In March 2018, Microsoft silently began using the SSE2 (Streaming SIMD Extensions 2) CPU instruction set in all updates. The SSE family of instructions allow programs to achieve higher performance in certain math operations.
Processors that initially implemented SSE2 instructions include Intel Pentium 4 (2000), Pentium M (2003), and AMD Athlon 64 (2003). Processors that do not implement SSE2 include Intel Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, and Pentium III; AMD K5, K6, Athlon, and Athlon XP.
SSE2 was added as a minimum processor requirement in Windows 8, but this change unexpectedly brings this requirement back to earlier versions of Windows. Microsoft did not notify customers of this change, and Windows Update does not check if the processor supports SSE2. This can cause these updates to be installed on an incompatible system, causing programs to crash.
While this appeared to initially be in error, Microsoft’s stance changed in May 2018 to indicate that non-SSE2 processors are no longer supported. Quoting from the 2018-03 Monthly Rollup for Windows 7:
Symptom: A Stop error occurs on computers that don't support Streaming Single Instructions Multiple Data (SIMD) Extensions 2 (SSE2).
Workaround: Upgrade your machines with a processor that supports SSE2 or virtualize those machines.
The following products are known to be affected:
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Windows Embedded 2009
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Windows 7
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Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 Extended Security Updates (ESUs)
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Office 2010
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Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender
If you enable receiving Windows Embedded 2009 updates on Windows XP, you may install incompatible updates. The most commonly reported crash is in Internet Explorer, when attempting to load a page. If your processor does not support SSE2, Legacy Update Setup will prevent you from enabling Windows Embedded 2009 updates. Legacy Update currently does not detect if you have already used another tool to enable these updates. (It is difficult to disable Windows Embedded 2009 updates, as Windows protects the relevant registry key from modification.)
On Windows Vista and later, the system may become unable to boot, displaying a Stop (blue screen) error.
If you are experiencing such crashes, use the Add or Remove Programs control panel to uninstall the following updates:
Windows Embedded 2009 updates incompatible with SSE2 systems
| KB Article | Name |
|---|---|
| KB4034775 | Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4343674 | 2018-08 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4344180 | 2018-08 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 2.0 on WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4457046 | 2018-09 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 4.0 on WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4458000 | 2018-09 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4458006 | 2018-09 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4458318 | 2018-09 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4462774 | 2018-08 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 4.0 on WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4462987 | 2018-10 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4463573 | 2018-10 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4470490 | 2018-12 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 4.0 on WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4470633 | 2018-12 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 on WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4473077 | 2018-12 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4483475 | 2019-02 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 4.0 on WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4483485 | 2019-02 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 on WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4483495 | 2019-02 Security Only Update for .NET Framework 3.0 SP2 on WES09 and POSReady 2009 |
| KB4486463 | 2019-02 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4487085 | Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4489973 | 2019-03 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4489977 | 2019-03 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4490385 | 2019-03 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4493793 | 2019-04 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4493794 | 2019-04 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4493795 | 2019-04 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4493796 | 2019-04 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4493797 | 2019-04 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4494528 | 2019-04 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
| KB4495022 | 2019-04 Security Update for POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems |
For Windows Vista and later, and Office 2010 and later, we currently recommend not installing updates dated past March 2018.
We recommend hiding these updates using Legacy Update (“Don’t show this update again” checkbox) or the Windows Update control panel (right-click and select “Hide update”) to ensure Automatic Updates doesn’t reinstall them.
You may also have issues with the 2019-02 Security Update for WES09 and POSReady 2009 for x86-based Systems (KB4486463). Refer to our article on it for more information.