Blue screen of death

<h2 id="history">History</h2>

Blue screen errors have been around since the first version of Windows in 1985. In the Beta Release of <a href="/facts/Windows_1.0/SfHQ6bIE">Windows 1.0</a>, if it detects a version of <a href="/facts/DOS/6nkoK02J">DOS</a> that is newer than the OS expects, the boot screen would have the text "Incorrect DOS version" alongside other messages detailing what check failed to pass appended into it before starting normally.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> This behavior remains in the final version released to retail (version 1.01); however, the remaining text messages were removed during development in the lead up to Windows 1.0's release, displaying <a href="/facts/Mojibake/ca2k33dL">mojibake</a> instead.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a> However, this is not a screen of death; when the operating system actually crashes, it either freezes or unexpectedly exits to DOS. This behavior was retained in <a href="/facts/Windows_2.0/KceDrznJ">Windows 2.0</a> and <a href="/facts/Windows_2.1/MJaaP7mA">Windows 2.1</a>.
<a href="/facts/Windows_3.0/AmCtP94m">Windows 3.0</a> uses a text-mode screen for displaying important system messages, usually from digital device drivers in <a href="/facts/386_Enhanced_Mode/AmCtP94m">386 Enhanced Mode</a> or other situations where a program could not run. <a href="/facts/Windows_3.1/zYnWyaC6">Windows 3.1</a> changed the color of this screen from black to blue. It also displays a blue screen when the user presses the <a href="/facts/Control-Alt-Delete/ooVy8kBT">Ctrl+Alt+Delete</a> key combination to bring up a rudimentary <a href="/facts/Task_manager/SVvCx9Yy">task manager</a>, reserved for quitting any unresponsive programs if they are available. Like previous versions of Windows before 3.0, Windows 3.x exits to DOS if an error condition was severe enough.

The first BSoD to indicate a critical system error appeared in <a href="/facts/Windows_NT_3.1/2mdmR1cL">Windows NT 3.1</a> (the first version of the <a href="/facts/Windows_NT/EtccWvxQ">Windows NT</a> family, released in 1993).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> The error screens initially started with *** STOP: in its earlier iterations, hence it became known as a "stop error." This format was used on <a href="/facts/History_of_Microsoft_Windows/Gfl9NkAe">all Windows operating systems</a> released afterwards, with various differences in later versions. Despite popular belief, there are no known genuine equivalents of a BSoD in the <a href="/facts/Windows_Embedded_Compact/bMUhjgqQ">Windows Embedded Compact</a> (formerly known as Windows CE) line of embedded operating systems.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a>
BSoDs can be caused by poorly written <a href="/facts/Device_driver/rDYnHU1G">device drivers</a> or malfunctioning hardware,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a> such as faulty <a href="/facts/Computer_memory/hQKVQ51J">memory</a>, power supply problems, overheating of components, or hardware running beyond its specification limits. In the <a href="/facts/Windows_9x/f1zwlghw">Windows 9x</a> line of operating systems, incompatible <a href="/facts/Dynamic-link_library/vySyC1dz">DLLs</a> or bugs in the operating system <a href="/facts/Kernel_(operating_system)/uEj4U3Rz">kernel</a> could also cause BSoDs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> Because of the general instability and lack of memory protection in Windows 9x, BSoDs were much more common.

