Latest news with #BlackScreenofDeath
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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- Business Standard
Microsoft's Windows 11 update revamps BSOD with black, brings new tools
Microsoft has begun rolling out a redesign of the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) in its latest Windows 11 update, replacing the familiar blue interface with a new Black Screen of Death. This visual overhaul brings a cleaner design that better matches the modern aesthetics of Windows 11. In addition to the refreshed crash screen, the update introduces enhanced recovery tools, improved accessibility options, more intuitive navigation across system settings, and a set of new AI-powered features aimed at streamlining the overall user experience. A redesigned BSOD: What's changing? For decades, the BSOD has appeared with its signature blue background, a sad face emoji, and technical stop codes when Windows encounters a fatal error. In the new update, Microsoft is streamlining this screen — removing the emoji and QR code — and introducing a simplified black layout. The stop code and technical details will still be there, but presented in a more readable way to help users and IT teams troubleshoot issues faster. This redesign is part of Microsoft's Windows Resiliency Initiative, aimed at reducing downtime and making error screens less cryptic. The black background now matches the visual style users already see during updates or system restarts, helping create a more unified and less jarring experience when crashes occur. Other features arriving with the update Alongside the updated BSOD, the new Windows 11 build introduces several enhancements across system usability, security, and AI integration: Quick Machine Recovery: In case of widespread boot failures, the system will now automatically enter recovery mode and attempt a fix through Windows Update, reducing the need for manual troubleshooting. Settings Redesign: On Copilot+ PCs, a new AI-powered settings agent can understand natural-language queries (like 'make my pointer bigger') and take appropriate actions. Click to Do Enhancements: New text-based actions like reading practice, immersive reading, and quick drafting with Microsoft Word are being introduced. File Explorer and Search Improvements: Minor interface fixes and performance enhancements have been made to address file navigation delays and improve search settings consolidation. Input and Gamepad Enhancements: A redesigned on-screen keyboard for game controllers now supports PIN login and easier navigation for gamers. While the Recall feature (for exporting snapshots of your PC activity) is being introduced, it is currently only rolling out in the European region, so it will not be available to users in India or other non-EEA regions just yet. Rollout and availability The update, Windows 11 Build 26100.4762, is now rolling out via the Release Preview Channel for users running Windows 11 version 24H2. It will be available more broadly later this year as part of Microsoft's official 24H2 release cycle, expected around late summer 2025. Features like the redesigned BSOD and Quick Machine Recovery will be enabled by default for most users.
Mint
11-07-2025
- Mint
It's official! Micosoft's new Black Screen of Death is coming to Windows 11. All you need to know
After making the official annoucement a couple weeks back, Microsoft is finally beginning to get rid of its Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error message. The sad face, blue screen and QR code are now making way for a simplified black screen that will simply show users that there device has run into a problem. The Black Screen of Death error message is now rolling out with Windows 11 Release Preview, suggesting that it should come to all Windows 11 users via an update in the coming weeks. Microsoft has brought Black Screen of Death error message on Windows While the inherent reason behind the change to new error message is apparent, Microsoft doesn't seem to be looking to publicly acknowledge so. The company attributes the change as a move towards 'simplified user interface (UI)' and 'providing better information' to users. 'The updated UI improves readability and aligns better with Windows 11 design principles, while preserving the technical information on the screen for when it is needed.' Microsoft added in a blogpost. After the CrowdStrike outage last year, Microsoft had commissioned a Windows Resiliency Initiative which aimed to engrave security measures more deeply into Windows in order to make a crisis like last year's more unlikely. Microsoft had also switched to a black screen error message in test builds of Windows 11 in 2021 but the current change is going to be a permanent one. The new black screen just shows the error message: 'Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart' along with error code at the bottom and the restart percentage firmly placed in the middle. Apart from changing the BSOD error message, Microsoft is also rolling out a new Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) feature with the new Windows build that is aimed at allowing Windows devices to boot up quickly in case the restart was unsucessful.
