked off if you trade in your perfectly working phone or device.

For Windows 8, 8.1, 10 and 11, I hate the telemetry. I stayed on Windows 7 as long as can just like XP but for XP browsing wise, the browsers slowly stop working as it required newer webpage support. Same will happen with 7. I do like Linux Mint and is a good web viewing OS. But I use software that only runs on Windows. All the software I have is activated on Windows 7 and if have to go online I may just have a full running Linux machine for that then. I hate windows 10 telemetry, telling me "We notice you use your PC at these times" and I even uninstalled software "Apps" just for windows update to reinstall them. And I got locked out of one of my PCs as I didn't notice it did the same thing as Windows 11 where you must be online to log into your laptop. And the OneDrive, it automatically uploaded my data to the "Cloud" Microsoft server, and I never wanted to use it to begin with. I have my own backup way. But it is funny how it is free for a I think 10GB or something like that. But They probably look through it. Nothing is free.

By the way has anyone notice there have been lots of Cyber Attacks/Hacks this year and even seeing videos of Linux OSs getting viruses and or hacked now.

[mikemex]

The ai is just a text regurgitator.

Oh, come on. You know better than that...

My opinion is the restrictions are to encourage general public people to replace their otherwise fully functional and adequate PCs. These are the people who use the PC as a TV or as a game console or something else barely touching on its capability. Microsoft and its partners of course want the people to use more powerful computers so they can put those resources to work on the data collection you agreed to when you operate Windows 11. Even a31p can play my movies and childhood games and cabinet emulation, could edit my images and write my papers too, it’s not very good at telemetry though.

It's not just Microsoft. Everyone wants the latest and flashiest. Which means, nobody really wants to spend time with "old stuff". Just see how much stuff is being deprecated in the Linux world, for the sole reason that "it's old". They don't even attempt to hide it: the typical engaged Linux nerd (say, in his 20s) has no appreciation or use for hardware he's not familiar with. They see it as just a chore to maintain it.

I know exactly how you folks feel, but you have to admit that this very forum was different years ago. It wasn't seen as a retro-place. People came to discuss current trends. It's a generational shift, and a matter of adjusting (or not) to changes.

Yeah, the drivers part makes since, and they want you to move onto a new device as soon as possible like smartphones. Only supported for 2-3 years and next Android version isn't compatible with your 2–3-year-old phone. Now pay again. Maybe you can get a few dollars knocked off if you trade in your perfectly working phone or device.

That's the price to pay for a world where just about anyone carries a small computer in their pocket. They are now in the hands of average people who see them as nothing but disposable devices. The time computers were rare, really required skill and knowledge to use, are long gone. I've been saying it for years: IBM was a logistics company, and it sold its PC division right when they realized people no longer seen their PCs as durable devices.

People don't repair or care for their stuff. They just throw it away and buy something else. Not because they want, of course, but because as a consumer your options are really limited. Parts production only goes for a very small period and they produce no more. Without spares, it's impossible to keep something running. People are practical minded, and while they don't understand what is happening, they know enough to abandon the boat as soon as possible.

It's a vicious circle.

By the way has anyone notice there have been lots of Cyber Attacks/Hacks this year and even seeing videos of Linux OSs getting viruses and or hacked now.

There is nothing intrinsically more secure about Linux. Actually, providing the source code makes it easier for hackers to detect vulnerabilities. It's just that people didn't bother to write exploits for Linux before.

Maybe a positive sign that more people are actually using it?

[ThinkPad560X]

I noticed that the ThinkPads from x440 - x490 generation are beginning to crack and fall apart. Mostly L and E series, a few T & X. Screen bezels, palmrests, bottom covers. I see a lot of them online. Not too much from T430 and older where you may see a palmrest corner crack/chip, maybe from being dropped. But it seems like all devices are getting cheaper and cheaply made. May not seem like it at first because the plastic is new but over time, like the ThinkPad i series will start to crack away. Might be the same for the T14/15 generations. My T43 still looks in mint condition and that is how old now. Solid as a rock. I think the ThinkPads T43-T61 maybe the best built and will outlast all the others.

But it is sad to see good working devices get thrown away. There are even people I talked to with really busted phone screens and they say I am just going to get a new phone, over replacing the screen. And say it easier to do that and I wanted X new model anyway. I used my Motorola Razr V3m from 2007-2020, "still mint" went through 3 oem batteries its entire life only for Verizon to force me to 4G or newer as they shut down 3G.

I did collect a few smartphones to refurbish only to see no one wanted them as they wouldn't work with the latest apps and android version. So gave up on that. I have a Sony Xperia and mostly use as a camera. It will not work anymore with most apps and it is stuck on Android 5 or 6. I tried seeing if can install the latest android but couldn't figure it out and probably would not work anyway as drivers may not work.

[axur-delmeria]

Well, two of my X220's are dead or dying while my X60/X61 variants are still chugging along despite their own sets of issues (mostly screen and battery issues)...

Too slow for general use, screens don't have enough pixels for modern websites and applications, but still running fine otherwise. TBH I'm surprised, because they're a decade and a half old by now.

[mikemex]

If I remember it was like 64MB of RAM with a 233MHz processor to run XP.

Many things are different now, compared to how they were back then.

One thing that comes to my mind is simple text. Back in the day, when I learned programming (C and assembler), it was pretty easy to manage memory for string handling. Encodings were pretty much all based on ASCII, and all assumed one byte was one character. If your string was 100 bytes, you knew it was (100-NULL) = 99 characters long.

But then people began to realize that there is a big world out there and 256 characters simply isn't enough. And slowly, but surely, they began building that bottom-less pit called Unicode. At first, everyone seemed to agree that 2 bytes would be enough (that raised the character count to 65536). Really, that's a pretty decent amount. But like always, they became greedy, and soon 2 bytes per character wasn't enough again. So they pushed for UTF-8 encoding, which basically allows a character to occupy up to 4 bytes.

I mention this because it's one of those issues that remains hidden even from people who knows a lot about general computing. The issue with UTF-8 is that it's variable length encoding. So in order to save RAM, they decided to sacrifice CPU usage. Now, any string routine has to go through the entire text to check if it's properly encoded and to do simple things like count characters.

Just imagine now a modern web browser that processes maybe millions of lines of dynamic code generated via scripts every day. Can you see the exponential consumption of resources?

Modern computers are just used differently. Windows 95 and back relied on compiled code. Now interpreted languages are a commonplace. Even compiled software didn't rely on object-oriented facilities that make even simple programs huge due to runtime-library dependencies. And so on.

You can't just compare n-bytes and n-hertz anymore. It's really much more complex than that.