<h3>Attribution</h3>

On September 4, 2014, several online journals such as <a href="/facts/Business_Insider/vxTTFRY4">Business Insider</a>, <a href="/facts/DailyTech/tv5EEMdk">DailyTech</a>, <a href="/facts/Engadget/ssC2RXHB">Engadget</a>, <a href="/facts/Gizmodo/2ec4gNKW">Gizmodo</a>, <a href="/facts/Lifehacker/ry9fQhw9">Lifehacker</a>, <a href="/facts/Neowin/j151dN6o">Neowin</a>, <a href="/facts/Softpedia/8u1I4nUj">Softpedia</a>, TechSpot, <a href="/facts/Boy_Genius_Report/ymnk9aH9">Boy Genius Report</a> (BGR), <a href="/facts/The_Register/3CEJaRob">The Register</a>, and <a href="/facts/The_Verge/GNkdYcJe">The Verge</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> as well as print and non-English sources like PC Authority and Austrian tech site FutureZone<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a> all attributed the creation of the Blue Screen of Death to <a href="/facts/Steve_Ballmer/8Yrdmxkp">Steve Ballmer</a>, the former <a href="/facts/CEO/mg4A8y5M">CEO</a> of Microsoft. The articles specifically cited a blog post by Microsoft employee <a href="/facts/Raymond_Chen_(Microsoft)/q2EJdDx2">Raymond Chen</a> entitled "Who wrote the text for the Ctrl+Alt+Del dialog in Windows 3.1?",<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a> which focused on the creation of the <a href="/facts/Control-Alt-Delete/ooVy8kBT">first rudimentary task manager</a> in Windows 3.x. The aforementioned task manager shared some visual similarities with a BSOD, with Ballmer writing the messages that appeared on the screen.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a>
Chen took notice of the widespread misinformation and addressed the issue himself in a blog post on September 9, 2014. According to Chen, he was scathing on his evaluation of major tech news sites that had picked up on the incorrect story and performed poor or non-existent research that demonstrated complete ignorance of his original account. He indicated that, in addition to the faulty base story, over half a dozen significant sites had included other embellished or invented details in their stories, including incorrectly naming Chen as a Microsoft executive, treating Chen as an "official company spokesperson", and using unrelated images from Windows NT or Windows 95 as illustrations. In addition, he also pointed out a very special mention for the worst single distortion out of any misinformations, which belonged to BGR (Boy Genius Report), who "fabricated a scenario and posited it as real" in a rhetorical question to readers. He also found that several sources had conflated the creation of the BSoD with the fact that they occur, thus inverting <a href="/facts/Cause_and_effect/Swh496X7">cause and effect</a> by implying that the invention of BSoDs caused fatal errors to occur instead of their actual, helpful function of giving the user information about a fatal error after the system has already become unrecoverable (such incorrect sources transitively blamed Ballmer for the existence of all fatal crashes in Windows).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> A day after his initial complaint, Chen would follow this up with another blog post on September 10, 2014, claiming responsibility for revising the BSoD in <a href="/facts/Windows_95/1E1L93qC">Windows 95</a>. His post said in detail that he was the one who "sort of" created the BSoD in its first modern incarnation in Windows 95.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a>
According to former Microsoft employee <a href="/facts/Dave_Plummer/9w2vL6s4">Dave Plummer</a>, the BSoD in the <a href="/facts/Windows_NT_family/EtccWvxQ">Windows NT family</a> was not based on the rudimentary task manager screen of Windows 3.x, but was actually designed by Microsoft developer John Vert.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> Additionally, Vert has also stated the reason why the error screens were given the color blue was because the universal color palette of the video hardware at that time was very rudimentary, and he personally used a <a href="/facts/MIPS_RISC%2fos/knhM1U3q">MIPS OS</a> box and <a href="/facts/SlickEdit/aAvGdx8V">SlickEdit</a> for programming so that both the firmware and editor displayed white text on a blue background, making for a more consistent programming experience.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a>

<h3>2025 retirement</h3>
On July 2025, Microsoft announced that they will be removing the blue screen of death after been displayed on computers screens for 40 years.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a>

<h2 id="formats">Formats</h2>
BSoDs originally showed <a href="/facts/Silver_(color)/X5nAsjg9">silver</a> text on a <a href="/facts/Royal_blue/smxM6pPJ">royal blue</a> background with information about current memory values and register values. Starting with Windows Server 2012 (released in September 2012), Windows adopted a <a href="/facts/Cerulean/t82F9IBF">cerulean</a> background. Earlier versions of <a href="/facts/Windows_11/J2ywV8r4">Windows 11</a> used a black background,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a> which was changed to dark blue starting with build 22000.348<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a> and then back to black with build 26120.3653.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a> Preview builds of Windows 10, Windows 11, and <a href="/facts/Windows_Server/5t7XxyUV">Windows Server</a> (available from the <a href="/facts/Windows_Insider/zMnRVcCJ">Windows Insider</a> program) feature a dark green background instead of a blue one.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a> Windows 3.1, 95, and <a href="/facts/Windows_98/6qtq4oJm">98</a> supports customizing the color of the screen<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25">25</a> whereas the color was hard-coded in the <a href="/facts/Windows_NT_family/EtccWvxQ">Windows NT family</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26">26</a>
Windows 95, 98, and <a href="/facts/Windows_Me/fjENFRNa">Me</a> render their BSoDs in the 80×25 <a href="/facts/Text_mode/641fGn4S">text mode</a> with a 720×400 <a href="/facts/Screen_resolution/8LQTWvl3">screen resolution</a>. BSoDs in the Windows NT family initially used the 80×50 text mode with a 720×400 screen resolution, but were displayed in a 640×480 screen resolution starting with Windows 2000. BSoDs from Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 onwards are rendered in higher resolutions than previous versions of Windows, specifically the highest screen resolution available on UEFI machines. On legacy BIOS machines, they use the 1024×768 resolution by default, but they can also be configured to use the highest resolution exposed by the firmware (via the highestmode parameter in <a href="/facts/Boot_Configuration_Data/2IQuCy3Y">Boot Configuration Data</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27">27</a> Windows 95, 98, Me, and NT versions prior to Windows 2000 used text mode fonts provided by the graphics adapter; Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7 used the built-in kernel mode font (which was changed to <a href="/facts/Lucida_Console/zRutpzLA">Lucida Console</a> in newer versions); and Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 onwards use the <a href="/facts/Segoe_UI/jQ1eIpza">Segoe UI</a> font.
Windows 10 builds 14316 and up uses the same format as Windows 8, but has a <a href="/facts/QR_code/B0l0IS7a">QR code</a> which leads to a Microsoft Support web page that tries to help users troubleshoot the issue step-by-step. This format was retained in Windows 11, however build 26120.3653 changes the layout to be more consistent with that of Windows 11's UI, removing the QR code among other changes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28">28</a>

