On Windows, the blue screen of death (BSOD) indicates that your system has suffered a fatal error it can't immediately recover from. It's been around the early days of Windows and is more officially known as the blue screen error or stop error.
As you might expect, the name comes from the fact that it turns the whole screen blue and displays an error message. Though the contents of the error screen have changed over time, with the introduction of a sad face in Windows 8, it's largely remained the same.
That is, until Windows 11, where Microsoft tore up the rule book and changed the meaning of the first letter in BSOD. No longer was the error screen blue, but rather black. Now, Microsoft is changing its mind—out with the black, in with the blue.
The Blue Screen of Death Is Actually Blue Again
On November 12, 2021, Microsoft rolled out Windows 11 build 22000.346 to Insiders on the Beta and Release preview channels. This is how Microsoft tests updates for Windows before rolling them out to the wider user base.
On the Windows blog detailing the changes in the update, one line reads:
We changed the screen color to blue when a device stops working or a stop error occurs as in previous versions of Windows.
Assuming the update goes smoothly, you can expect your Windows 11 machine to have a traditional blue screen of death soon. Though hopefully you never see it!
Why Has Microsoft Reverted to Blue?
Microsoft hasn't explained by it decided to move back from the black screen to the blue screen. However, there could be several reasons.
First, and perhaps most importantly, a traditional black screen of death is a different error, which can be caused for all sorts of reasons: display errors, a faulty Windows installation, overheating, and more. Having two different problems with the same name on Windows 11 is only asking for trouble, and IT helpdesks worldwide thank Microsoft for the change.
Second, the name "blue screen of death" is commonly accepted as the name for the error, despite not being the official one. Even though the screen was black on Windows 11, people still called it a blue screen of death.
Finally, what color do you most associate with Windows? It's probably blue. Whether it's the classic blue taskbar from Windows XP or the rolling blues of Windows 11's default bloom wallpaper, blue is quintessentially Windows. So why not keep it for the errors too?