Mint
01-07-2025
- Mint
Windows' infamous Blue Screen of Death is gone: What's changing and why you'll (hopefully) never see its replacement
If you've used a Windows PC for a long length of time, you probably know the feeling: you're working away, maybe on something important, and suddenly your screen turns a shocking blue. The dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) has struck. For forty years, this error screen has been the universal sign that something has gone seriously wrong with your computer. Now, Microsoft is finally making a change that's both fundamental and, for most people, invisible. The iconic blue is being retired, replaced by a new Black Screen of Death. And if all goes well, you'll never have to lay eyes on it. Microsoft has confirmed that the next generation of Windows, starting with Windows 11 version 24H2, will swap out the classic blue error screen for a black one. The new look ditches the frowning face, the QR code, and, of course, the blue background. Instead, you'll see a simplified, black interface that's more in line with Windows 11's modern design. The error message will be straightforward: 'Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart.' Technical details about the problem or the faulty system driver will still be there if you want to dig deeper, but the overall experience is cleaner and less intimidating. The timing isn't random. After last year's massive CrowdStrike outage, which plastered the BSOD across airports, supermarkets, and offices worldwide, Microsoft decided it was time for a rethink. The company's new Windows Resiliency Initiative aims to make Windows more robust and less likely to crash in the first place. One big improvement is speed. Microsoft says the new Black Screen of Death will reboot your device in about two seconds for most users, which should make those rare crashes much less painful. The Blue Screen of Death has been part of Windows since the very beginning, but it wasn't always blue. The original Windows 1.0 error screens were cryptic, DOS-style messages. The blue background arrived with Windows NT in 1993, and it quickly became infamous. By the time Windows 95 launched, the BSOD had hit pop culture status, even making a surprise appearance during Bill Gates' live demo. Over the years, the screen became a meme, a punchline, and a source of countless IT jokes. Microsoft tweaked the design over time - adding a sad face in Windows 8, QR codes in Windows 10, and even briefly testing a black version in early Windows 11 builds before reverting to blue after user backlash. Colour: Blue is out, black is in. Design: Cleaner, simpler, and more in line with Windows 11. Info: Still technical, but easier to read. Speed: Restart times cut to about two seconds. Extras: No more frowning face or QR code. Microsoft's David Weston summed it up in conversation with The Verge: this is about 'clarity and providing better information,' so users and support teams can get to the root of the problem faster. If Microsoft gets its way, you'll hardly ever see the new Black Screen of Death. The goal is to make Windows more stable and resilient, so critical errors are rare. But for those who do encounter it, the experience should be less jarring and a bit more helpful. After forty years, the Blue Screen of Death is finally being laid to rest. Here's hoping you never meet its successor.
The Star
30-06-2025
- The Star
:( Microsoft's 'blue screen of death' is going away
For millennials, blue can be a significant colour. It is associated with clues left by a well-meaning dog in our youth. Songs about a little guy that lives in a blue world (Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di). Or the rage-inducing abject failure of the Windows computer in front of us. In other words, the Blue Screen of Death. And now, the world is set to bid a fond farewell to a generation's most feared and notable error message, as Microsoft announced June 26 that the screen was being officially replaced by a less friendly but more efficient Black Screen of Death. The simplified screen, Microsoft said in a blog post, would roll out later this summer, and 'improves readability and aligns better with Windows 11 design principles, while preserving the technical information on the screen for when it is needed.' A new message – in white lettering – is slated to say, 'Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart.' For more than three decades, Windows has denoted some sort of serious crash or slow down in its system with a blue screen. An early version of the message was written by the former chief executive, Steve Ballmer, according to Raymond Chen, a longtime Microsoft programmer. The message, released in the early 1990s, would fill the screen: 'This Windows application has stopped responding to the system.' Underneath, multiple soothing options were provided over the blue-screen background, including ESC, and ENTER – which would give you false hope that the problem was fixable – and then the last resort 'CTRL+ALT+DEL' to give up and start over. An engineer named John Vert designed one for Windows NT soon after, and Chen helped finalize a new one for Windows 95 in 1995. All of them were blue by coincidence, according to a blog post by Chen. The change to a black screen comes in the wake of last year's outage generated by the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Its software update unintentionally crippled computers using Windows software all around the world, causing disruptions to service for airlines, retail stores and emergency response systems. 'I like the Blue Screen of Death. To me, it means a lot. It's calming because it's blue and it's got this kind of comical side to it,' said Jake Moore, a cybersecurity adviser for ESET, a company based in Europe. Moore, 43, grew up with the blue screen. He even dressed up as the screen for an office Halloween party. It has become a pop-culture icon itself – an oft-memed image linked to something gone wrong. Apple has mocked it in the past. Famously (or notoriously, depending on whether you worked at Microsoft at the time), the blue screen flashed while Bill Gates and his assistant, Chris Capossela, were presenting the new Windows 98 at a trade show in 1998. But after the CrowdStrike incident, Moore said that the blue screen may have overstayed its welcome. 