<h2 id="windows-nt">Windows NT</h2>
In the <a href="/facts/Windows_NT/EtccWvxQ">Windows NT</a> family of operating systems, the blue screen of death (referred to as "<a href="/facts/Fatal_system_error/8fXB6FB7">bug check</a>" in the Windows <a href="/facts/Software_development_kit/2Hkk6Hbs">software development kit</a> and driver development kit documentation) occurs when the kernel or a driver running in <a href="/facts/Kernel_mode/27y4kjHs">kernel mode</a> encounters an error from which it cannot recover. This was usually caused by an <a href="/facts/General_protection_fault/Q92zbKIo">illegal operation</a> being performed. The only safe action the operating system can take in this situation was to <a href="/facts/Triple_fault/5hYJw4Mc">restart the computer</a>. Because of this, data loss may occur since the restart was unplanned, and the user was not given an opportunity to save their work.
The text on the error screen contains the code of the error and its symbolic name (e.g. "0x0000001E, KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED") along with four error-dependent values in parentheses that are there to help software engineers fix the problem that occurred. Depending on the error code, it may display the address where the problem occurred, along with the driver which was loaded at that address. Under Windows NT, the second and third sections of the screen may contain information on all loaded drivers and a stack dump, respectively. The driver information was in three columns; the first lists the base address of the driver, the second lists the driver's creation date (as a <a href="/facts/Unix_time/d8Et1sa2">Unix timestamp</a>), and the third lists the name of the driver.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29">29</a> By default, Windows will create a <a href="/facts/Memory_dump/rnhaVc2f">memory dump</a> file when a stop error occurs. Depending on the OS version, there may be several formats this can be saved in, ranging from a 64kB "minidump" (introduced in Windows 2000) to a "complete dump" which was effectively a copy of the entire contents of physical memory (<a href="/facts/RAM/DuD4bxh6">RAM</a>). The resulting memory dump file may be debugged later, using a kernel <a href="/facts/Debugger/mCe6UsWj">debugger</a>. For Windows, WinDBG or KD debuggers from <a href="/facts/WinDbg/7lfD8X9R">Debugging Tools for Windows</a> are used.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30">30</a> A debugger was necessary to obtain a <a href="/facts/Call_stack/1sMt713v">stack</a> trace, and may be required to ascertain the true cause of the problem; as the information on-screen was limited and thus possibly misleading, it may hide the true source of the error. By default, Windows XP was configured to save only a 64kB minidump when it encounters a stop error, and to then automatically reboot the computer. Because this process happens very quickly, the blue screen may be seen only for an instant or not at all. Users have sometimes noted this as a <a href="/facts/Reboot/BfdNXeNu">random reboot</a> rather than a traditional stop error, and are only aware of an issue after Windows reboots and displays a notification that it has recovered from a serious error. This happens only when the computer has a function called "Auto Restart" enabled, which can be disabled in the Control Panel which in turn shows the stop error.
Microsoft Windows can also be configured to send live debugging information to a kernel debugger running on a separate <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computer</a>. If a stop error was encountered while a live kernel debugger was attached to the system, Windows will halt execution and cause the debugger to break in, rather than displaying the BSoD. The debugger can then be used to examine the contents of memory and determine the source of the problem.
A BSoD can also be caused by a critical boot loader error, where the operating system was unable to access the boot partition due to incorrect storage drivers, a damaged file system or similar problems. The error code in this situation was STOP: 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31">31</a> In such cases, there was no memory dump saved. Since the system was unable to boot from the hard drive in this situation, correction of the problem often requires using the repair tools found on the Windows installation disc.

