Windows Bids Goodbye to the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

Microsoft is making changes to the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) that appears after your Windows PC crashes or faces an issue. Now, the BSOD screen is being replaced by a black screen, and this change will roll out to all Windows 11 PCs running version 24H2, later this summer. The new black screen on Windows 11 will show the stop code and the driver that caused the issue.

In April this year, Microsoft started experimenting with the black screen on Windows 11 Insider channels. Finally, as part of a broader resiliency initiative, Microsoft has made this change. Microsoft’s VP of Enterprise and OS Security, David Weston, writes in a blog post:

We’re introducing a simplified user interface (UI) that pairs with the shortened experience. The updated UI improves readability and aligns better with Windows 11 design principles, while preserving the technical information on the screen for when it is needed.

Following the CrowdStrike incident last year which caused widespread issues globally, Microsoft started the Windows Resiliency Initiative to prevent such future disruptions. This black screen is one of the many changes Microsoft is bringing to Windows 11 to make the platform reliable and secure.

Apart from that, Microsoft is blocking antivirus providers and security vendors from running their security solutions in the Windows kernel. It means that antivirus programs will run in the user mode, just like any other app.

Weston writes, “The new Windows capabilities will allow them to start building their solutions to run outside the Windows kernel. This means security products like anti-virus and endpoint protection solutions can run in user mode just as apps do.“

In addition, Windows 11 is getting Quick Machine Recovery to fix boot failures via the internet. This is again part of a larger effort to minimize disruptions in case of an unexpected boot failure.