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If NVIDIA drops GeForce GRD driver support for Windows 10 after October, you may use the last Vulkan beta driver compatible with Windows 10 and vkd3d-proton as a workaround for a while. However, if the game requires complete DirectStorage support, there is nothing you can do except upgrading. From 1507 to 22H2, Windows 10 has many versions, which have different hardware & software compatibility issues. So making a compatibility list for Windows 10 is a nightmare. Anyway, NVIDIA just dropped support for DCH control panel.

I am still using ESR 115 on Windows 10 22H2. However, it's annoying that more and more websites block ESR 115, including Intel's download center and NVIDIA's knowledgebase home page.

It explains why Windows 10 cumulative updates released before May 2025 were removed, excluding 1607.

I think it's just a coincidence because Intel often removes outdated drivers from official download center. Maybe MS does not want to spend money hosting outdated CU.

Yes. It seems that MS already removed old CU for 1809 from September 2022 to April 2025. Sometimes old features will be removed from latest CU, so you may want to check update history.

As of March 31, 2026, Microsoft removed outdated Windows 10 cumulative updates from MUC or other release channels. Windows 11 or Windows 8.1 are not affected by the decision. The decision affects Windows 10 version 1507 to 22H2, and deleted CU will be marked as expired. Although preview updates and out-of-band updates are still available, I think MS will delete these updates sooner or later. Another problem is MS only marked outdated CU as expired for the version which has LTSB or LTSC edition, but MS also deleted outdated CU released for the version which has no LTSB or LTSC edition and official update history support page has no information. Take version 1607 for example, KB5022838 which supports Home edition was removed, but MS kept KB5022289 because MS promised to help Atom Clover Trail users upgrade from 8.1 to 1607. MS also removed CU released for 1511, 1703, 1709, 1809, 2004, but it seems that 1803 is not affected.

I did more tests on 22H2 using GTX 1660Ti with modified dstoragecore.dll and NVIDIA driver 539.64. When SetThreadDescription is only available in KernelBase.dll and NVIDIA driver recognizes OS version as 1709, BulkLoad demo runs on 22H2 without any problem. So DirectStorage is 1607 ready. However, latest 1607 Home released on February 2023 still shows error irql_not_less_or_equal, and ntoskrnl.exe and ntfs.sys may have problem. I can't replace outdated ntoskrnl.exe so I don't know what will happen on Server 2016 with latest CU. Anyway, the worst scenario is 1607 just can't use DirectStorage.

In latest release notes of Intel SGX DCAP, Intel anticipates ending service updates for Windows-based version of SGX by the end of 2026, and the final release will be in 2H 2026. However, Intel didn't release standalone version of SGX PSW 2.27.100.1 for Windows.

I can run Final Fantasy VII Remake, but Final Fantasy VII Rebirth got fatal error and BulkLoad Demo crashed OS because they use DirectStorage. Although DirectStorage 1.1.0 or later fixed compatibility with Windows server 2016, it requires Turing or later NVIDIA GPUs and only Quadro RTX GPUs can work on 1607 without modification. I don't have a Quadro RTX card, so I don't know what will happen if I use Quadro RTX instead of GeForce RTX 4070. Anyway, this is an issue of SetThreadDescription support on 1607. Besides, r535 only supports shader model up to 6.6 on 1607.

Microsoft Visual C++ v14 Redistributable removed support for Visual Studio 2015. Besides, it seems that v14 Redistributable also dropped support for Windows 7.

After December 2025 Patch Tuesday, Windows Defender on 1607 can't download definition update when WU is disabled. But offline update still works.

Without the spec of your SDD, it is hard to find reasonable explanation because the performance of SDD could be affected by many factors. Latest version of Windows 10 may try to activate OneDrive on booting. If you use MSA, you also spend more time on booting. So I will use local account and don't connect to internet before the boot process is completed.

