Windows “Blue Screen of Death” will now be black – In The News

ByCraig Haley

There has been a number of “end of an era” moments in the annals of home computing recently.

Only very recently did Microsoft announce the end of Internet Explorer, their go-to Internet browser since Windows 1995. Adobe finally retired the end of Flash and Flash Player, responsible for so many famous graphics and games in the early days of the Internet. And it’s only a matter of time before the iconic HTTP web address prefix disappears entirely, steadily being replaced by its secure counterpart HTTPS.

And if early reports from those testing Windows 11 are to be believed, there is another coming. The infamous “Blue Screen of Death” which we all love to hate is apparently changing colour – to black.

What is the Blue Screen of Death?

Often shortened to BSoD, the blue screen of death was Microsoft Windows’s way of telling you it has suffered a serious problem – a crash – and had to close. In return it offered you some information about why it crashed written on a bright blue screen. But for the layman this just always seemed to be nonsensical gibberish, though the information was useful to those software and hardware developers out there.

The Blue Screen of Death isn’t something you ever want to see. It means something went seriously wrong and you needed to restart your computer. And yes, this would mean anything you were working on was lost (something that modern software’s Autosave features have since made a little less dramatic.)


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The Blue Screen of Death has been around for a while, first introduced in Windows 3.0 back in 1990. It was given its more recognisable and iconic look in Windows 1995. A sad smiling icon was added in Windows 8 and QR codes added in Windows 10.


The Blue Screen of Death with Windows 95


The Blue Screen of Death with Windows XP


The Blue Screen of Death with Windows 8


The Blue Screen of Death with Windows 10

And while [thankfully] BSoD errors have become less frequent due to improved software stability, we have always used Windows knowing that sudden BSoD screens are always a possibility, just a flick of a screen away.

The Black Screen of Death

Microsoft has reportedly wanted the BSoD to match the new opening and shutdown screens that come with Windows 11, which are also black and part of a design overhaul that comes with the latest operating system.

Testers for Windows 11 have included images of the new error screen, like below.

Images from Windows 11 testers show the BSoD is identical to what it was in Windows 10 including the sad face and QR codes, with the obvious exception of the colour which is now black.


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At least, we suppose, it can keep the same acryomn. So there’s that! But it seems that the iconic Blue Screen of Death will soon be a thing of the past, and yes, another end of an era. Though one that many may not be so sad to see gone.

Windows 11 has currently rolled out to testers and is expected to be available to the general public later in the year.