Did windows 10 drop support for first-generation Intel Core i7-920, i7-960 processors?

Question

I have an old machine:

first generation Intel core processor i7-920
x58 motherboard: asus p6t deluxe v2
currently has windows 10 version 1709 installed

I want to install the latest windows 10 for my daughter and neighborhood Minecraft enthusiasts.

It has enough power and memory and GPU to be useful for Minecraft for my younger children and neighborhood Minecraft fans. 24gb memory and 1050ti.

First I tried the windows 10 (it is on version 1709) "reset my PC" and it wipes and installs. Then it fails to update to version 18xx and version 20H2. I try again and it fails. Everytime it freezes at windows logo when booting. Almost like driver issue.
Then I try burning windows ISO 21xx downloaded from official windows ISO to USB. Same frozen screen at boot.
I try again but this time I loaded the windows installer ISO on a SATA harddrive. Same frozen screen.
I try the Microsoft media creation tool. Click to wipe then at boot time same frozen windows logo screen. (Tried again ... Same result)
here is the error message from the media creation tool:

NOTE: from the error dialog 0xC1900101 - 0x20017 is: "A driver has caused a problem."

NOTE: I followed their troubleshooting tips list and I am sure confident that none applied to me.

I go online... There are reports of the same thing for other people with Intel i7-920.

Did windows 10 (version 1803 and up) drop support for older first generation Intel core i7-920, i7-960 processors?

I only have empirical evidence from my own experience and forum posts I've seen (1, 2). So any experts with better knowledge would be GREATLY appreciated. I just want to know for certain.

P.s. I checked Intel support documentation and they say windows 10 only supports 3rd generation core and up. But that is not correct because I used first generation core for about five plus years. Windows documentation said I think generation 5 and up only.

P.p.s If they did drop support I guess I'm stuck on windows 10 version 1709.

I ran SetupDiag on the machine (it has an older windows version 1709 from 2017 installed) and it says:

SetupDiag: processing rule: FindRollbackFailure.
.....
Error: SetupDiag reports rollback failure found.
Last Phase = Finalize
Last Operation = Remove System Restore checkpoints
Error = 0xC1900101-0x20017
LogEntry:

Refer to "https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/Debug/system-error-codes" for error information.

SetupDiag found 1 matching issue.

There is an error code program that you can download from microsoft that converts error codes to error strings:

C:\Users\USER\Downloads>.\Err_6.4.5.exe 0xC1900101
# No results found for hex 0xc1900101 / decimal -1047527167
# anonymous HRESULT: Severity: FAILURE (1), Facility 0x190, Code 0x101
# for hex 0x101 / decimal 257
  CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT                                         bugcodes.h
  STATUS_ALERTED                                                 ntstatus.h
# 2 matches found for "0xC1900101"

C:\Users\USER\Downloads>.\Err_6.4.5.exe 0x20017
# No results found for hex 0x20017 / decimal 131095
# as an HRESULT: Severity: SUCCESS (0), FACILITY_DISPATCH (0x2), Code 0x17
# for hex 0x17 / decimal 23
  ERROR_CRC                                                      winerror.h
# Data error (cyclic redundancy check).
# 1 matches found for "0x20017"

update: 2021-09-24: I tried swapping out the i7-960 for my old i7-920. But doing so did not fix the issue.

update 2021-09-25: added notes about motherboard type.

