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Microsoft’s infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) has long symbolized frustration, panic, and lost work. But the company is now considering a redesign for the dreaded crash alert.
Microsoft is testing the revamped BSOD in a new Windows 11 preview release that began rolling out last week. It's intended to simplify the alert with more blank space and a smaller font.
“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,” the company says.
Perhaps to reduce potential panic attacks, Microsoft removed the frowny face from the alert and the QR code that redirects users to the BSOD troubleshooting page. Instead, the new alert suggests that Windows has the problem under control, though it still preserves some technical information about the nature of the error by placing it at the bottom of the screen in a small font.
The test screen is also green, but that’s customary for Windows preview releases. If the redesigned BSOD alert becomes official, users can expect it to remain blue, though The Verge spotted a black version in test builds. In 2021, Microsoft made the BSOD black with the launch of Windows 11. By year's end, it was back to blue.
“This is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2 and higher in the Beta, Dev, and Canary Channels,” Microsoft says.
The latest redesign comes almost a year after a faulty software update from cybersecurity vendor CrowdStrike crashed millions of Windows PCs, prompting the BSOD on screens worldwide. So, it’s possible Microsoft wants an alert that's not associated with dire situations.
To prevent a repeat of the CrowdStrike outage, Microsoft has also been testing a new recovery mode for Windows to help IT administrators remotely fix a Windows machine even if it can't boot. This Quick Machine Recovery mode is now rolling out in the latest Windows 11 preview build.