By releasing the new version of Windows Terminal, an application installed by default in Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft made a small blunder. This edition of the software is no longer compatible with certain processors due to a compiler problem. We will explain everything to you.
Today, Windows Terminal has become an essential application for those who use command lines under Windows 10 or Windows 11. The software integrates both PowerShell, Command Prompt, and Azure Cloud Shell. It’s a real Swiss army knife for configuring your operating system or running applications (with commands, in fact).
But no luck: by deploying the new version of Terminal, Microsoft left some users behind. Because this edition is not compatible with certain processors.
Also read: Windows 11-: will the Terminal application replace the Command Prompt? Microsoft explains
Why Windows 11 Terminal is no longer compatible with older CPUs
The reason for this incompatibility actually comes from the software used when compiling the Terminal application. This prevents a program from running if it does not support the SSE 4.2 instruction set. And it is precisely this set of instructions that the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad, the processors with which Terminal is no longer compatible, do not support.
Microsoft has confirmed that it did not intentionally block them. The Redmond editor explains the reason for the problem this way: “Put your conspiracy theories aside, folks. There is a bug with the MSVC 19.38 compiler [ndlr : le compilateur Microsoft C++], which causes CPUID instruction output to be misinterpreted, among other things. And it turns out that Windows Terminal 1057x series was made with MSVC 19.38.”
The good news is that Microsoft released a new edition of Terminal, correctly compiled this time (but using an older version of MSVC). Along the way, other bugs have also been corrected, notably concerning the autodetection of URLs or geolocation.
The latest edition of Windows Terminal can be downloaded via the application’s official Github account, but also via the Microsoft Store or the WinGet application.