<h3>Details</h3>
<h4>Earlier versions (NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7)</h4>

BSoDs in the Windows NT family before the release of <a href="/facts/Windows_8/eRtw96T3">Windows 8</a> and <a href="/facts/Windows_Server_2012/W1vuUlSB">Windows Server 2012</a> displayed the error name in uppercase (e.g. APC_INDEX_MISMATCH) and its respective hexadecimal error number (e.g. 0x00000001), along with four parameters. This was shown together in the following format:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32">32</a>

<blockquote>error code (parameter 1, parameter 2, parameter 3, parameter 4) error name</blockquote>
Depending on the error number and its nature, all, some, or even none of the parameters contain data pertaining to what went wrong, and/or where it happened. In addition, starting with <a href="/facts/Windows_2000/amJIt9gz">Windows 2000</a> onwards, the error screens showed up to four paragraphs of general explanation and advice and may have included other technical data such the file name of the culprit and memory addresses.
In rare cases, the BSOD would be truncated, sometimes not showing the error name, codes, or the four paragraphs of advice. Instead, it would often show different formats of the error screen depending on the type of error that occurred. For instance, BSoDs related to the termination of the <a href="/facts/Winlogon/AACjUHLY">Winlogon</a> process (e.g. "0xC000021A, WINLOGON_FATAL_ERROR") displayed the following message in this format:

<blockquote>STOP: c000021a {Fatal System Error}The Windows Logon Process/SubSystem system process terminated unexpectedlywith a status of parameter 1 (parameter 2 parameter 3).The system has been shut down.</blockquote>
On Windows 2000, the above message was sometimes displayed alongside the four paragraphs of general instructions and advice, the latter of which are absent in the Windows XP–7 variation.
Another example was that when Windows finds a corrupt registry file that was critical to the operating system (e.g. "0xC0000218, STATUS_CANNOT_LOAD_REGISTRY_FILE"), it would display the following message:

<blockquote>STOP: c0000218 {Registry File Failure}The registry cannot load the hive (file):\SystemRoot\System\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate.It is corrupt, absent, or not writable.</blockquote>
Also, hardware errors that can prevent Windows from booting properly will also display this rare message (This example was 0x00000080 (NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE); note that the error code was not shown in this example below):

<blockquote>Hardware MalfunctionCall your hardware vendor for support.NMI: Parity Check / Memory Parity ErrorThe system has halted.</blockquote>
Additionally, when the system was performing a memory dump on the BSoD, the following message was displayed after the memory dump was done (after the "Physical memory dump complete" sentence):

<blockquote>Contact your system administrator/admin or technical support group for further assistance.</blockquote>
With the release of <a href="/facts/Windows_XP/IozrkAYS">Windows XP</a>, the layout of the BSoD was slightly altered, specifically the hexadecimal error number and the four parameters were moved to the bottom of the screen after the four paragraphs under the label "Technical information:". The error screens also began with the following infamous message:

<blockquote>A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.</blockquote>
On BSoDs with error code 0x000000F4 (CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION), which determines that a critical process has been exited or terminated unexpectedly by various factors (including intentional action by the user), the following message would be displayed in place of the error name:

<blockquote>A process or thread crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated.</blockquote>
This screen was re-used in <a href="/facts/Windows_Vista/IASEUCTB">Windows Vista</a> and <a href="/facts/Windows_7/tldLdbnX">Windows 7</a>. Additionally, on the corresponding 64-bit versions of these systems, the BSoD would oftentimes have the four parameters extended to sixteen digits ("0x0000000000000000") instead of eight ("0x00000000"). This applies to all future versions of Windows using the 64-bit architecture.

