Microsoft is starting to change its Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) to a new black version with a new design. This is the first major change to the BSOD since Microsoft added a sad face to the screen in Windows 8, and now Microsoft is removing that frowning face and QR code in favor of a more simplistic black screen.
The new BSOD is available today for Windows 11 Release Preview users, which means it will be available to all Windows 11 users in a few weeks. The simplified error message is very similar to the black screen you usually see when you update Windows.
It will show a stop code and a faulty system driver, making it easier for Windows users and IT administrators to understand what is causing a BSOD to appear on a computer. “It’s really an attempt to bring clarity and provide better information, and to allow us and customers to understand the nature of the problem so we can fix it faster,” David Weston, vice president of corporate and operational security at Microsoft, told The Verge in June.
Microsoft briefly turned the BSOD into a black screen in Windows 11 test builds in 2021, but this time it has made the change permanent. The BSOD change comes as part of the Windows 11 update, which also includes a new Microsoft Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) feature designed to quickly recover computers that can’t boot properly. QMR is part of a larger effort by Microsoft to improve the resiliency of Windows in the wake of last year’s CrowdStrike incident.