'When it triggered millions of blue screens of death around the world, I think the way it has become so synonymized with the outage, I could see that may have created a time for change,' Moore said. The change of the blue screen to black is causing an unusual type of nostalgia – longing for a reminder of bad times. 'I like Microsoft products. I have nothing against them,' Brian Konkel, an information technology professional, said. 'They've been good to me. But there's so many times that has caused fear and dread in me when a customer calls up and says, 'I have the Blue Screen of Death.' It just brings back a lot of funny and fond memories of pure horror.' Konkel, 58, ran IT programs at the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration in a career that began shortly before the blue screen's debut. He said that losing the blue screen was analogous to society moving on from cassettes and compact discs. But moving on from the blue screen specifically is particularly meaningful as artificial intelligence has become increasingly prominent. ' Sometimes it's not bad having a 'Blue Screen of Death' pop up to remind you that this thing isn't human,' Konkel said. 'It's actually something we created and we are still somehow in control.' The black screen, Microsoft says, is a signifier of better days ahead. It will be 'easier than ever to navigate unexpected restarts and recover faster,' the company said in a blog post. 'This is really an attempt on clarity and providing better information,' David Weston, a vice president of enterprise and operating system security at Microsoft, told The Verge this week, adding that the company hoped to provide faster fixes to computer errors. Customers may get a better experience, but that doesn't mean everyone is ready to say goodbye. 'I've learned so much from playing around with hardware, making mistakes, understanding what caused the 'Blue Screen of Death',' Moore said. 'It made me want to progress. It'll be a shame to see it go. To some people it might not mean much. They might not even realize or notice any change. But to me, it's an end of an era.' – This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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Business Standard
29-06-2025
- Business Standard
Microsoft retires iconic 'Blue Screen of Death' after three decades
Sopan Deb For millennials, blue can be a significant colour. It is associated with clues left by a well-meaning dog in our youth. Songs about a little guy that lives in a blue world (Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di). Or the rage-inducing abject failure of the Windows computer in front of us. In other words, the Blue Screen of Death. And now, the world is set to bid a fond farewell to a generation's most feared and notable error message, as Microsoft announced on Thursday that the screen was being officially replaced by a less friendly but more efficient Black Screen of Death. The simplified screen, Microsoft said in a blog post, would roll out later this summer, and 'improves readability and aligns better with Windows 11 design principles, while preserving the technical information on the screen for when it is needed.' A new message — in white lettering — is slated to say, 'Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart.' For more than three decades, Windows has denoted some sort of serious crash or slow down in its system with a blue screen. An early version of the message was written by the former chief executive, Steve Ballmer, according to Raymond Chen, a longtime Microsoft programmer. The message, released in the early S, would fill the screen: 'This Windows application has stopped responding to the system.' Underneath, multiple soothing options were provided over the blue-screen background, including ESC, and ENTER — which would give you false hope that the problem was fixable — and then the last resort 'Ctrl+Alt+Del' to give up and start over. An engineer named John Vert designed one for Windows NT soon after, and Chen helped finalise a new one for Windows 95 in 1995. All of them were blue by coincidence, according to a blog post by Chen. The change to a black screen comes in the wake of last year's outage generated by the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Its software update unintentionally crippled computers using Windows software all around the world, causing disruption. 'I like the Blue Screen of Death. To me, it means a lot. It's calming because it's blue and it's got this kind of comical side to it,' Jake Moore, a cybersecurity adviser for the European-based company ESET, said. But after the CrowdStrike incident, Moore said that the blue screen may have overstayed its welcome. 'When it triggered millions of blue screens of death around the world, I think the way it has become so synonymised with the outage, I could see that may have created a time for change,' Moore said. The change of the blue screen to black is causing an unusual type of nostalgia — longing for a reminder of bad times. The black screen, Microsoft says, is a signifier of better days ahead. It will be 'easier than ever to navigate unexpected restarts and recover faster,' the company said in its blog post. Customers may get a better experience, but that doesn't mean everyone is ready to say goodbye.'I've learned so much from playing around with hardware, making mistakes, understanding what caused the 'Blue Screen Of Death,'' Moore said. 'It made me want to progress. It'll be a shame to see it go. To some people it might not mean much. They might not even realise or notice any change. But to me, it's an end of an era.'
