Windows updates and Fusion restoration (W7>W10>W11)

[mbostonsprint]

This is a complex situation (for me), and is likely an indication of my level of Ludditeness, but I have recently done some OS updating (finally)on my office-workplace computer, which I was formerly using to run Fusion Ultimate prior to the unwelcome announcement that W7 would no longer be part of the family. The office computer I have "upgraded" (XPS8900) went from W7 Pro to W10 Pro, which I also have on one of my personal home systems; this one currently runs Fusion "just fine" for my purposes, as well as a laptop with W11 Pro. I also have a compact workstation which upgraded itself to W11 Pro, also working fine with Fusion. 

The recently-upgraded computer apparently cannot be upgraded to W11 Pro, due to the fact that its i7-6700 processor (4-core, 3.4GHz)is not on the "acceptable" list for the upgrade. Everything else is fine. Because of this, I am appraently unable to download Fusion as a new installation on this computer. Is there any known method to re-load my existing Fusion Ultimate on this system? I am running it on the system at home where I am writing this, which is a Dell XPS8300 with a measly i7-2600 processor (4-core, 3.4GHz as well), 16GB memory, a decent Nvidia card with 4GB.

I did perform a W7-based backup to our network at the office, and tried to then restore all the files and apps under the new W10 Pro OS, but that doesn't seem to have worked. I see at least 1GB of data/apps in backup files saved under W7 Pro, but it doesn't seem to want to come home, now under new management.

If anyone has suggestions to allow Fusion installation on a W10 Pro system, I'm interested. This was my primary reason for doing the W10 upgrade, which has now become unfortunate. Thanks - 

[dsouzasujay]

Hi @mbostonsprint 

Thanks for the detailed explanation, that actually helps clarify the situation quite a bit.

I want to clarify one important point based on the current system requirements: Fusion now officially supports Windows 11 only. While Windows 10 systems may still run Fusion in some cases, they are no longer part of the supported configuration.

That said, your hardware (i7-6700, 16GB RAM, dedicated GPU) is actually still quite capable from a performance standpoint. The limitation you are running into is primarily OS support, not hardware capability.

• System requirements for Autodesk Fusion

What this means for your situation:

• You will likely not be able to install the latest supported version of Fusion on Windows 10 going forward.
• Restoring Fusion from a Windows 7 backup will not work, as Fusion requires a clean install and cloud-based access.
• Your existing working systems (including the older i7-2600 machine) are likely running previously installed versions that have not yet been impacted.

Possible paths forward:

1. Attempt installation anyway on Windows 10
   In some cases, users are still able to install and run Fusion on Windows 10, though this is not guaranteed or supported.
2. Upgrade hardware to support Windows 11
   This is the officially supported path moving forward.
3. Continue using Fusion on your existing working machines
   Especially if they already meet your needs and have a functioning installation.

If you do try installing on the Windows 10 system and run into specific errors, feel free to share those here and we can take a closer look.

• For installation or update errors.

  • Windows: C:\Users\(username)\Appdata\Local\Autodesk\autodesk.webdeploy.streamer.log

Hope this helps clarify things a bit!

[mbostonsprint]

Thanks for the response. Your points are essentially 100% as expected, and as I have also concluded. I did not try a second clean install of Fusion post-W10 update, following my running the "PC Health Check" app, which is the assessment tool to determine (according to Dell and Microsoft, it seems) whether the system can be upgraded to W11. This tool told me that I needed to have TPM 2.0 enabled, as well as noting the processor "deficiency" as a fatal flaw for W11 upgrade. I performed the BIOS adjustment to enable TPM 2.0 protocol, which was successful, but the processor remains as the immovable roadblock to W11 success. I will give the Fusion download/installation another shot, and see if the TPM 2.0 setup makes any difference, although success seems unlikely. 

As you point out, the hardware involved is still fairly capable of doing the work, if only there was more interest on the part of software producers in keeping their product functionality alive for what I suspect is a huge body of PCs out there in small businesses where OS upgrades are a major PITA. I have empirical proof that Fusion works "fine" on W10 (at the moment, sure), and if it is running on W10 systems, it should be downloadable for W10 systems, at user's risk. In my opinion, the seemingly arbitrary judgement made in software development to cut off the functionality of an installer in regard to "officially unsupported" operating system is a poor choice, assuming that is what occurred. That said, I am not a developer or software architect, and often find myself wondering as a user "what were these guys thinking?!?", both with commercial software products, as well as my own company's product software. I also have to note that it seems a lot of other organizations are moving to close off W7 functionality for their software products as well as online access, which was another factor in upgrade necessity.

Thanks for the offer of some follow-up on this. I'll see what happens , and maybe I'll get lucky. In the meantime, is there a roadmap for Fusion versions compared to whatever roadmap Windows may have, so that I can see some future point at which I need to plan for another major hardware purchase? Thanks --

[dsouzasujay · Accepted solution]

Hi @mbostonsprint 

Thanks for the detailed follow-up, and I completely understand your perspective here.

You are right, your hardware is still capable, and many users are in a similar situation. The limitation you’re hitting is mainly due to support policy and installer restrictions, not raw performance.

It’s still worth trying a fresh install on Windows 10. In some cases it does go through, even if it’s not officially supported.

Regarding roadmap, there isn’t a published timeline tied to Windows versions, but the general direction is:

• Fusion aligns with Microsoft’s supported OS versions
• Windows 11 is now the baseline going forward

So for long-term use, planning for Windows 11 compatible hardware would be the safest approach.

If the install fails, feel free to share the log and we can take a closer look.

Appreciate the discussion!

[lauri_barnhart]

Hi @mbostonsprint,

Did the info from @dsouzasujay help answer your question?

If it did, it’d be great if you could click the "Accept Solution" button so others can easily find it too.

If you’re still needing more help, feel free to share an update here. The community will be happy to jump in with any next steps to help you get where you need to be.

Best, 

Lauri | Community Manager