Microsoft’s ‘Blue Screen of Death’ to Be Replaced
Microsoft is set to bid farewell to one of the most feared error messages of the computing world: the ‘Blue Screen of Death.’ The tech giant announced on Thursday that it will be replacing this iconic screen with a ‘Black Screen of Death’ later this summer. The new simplified screen will improve readability and better align with Windows 11 design principles while preserving technical information for when it’s needed. The message, displayed in white lettering on a black background, will read: “Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart.” For over three decades, Windows has used a blue screen to indicate serious system crashes or slowdowns. The original message was written by former CEO Steve Ballmer in the early 1990s. It would fill the screen with: “This Windows application has stopped responding to the system,” accompanied by options like ESC, ENTER, and CTRL+ALT+DEL. The evolution of the Blue Screen continued with contributions from engineers like John Vert, who designed one for Windows NT, and Raymond Chen, who helped finalize a new version for Windows 95 in 1995. According to Chen, all these screens were blue by coincidence. The decision to change comes after last year’s significant outage caused by a software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which unintentionally crippled Windows computers worldwide, affecting airlines, retail stores, and emergency response systems. This change marks the end of an era for a symbol that has been both a source of frustration and a cultural reference point for many computer users.
