Microsoft has revealed its fabled and feared Blue Screen of Death, signalling the need for a immediate restart, is changing.
The UI feature, which for decades has signalled that Windows has encountered a problem it can’t recover from without a reboot, will be a Green Screen of Death. So whenever the best Windows laptops need some time-out from your constant demands, Windows is going green.
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No more emoticon sad face or QR code. Instead it’ll be replaced by a simple message explaining to users that “your device ran into a problem and needs to restart,” along with a percentage figure indicating the progress. It now looks more like a regular Windows Update users encounter when installing new software patches.
“We’re previewing a new, more streamlined UI for unexpected restarts which better aligns with Windows 11 design principles and supports our goal of getting users back into productivity as fast as possible,” Microsoft writes in a blog post detailing the change.
“We’ve simplified your experience while preserving the technical information on the screen. As a reminder, for Windows Insiders this appears as a “green screen”.”
Previous reports (from The Verge and others) showed a black version of the same screen so it’s not clear whether Microsoft is experimenting with different options. The Green SoD at least signals new life, which is effectively what is happening as Windows finds a way to work again. The Black SoD feels finite which, to be fair, the Blue Screen of Death often was.
Microsoft is currently previewing the change to Windows Insiders running the Windows 11 24H2 update.
Feeling blue?
We’re pretty sure you won’t miss the BSoD, but you also won’t want to see the new version either. Anyway, let’s pour one out for one of the all time classic indicators of a consumer tech SNAFU. You can file this under the spinny beach ball on Apple devices, the Red Ring of Death on Xbox, and the clicking hard drive on an iPod.
They were all sounds and sights you never wished to hear or see, but they’re all little pieces of tech history in their own right.
