Windows 11 installation

[Calobata]

Windows 11 is now issued as standard with new laptops.
On mine iMatch will not install, or should I say will not run once installed. The version I used was 2023-14-2.

• I also had difficulties installing Nikon software on this laptop (NX Studio & NX Tether) which I solved by copying files from my desktop to the laptop's "Program files" folder as their installs failed to copy there.

Consequently I tried installing iMatch to the default "Program files" folder  then a second attempt to the "Program files (x86)" folder.
In neither case could I achieve a successful install. iMatch will not run.
Any advice would be appreciated.
[The laptop is a 4 day old Lenova Yoga]

[Mario]

I use IMatch on 3 computers with Windows 11. No similar issue was ever reported before.

What doe you mean by "will not run". Do you see any error message?

Or did you purchase an ARM computer with the ARM version of Windows?
ARM is not compatible to software written for Intel/AMD processor architectures.

IMatch relies on a processor feature called AVX (see hardware and software requirements) and a little test utility I wrote back in the day: https://www.photools.com/7438/the-photools-com-system-information-utility/

If you have an ARM laptop, native Intel/AMD software like IMatch is run with a "simulation layer" included in Windows ARM. And as far as I know, this layout does not yet support ARM. The effect is that IMatch fails to start or stops as soon as a function is called that uses AVX internally.

[Calobata]

No messages seen, just the swirling blue circle for a couple of seconds then nothing
And yes it is an ARM-based processor
Is there a solution?

Many thanks Mario

[Mario]

And yes it is an ARM-based processor

Is there a solution?

No. ARM processors are incompatible with software designed and written for Intel/AMD processors.
If the Microsoft emulation layer is unable to provide AVX features, IMatch cannot work.

The emulation layer maps the processor instructions of Intel/AMD to ARM. Which often works without too much of a nuisance. But for software like IMatch which uses instructions like AVX to speed up math, the missing AVX support in the Windows on ARM emulation layer means: does not work, sorry.
Since AVX and other vector extensions are used to make math fast, it probably would not do much when emulated, except being even slower than no AVX at all...

The only solution would be for me to create a special ARM version of IMatch.
Which would be expensive and time consuming. It is not only my code, but also the code or many 3rd parry tools and libraries I use that would have to rewritten for ARM by the vendors. And I doubt there will be a market.

The last processor generations released by Intel and AMD available now in products from Dell to Lenovo are fully compatible with all Windows software, as fast as ARM and have a nearly as good power consumption. While being able to run all Windows software without emulation. This reduces the incentive to buy ARM PCs with all the known compatibility issues for most users, I guess.,

[Mario]

I've just read that Microsoft has added support for AVX to their emulation layer for Windows 11 on ARM processors (currently only available in the insider builds). If the missing AVX is the only thing that prevents IMatch from running on ARM, this should solve the problem.

Since AVX is used to speed up things like face recognition, I'm not sure how fast the simulation will be, though.
I've required AVX in 2021 because it makes AI functions in IMatch like face recognition about 10 times as fast than doing it with "normal" processor instructions.