Will the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update run on all Windows 7 and 8.x PCs?

[RobertBrown]

In general, all Windows 7 capable hardware should run Windows 10.

Device compatibility

Device compatibility in Windows 10 is also very strong; new hardware is not needed for Windows 10 as any device capable of running Windows 7 or later can run Windows 10. In fact, the minimum hardware requirements to run Windows 10 are the same as those required for Windows 7. Most hardware drivers that functioned in Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7 will continue to function in Windows 10.

There are sometimes BIOS bugs or other hardware design incompatibilities that keep a specific PC from running newer Windows 10 releases. In those cases, Microsoft generally throws up their hards and points you to the vendor for support, especially if the vendor doesn’t have specific statements about compatibility for that release.

I’ve had problems in the last two upgrades on different PCs that were not trivial to fix. Microsoft’s official answer was “not supported” but I eventually engaged workarounds to make it all work.