Latest news with #BlueScreenOfDeath
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Microsoft's infamous Blue Screen of Death is finally going away for good
Microsoft has confirmed that it is killing off its iconic Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). The screen is something most Windows users (unfortunately) are all too familiar with—the azure shade that appears on a person's PC when Windows suffers a total system crash. He was buried in a mushroom casket. Soon he'll be part of the soil CEO of an $11 billion builder empire warns that these housing markets face a short-term oversupply Lifting the veil on the critical—and oft-times overlooked—factors driving AI growth Here's what you need to know about the death of the Blue Screen of Death. Though Windows has changed pretty radically since version 1.0 came out in 1985, several elements of Microsoft's operating system have stuck around in the four decades since, including file folders, scroll bars, resizable windows, and a blue screen that showed when something went wrong. Yes, the bane of Windows users everywhere has been a built-in part of the operating system in some form since the beginning. What is now known as the Blue Screen of Death debuted in Windows 1.0 in 1985, and since then, it has appeared on millions of screens—maybe billions around the world. The Blue Screen of Death has undergone several revisions over the decades, displaying different layouts and other data intended to help users identify the issue with their computer. And as it has sunk into the public consciousness, it's even been used by Microsoft's rivals to poke fun at the company. For decades, Apple's operating system for the Mac, currently known as macOS, has featured the Blue Screen of Death on the system icon representing networked Windows PCs. But it was last year that the Blue Screen of Death caught worldwide attention. The Blue Screen of Death appeared on Windows PCs around the world for days after the infamous CrowdStrike update that took down Windows machines across the globe. Unfortunately, Microsoft isn't killing off the Blue Screen of Death because the company has solved the problem of unexpected crashes and restarts. The BSOD screen will still exist on Windows going forward—just with a new color. After an update to the Windows operating system later this summer, the Blue Screen of Death will become, well, the Black Screen of Death. In a blog post announcing several steps that it is taking to enhance the Windows enterprise experience, Microsoft stated that the changes are 'part of a larger continued effort to reduce disruption in the event of an unexpected restart.' Specifically addressing the BSOD, Microsoft said it was introducing the simplified user interface to go along with a new, shortened recovery experience. '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,' the company said. In its blog post, Microsoft said that the new Black Screen of Death will replace the Blue Screen of Death in the Windows 11 24H2 update. The company says that the update will be available on all compatible devices 'starting later this summer.' RIP, Blue Screen of Death. We knew you too well. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Times
4 days ago
- New York Times
:( Microsoft's ‘Blue Screen of Death' Is Going Away
For millennials, blue can be a significant color. 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 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 Mr. Chen helped finalize a new one for Windows 95 in 1995. All of them were blue by coincidence, according to a blog post by Mr. 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. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Fast Company
Microsoft's infamous Blue Screen of Death is finally going away for good
Microsoft has confirmed that it is killing off its iconic Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). The screen is something most Windows users (unfortunately) are all too familiar with—the azure shade that appears on a person's PC when Windows suffers a total system crash. Here's what you need to know about the death of the Blue Screen of Death. An ignominious Windows staple for 40 years Though Windows has changed pretty radically since version 1.0 came out in 1985, several elements of Microsoft's operating system have stuck around in the four decades since, including file folders, scroll bars, resizable windows, and a blue screen that showed when something went wrong. Yes, the bane of Windows users everywhere has been a built-in part of the operating system in some form since the beginning. What is now known as the Blue Screen of Death debuted in Windows 1.0 in 1985, and since then, it has appeared on millions of screens—maybe billions around the world. The Blue Screen of Death has undergone several revisions over the decades, displaying different layouts and other data intended to help users identify the issue with their computer. And as it has sunk into the public consciousness, it's even been used by Microsoft's rivals to poke fun at the company. For decades, Apple's operating system for the Mac, currently known as macOS, has featured the Blue Screen of Death on the system icon representing networked Windows PCs. But it was last year that the Blue Screen of Death caught worldwide attention. The Blue Screen of Death appeared on Windows PCs around the world for days after the infamous CrowdStrike update that took down Windows machines across the globe. Black is the new Blue Unfortunately, Microsoft isn't killing off the Blue Screen of Death because the company has solved the problem of unexpected crashes and restarts. The BSOD screen will still exist on Windows going forward—just with a new color. After an update to the Windows operating system later this summer, the Blue Screen of Death will become, well, the Black Screen of Death. In a blog post announcing several steps that it is taking to enhance the Windows enterprise experience, Microsoft stated that the changes are 'part of a larger continued effort to reduce disruption in the event of an unexpected restart.' Specifically addressing the BSOD, Microsoft said it was introducing the simplified user interface to go along with a new, shortened recovery experience. '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,' the company said. When does the Windows Black Screen of Death arrive? In its blog post, Microsoft said that the new Black Screen of Death will replace the Blue Screen of Death in the Windows 11 24H2 update. The company says that the update will be available on all compatible devices 'starting later this summer.'
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
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. 2 2 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.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Windows' Infamous ‘Blue Screen of Death' Will Soon Turn Black
Nearly every Windows user has had a run in with the infamous 'Blue Screen of Death' at some point in their computing life. Now, after more than 40 years of being set against a very recognizable blue, the updated error message will soon be displayed across a black background. The changes to the notorious error screen come as part of broader efforts by Microsoft to improve the resiliency of the Windows operating system in the wake of last year's CrowdStrike incident, which crashed millions of Windows machines worldwide. 'Now it's easier than ever to navigate unexpected restarts and recover faster,' Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft wrote in a Wednesday announcement. As part of that effort, Microsoft says it's 'streamlining' what users experience when encountering 'unexpected restarts' that cause disruptions. And that means a makeover to the infamous error screen. Beyond the now-black background, Windows' new 'screen of death' has a slightly shorter message. It's also no longer accompanied by a frowning face and instead shows a percentage completed for the restart process. Microsoft says this 'simplified' user interface for unexpected restarts will be available later this summer on all of its Windows 11 (version 24H2) devices. And for PCs that may not restart successfully, Microsoft on Wednesday also said it is adding a 'quick machine recovery' mechanism. This will be particularly useful for during a widespread outage, the tech giant noted, as Microsoft 'can broadly deploy targeted remediations' and automate fixes with this new mechanism 'without requiring complex manual intervention from IT.' Microsoft said this quick machine recovery will also be 'generally available' later this summer on Window 11 with additional capabilities set to launch later in the year.
