Adobe Photoshop Requires Windows 10 Anniversary Update Version 1607
Relaunch the installer as an administrator by right-clicking it and choosing .
If you are already on version 1607 or newer but still see the message, try reinstalling the Visual C++ Redistributables or running Windows Update again to install missing cumulative updates.
LTSB/LTSC editions are designed for mission-critical systems where stability is paramount, so they intentionally do not receive feature updates for years. This makes them excellent for running industrial equipment but incompatible with modern consumer software like Adobe Creative Cloud.
The update enabled support for newer hardware and API improvements, such as Windows Ink and better touch/stylus support, which are vital for artists and designers using tablets. Relaunch the installer as an administrator by right-clicking
If the built-in Windows Update tool is stuck or failing to find newer versions, you can force the update using Microsoft's official tool.
The Windows 10 Anniversary Update represents a major baseline shift for commercial software development. Released in August 2016, it updated core application programming interfaces (APIs) used by developers. Specification Release Date August 2, 2016 Architecture 64-bit required for modern Photoshop DirectX Version DirectX 12 compatibility improvements How to Check Your Current Windows Version
While version 1607 was once the minimum, modern versions of Photoshop have much higher requirements: This makes them excellent for running industrial equipment
If the standard Windows Update menu stalls or falsely reports that the machine is current, use the manual Microsoft upgrade path: Head to the official Microsoft Software Download Hub.
: This shift aligned with Microsoft’s own support lifecycle , as older versions of Windows 10 reached their end-of-service dates, leading Adobe to deprecate support for those same builds. Common Issues & Troubleshooting
Uncheck the box that says . Click Apply and then OK . The Windows 10 Anniversary Update represents a major
, and hit Enter. If you see a version lower than 1607, your OS is too old. Windows Update Assistant : Standard Windows Updates can fail silently. Using the official Microsoft Media Creation Tool
To help resolve this installation blocker, could you share your current , the specific Photoshop version you are trying to install, or any error codes you see? Share public link
: Adobe typically justifies these jumps to leverage newer OS-level technologies, such as improved High-DPI support , per-monitor scaling, and newer graphics APIs that older Windows builds don't fully support .