The notorious Blue Screen of Death, well-known by many Windows users, is getting a makeover.
Windows has killed the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), replacing it with the Black Screen of Death (also BSOD). The original blue screen, which also featured a sad-face emoticon, has been around for about 40 years. Windows users will now see a plain black screen and the words: « Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart. »
This change comes as Windows embarks on its Windows Resiliency Initiative, a project aiming to « embed resilience and security » directly into Windows platforms.
The initiative was announced after the CrowdStrike outage last year, a digital debacle that affected everything from airlines to banks to grocery stores. Across the world, Windows computers were hit by the BSOD: an error message that stops the computer from working.
Now, Windows is making moves to « maintain productivity and minimize disruptions, » according to a Microsoft blog post. The company is adding a quick machine recovery feature, so that Microsoft can target any issues without manual intervention. The new error screen features « simplified UI » – or, a black screen instead of a blue one.
The change, according to Microsoft, « improves readability, » while the new design « aligns better » with Microsoft’s aesthetic principles.
Say goodbye to the Blue Screen of Death. It’s the end of an era.
