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How Can IT Teams Catch Incompatibilities Before Systems Are at Risk?

SysTrack Screenshot

Millions of PCs currently running Windows 10 will lose feature support in 2018 due to incompatible drivers according to ZDNet. The issue affects systems with certain Intel Atom Clover Trail processors that were designed to run Windows 8 or 8.1, but were offered free OS upgrades as part of Microsoft’s Windows 10 push. The support loss is due to incompatibility with the Windows 10 Creators Update and the devices in question will not receive further Windows 10 updates from Microsoft as of the time of this writing. [Update: As reported by The Verge, Microsoft has said that the devices will continue to receive security patches through 2023, but will not be included in feature updates.]

The affected PCs are consumer-level devices and enterprises are therefore unlikely to be impacted by this loss. However, there is no guarantee that other devices won’t lose support due to similar circumstances in the future. The ZDNet article cites Microsoft’s device support policy for Windows 10 that contains a footnote stating, in part, “Not all features in an update will work on all devices. A device may not be able to receive updates if the device hardware is incompatible, lacking current drivers, or otherwise outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s (‘OEM’) support period.”

Determining the hardware specifications of a system is easy on the individual level, but how can companies ensure that their employees aren’t at risk of continuing to run unsupported hardware now or with future Windows 10 updates?

A workspace analytics solution, such as Lakeside Software’s SysTrack, collects and analyzes data about systems and user behavior that fast-tracks the discovery process. With this functionality, IT can easily answer questions such as whether any of the unsupported Intel Atom processors are running on their Windows 10 systems.

As we’ve seen with recent ransomware outbreaks, running an unsupported version of an OS puts systems at greater risk of attack. Upgrading incompatible hardware in your environment before it loses support will likely be a critical part of Windows 10 management strategies moving forward.

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