I seem to recall that the CPU requirements changed around the release 1709 and 1803. Microsoft effectively turned 1709 into an LTSC release for a small subset of machines. [Strictly speaking, your CPU isn't even listed in the list of supported processors for any version.](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-10-1709-supported-amd-processors). However, I don't believe your CPU was one of those CPUs, and your issue is connected to a driver conflict. Try running [SetupDiag](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/upgrade/setupdiag) — Ramhound, Sep 23 '21 at 02:50
If you cannot run SetupDiag for any reason, Setupact.log, should contain the driver blocking the upgrade. An alternative is wipe the entire HDD and install a newer version of Windows 10. If you go this route, I would use a USB flash storage device, and not attempt to install it from a HDD. — Ramhound, Sep 23 '21 at 03:02
`Win10_21H1_English_x64.iso` does not boot (verified iso by checking the sha256sum). therefore can not do a clean install. — Trevor Boyd Smith, Sep 24 '21 at 00:49
Windows 10 version 1709 is good enough for Minecraft, why do you want to upgrade? — harrymc, Sep 25 '21 at 20:26
@harrymc um. mostly OCD (i.e. ... with version 1709 every time i hit upgrade it fails... and takes like 45 minutes to fail. and that will happen repeatedly every month with windows not letting you block updates (i am not expert enough to fix that). and i get worried about the machine getting slow over time when it fails to update.) — Trevor Boyd Smith, Sep 26 '21 at 04:30

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 25 '21 at 20:29

5

I found a post in French that claims that to install version 1803 and later, one must disable in the BIOS the option of Intel VT-d.

The post mentions that if you then upgrade Windows, you lose vitualization, and you can no longer enable it again, as without it Windows will block on its logo screen.

Vitualization might not be very important for playing Minecraft.

answered Sep 25 '21 at 20:29

harrymc

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note: just an extra little tip: To install windows10 on an older machine that does not support UEFI: I created bootable USB drive ([download windows10 installer ISO first](https://superuser.com/a/1250099)) via [rufus (quality open source software product)](https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/releases/tag/v3.15) and selected `Partition Scheme: MBR` and `Target System: BIOS ...` in the GUI. – Trevor Boyd Smith Sep 26 '21 at 02:00
thank you very much for the comment. I have wasted already about 20-30 hours on this so your solution saved me from wasting another 20-30 hours and I am very grateful. I was close to giving up. (BTW I did see some posts suggesting to turn off the VT-d in BIOS but I never took them seriously until your post because turning off VT-d just seems to strange/weird.) – Trevor Boyd Smith Sep 26 '21 at 02:03
The linked article is a little strange. VT-x is hardware virtualization while VT-d while still connected to Intel's Virtulization Technology platform is connected to VT-d Direct Memory Access (DMA) which protect(s) the operating system kernel. Only specific classes of Intel processors even support VT-d while nearly all modern processors built upon the Core architecture support VT-x. – Ramhound Dec 04 '22 at 00:21

Trevor Boyd Smith · Answer 2 · 2021-09-26T02:12:43.513

I found an example that shows windows 10 version 2004 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDkpD16VLes works with intel i7-920 CPU but then on the same motherboard windows 10 fails to work with an Intel LGA1366 Xeon CPU.

The above youtube video demonstrates that Windows 10 can change what CPUs are supported in newer versions (i.e. older versions of Windows10 did support LGA1366 Intel Xeon CPUs but newer versions of Windows10 do not support LGA1366 Intel Xeon CPUs).

p.s. I wasted about 3 hours to swap out the i7-960 for the i7-920 and doing so did not fix the issue.

~~My personal triage will be to run older windows 10 version 1709. Keep Windows defender updated but not update windows version (can't update).~~

Update: 2021-09-25: User @harrymc had the solution! I am very grateful for his help! See harry's solution here.

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 20 '22 at 04:23

1

I have windows 10 latest running on my i7-960. I did not install it from scratch but has been updated gradually. No issues have come up.

Here is the system screen

edited Mar 20 '22 at 04:23

phuclv

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answered Oct 16 '21 at 07:52

zaffhome

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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Oct 16 '21 at 07:57

Did windows 10 drop support for first-generation Intel Core i7-920, i7-960 processors?

Did windows 10 (version 1803 and up) drop support for older first generation Intel core i7-920, i7-960 processors?

3 Answers3

The above youtube video demonstrates that Windows 10 can change what CPUs are supported in newer versions (i.e. older versions of Windows10 did support LGA1366 Intel Xeon CPUs but newer versions of Windows10 do not support LGA1366 Intel Xeon CPUs).