Iconic blue screen of death is killed off after 40 YEARS – Microsoft reveals new sign your computer is broken
THE blue screen of death is disappearing from computer screens after 40 years of filling people with dread.
Microsoft is set to replace the iconic slate that no one wants to see later this summer.
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In a bittersweet announcement, the tech giant said it is "streamlining the unexpected restart experience".
"This change is part of a larger continued effort to reduce disruption in the event of an unexpected restart," David Weston, Microsoft's Vice President of Enterprise and OS Security revealed.
A part of that is slashing the downtime during the worrying unexpected restart to about two seconds for most people.
The blue screen of death will be replaced by a simpler black screen of death instead.
There's also no longer a frowning face or a QR code.
It'll start to appear on Windows 11 machines running version 24H2.
Despite being a symbol of doom, users on social media said the change marks the "end of an era".
"The Blue Screen of Death is dying for one last time and Windows crashes just won't be the same ever again!" one person wrote on X.
"One of the most unnecessary changes ever – and that says a lot when it's Windows 11 we're talking about," another commented.
"But… I was literally just getting used to it," a third joked.
The overhaul comes amid a slew of improvements to deal with technical crashes following the crippling global IT meltdown last year.
Organisations across the globe were severely affected by a botched up security update from IT firm CrowdStrike which caused havoc for banks, hospitals and airlines.
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