My latest hardware and driver combination of desktop PC. Intel Core i5-10400 ASUS Rog Strix Z490-F Gaming BIOS 3201 (modifying SGX and aperture size and make these options available, Intel GOP driver 1112) Intel ME 14.1.75.2420 Chipset INF Utility (10.1.18793.8276) Intel Graphics DCH drivers (31.0.101.2111) Intel Display Audio (10.27.0.14) Intel Network Adapter driver for Windows 10 (30.5) Intel Serial IO driver (30.100.2020.7) Intel Management Engine Interface driver (1937.14.0.1350 released for DELL Vostro 3590, then replacing MEI driver with latest 2512.7.3.0 at device manager) Intel SGX driver for Windows (2.15.100.4) Realtek HDA driver for Windows Vista/7 (6.0.9239.1) I've tried replacing processor microcode from FC to 100, then I found I screwed up the playback again. I also updated the firmware of Pioneer BDR-UD04 from 1.11 to 1.14. The patch is available from I-O DATA. I thought it may solve the problem that BDR-UD04 spent too much time identifying specific UHD Blu-ray disc, however it didn't solve the problem. Furthermore, BDR-UD04 becomes more sensitive to heat after updating to 1.14. Anyway, my BDR-UD04 spent too much time identifying Aniplex PMMM Beginnings and both PowerDVD 20 and 22 showed same error message 31001. But Aniplex PMMM Eternal and Rebellion have no problem. I guess I will need different ODD. ------ I solved the problem by using BDR-UD04FAL with firmware 1.21 instead of old BDR-UD04. Besides, I also solved the issue that Audigy Rx can't play Dolby TrueHD tracks on Aniplex UHD blu-ray discs by spending less time on menu.

I've tried installing KB5068781 on 21H2 Home edition and failed. Unlike LTSC, it seems that 21H2 Home edition also requires ESU activation just like 22H2. Although it is possible to display ESU activation option on 21H2 by Regedit, Microsoft only provides ESU activation service for 22H2 so I can't complete ESU activation on 21H2. Without ESU activation, the installation will be ended by WindowsWcpAIFailure3 and CbsPackageServicingFailure2. The default value of ESUEligibility is 1, and ESUEligibilityResult is 3. To display the option, the value of ESUEligibility should be 2, and ESUEligibilityResult should be 1. Anyway, the last CU for 21H2 Home edition is KB5066791, but KB5069340 for WinRE is still compatible. Finally, KB5071959 for 22H2 can replace KB5066791 on 21H2, but consumer ESU is still unavailable.

DXVK 2.7 or later requires VK_KHR_maintenance5, which is not supported by R535. Combining Vulkan beta driver 538.42 with latest PB driver 539.56 is a workaround, but it is not a perfect solution because graphics driver may crash at specific scene during gameplay. When I played RE:2, graphics driver kept crashing if Claire entered interrogation room. Another bad news is NVIDIA uses driver version instead of release date to show RTX driver search result. So the search result will not show old production branch anymore. I don't understand why NVIDIA made the mistake, because NVIDIA should know GRD and PB have different support policy.

Official link: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5695/kw/windows 10 NVIDIA will support Windows 10 with GRD and Studio drivers until October 2026. After October 2026, Windows 10 driver support will transition to a quarterly security update through October 2029. --------- Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta GPUs will only receive driver updates for critical security items beginning October 2025 and continuing through October 2028. https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5676/kw/windows 10/related/1

Microsoft removed Windoews To Go feature since Windows 10 version 2004. Maybe you can install latest version of windows 10 using 3rd party utilities, but it does not mean you won't have any problem.

To enroll the consumer ESU program, Microsoft account is required and must be an administrator account. Users can use existing ESU license on up to 10 devices. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-consumer-extended-security-updates-esu-program-33e17de9-36b3-43bb-874d-6c53d2e4bf42

Intel discontinued SGX Attestation Service on April 2, 2025. So it is impossible to complete first SGX online verification using PowerDVD. According to the information from Blu-ray.com, a PowerDVD user failed to complete the SGX verification after replacing CPU. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/developer/archive/tools/sgx-attestation-service-utilizing-epid.html https://www.cyberlink.com/support-center/faq/content?id=29776

And Microsoft will provide Security Intelligence Updates for Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows 10 through October 2028.

Microsoft still tries to encourage upgrading to Windows 11, so there is no reason to stop the activation for Windows 10 now. The real problem is you may not be able to find out Windows 10 compatible driver for new PC, because some devices only have Windows 11 driver.

I found no problem using latest ASUS BIOS 0066 for NUC 10 and latest BIOS 3201 with ME firmware 14.1.75.2420 for ASUS Z490 motherboard. Intel released latest ME driver 2514.7.16.0. However, PowerDVD 22 can't support latest AACS, which means someday playing UHD Blu-ray discs with unsupported AACS2 will be a problem. Another bad news is Pioneer sold PDDM and stopped making ODD.

I uninstalled Microsoft Edge and didn't have any WebView updates downloaded. The view of calendar in 21H2 Home didn't change even with latest CU installed.

Microsoft already ended upgrading from Windows 8 to 10. You can upgrade Windows 8 to Windows 10 version 1607, but you can't pass online verification so you have to use outdated 1607 offline.

If you checked my FurMark2 benchmark score record, you should know the impact of graphics driver security updates usually can be ignored if there is no critical compatibility issue.