Microsoft replaces 'blue screen of death' after 40 years

Microsoft is discontinuing the iconic Windows blue screen of death after almost 40 years. Most Windows users have encountered this screen and its 'Recovery' message at inconvenient times. The software company announced a new black screen of death as a replacement.

The change comes after a major global outage caused by a faulty update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. This outage affected airlines, hospitals, emergency services, banks, and millions of Microsoft users, leading to crashes on approximately 8.5 million Windows systems and significant financial losses.

Microsoft aims to enhance its cyber resilience by simplifying the unexpected restart experience and introducing quick machine recovery for PCs that fail to restart successfully. The new recovery system will be available on Windows 11 devices later this summer, reducing restart wait times to two seconds for most users.

According to David Weston, Microsoft's vice-president of enterprise and OS security, the goal is to provide clearer information to address issues faster. The blue screen, developed in the early 90s, will be replaced with a more informative and efficient system.

According to the source: The Irish Independent.