Microsoft Windows Operating System Support for Intel Kaby Lake, and Later Processors

Starting with Intel's seventh-generation Core processors, the Kaby Lake series (I7-7xxx, I5-7xxx CPU description = Kaby Lake), processors only have Windows 10 and Windows 11 Operating System support.

Dell is in alignment with both Intel and Microsoft support policies for Kaby Lake and later processors, limiting Kaby Lake operating system support to Windows 10 and Windows 11 Operating Systems alone.

There is no legacy Operating System support (Windows 7, Windows 8.0 or Windows 8.1) for Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake, Whiskey Lake, or Ice Lake equipped computers.
 

Legacy operating system support using Skylake generation of processors

For computers with a demonstrated need for legacy Windows, Dell Precision, Latitude, and OptiPlex platforms would have had to have been purchased with a Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 downgrade and equipped with a Skylake central processing unit (CPU) (I7-6xxx, I5-6xxx CPU description = Skylake).

Microsoft support policies with updated Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 guidelines

Dell Precision, Latitude, and OptiPlex models that are launched in 2017 had Skylake processor options that allow for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 support through the end of Intel Skylake support (Skylake support has ended).

An alternative to installing Windows 7 on a Kaby Lake computer is to Deploy a Windows Virtual Machine in Hyper-V on Windows 10 where you can install Windows 7 on the Virtual Machine. (This requires a Windows 7 product license that Dell does not provide.)

 Hardware requirements for operating system versions limit installable options.

Only install supported Operating System versions that adhere to the restrictions outlined above. Dell does not offer assistance with installing non-compliant Operating System versions or support for non-compliant versions once installed.

Note: To determine if your computer is Windows 11 compatible, enter your computer model at the Dell Support Website at https://www.dell.com/support/home. If the following banner is displayed, your computer does not support Windows 11:

Note: Windows 11 has limited support for 7th Generation Kaby Lake Intel Processors. You can check the processor compatibility using their PC Health Check app. For more information about how to use and download the app, go to: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-the-pc-health-check-app-9c8abd9b-03ba-4e67-81ef-36f37caa7844

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