<h4>Later versions (Server 2012 and 8 onwards)</h4>

With the release of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, the BSoD was changed. It removed all of the above in favor of the error name and a concise description. Windows 8 also adds a sad emoticon to the error screen, which was absent from Japanese releases or its Windows Server counterparts. The hexadecimal error code and parameters can still be found in the <a href="/facts/Event_Viewer/YkmF3hrP">Windows Event Log</a> or in <a href="/facts/Memory_dump/rnhaVc2f">memory dumps</a>, however some BSoDs which used a truncated format from previous BSoDs such as those relating to Winlogon termination may have the aforementioned hexadecimal error code in place of the error name. Hardware errors causing an BSoD also uses the same format as the normal BSoD, including the use of the error name instead of an error code. One such example are BSoDs with the error name "NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE" (error code 0x00000080).
This format was retained in Windows 10 and Windows 11 (as well as its Server counterparts). Windows 10 build 14316 adds a <a href="/facts/QR_code/B0l0IS7a">QR code</a> to the screen for quick troubleshooting, and all references to "PC" were changed to the word "device" starting from Windows 10 v2004 onwards. The BSoD was once again changed starting with Windows 11 build 26120.3653, which included the removal of the QR code and the sad emoticon from the error screen as well as changes to the layout to be more consistent with that of Windows 11.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33">33</a>

<h2 id="windows-9x">Windows 9x</h2>

The <a href="/facts/Windows_9x/f1zwlghw">Windows 9x</a> line of operating systems used the Blue Screen of Death as the main way for <a href="/facts/VxD/Q69TjtnV">virtual device drivers</a> to report errors to the user. This version of the BSoD, internally referred to as "_VWIN32_FaultPopup", gives the user the option either to restart the computer or to continue using Windows, allowing the user to save their work before any data could be lost. Depending on the type of situation it may have occurred, however, the options to either continue or restart may or may not work at all. This was in contrast to the Windows NT version of BSoDs, which prevented the user from using the computer until it has been powered off or restarted (usually automatic for the latter).
The most common BSoD was displayed on an 80×25 text-mode screen, which was the operating system's way of reporting an interrupt caused by a processor exception; it was a more serious form of the <a href="/facts/General_protection_fault/Q92zbKIo">general protection fault</a> dialog boxes. The memory address of the error was given and the error type was a hexadecimal number from 00 to 11 (0 to 17 decimal). The error codes are as follows:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34">34</a>

<ul><li>00: <a href="/facts/Division_by_zero/wXK7t2Ge">Division fault</a></li>
<li>01: Startup Error</li>
<li>02: <a href="/facts/Non-maskable_interrupt/f7CWJU1B">Non-Maskable Interrupt</a></li>
<li>03: Shutdown Error</li>
<li>04: Overflow Trap</li>
<li>05: Bounds Check Fault</li>
<li>06: Invalid Opcode Fault</li>
<li>07: "<a href="/facts/Coprocessor/WsVXzAGo">Coprocessor</a> Not Available" Fault</li>
<li>08: Double Fault</li>
<li>09: Coprocessor Segment Overrun</li>
<li>0A: Invalid Task State <a href="/facts/Segmentation_fault/MvAqaWzT">Segment Fault</a></li>
<li>0B: Not Present Fault</li>
<li>0C: Stack Fault</li>
<li>0D: <a href="/facts/General_Protection_Fault/Q92zbKIo">General Protection Fault</a></li>
<li>0E: <a href="/facts/Page_fault/0pzn9ByX">Page Fault</a></li>
<li>0F: Error Message Limit Exceed</li>
<li>10: Coprocessor Error Fault</li>
<li>11: Alignment Check Fault</li></ul>
Reasons for BSoDs include:

<ul><li>Problems that occur with incompatible versions of <a href="/facts/Dynamic-link_library/vySyC1dz">DLLs</a>: Windows loads these DLLs into memory when they are needed by application programs; if versions are changed, the next time an application loads the DLL it may be different from what the application expects. These incompatibilities increase over time as more new software was installed. It was one of the many reasons why some people[who?] said that a clean install of Windows was more stable than an "old" one (or an in-place upgrade).</li>
<li>Faulty or poorly written <a href="/facts/Device_driver/rDYnHU1G">device drivers</a>.</li>
<li>Hardware incompatibilities.</li>
<li>Damaged hardware may also cause a BSoD.</li></ul>
In Windows 95 and 98, a BSoD occurs when the system attempts to access the file "c:\con\con", "c:\aux\aux", or "c:\prn\prn" on the hard drive. This could be inserted on a website to crash visitors' machines as a prank. In reality, however, they are <a href="/facts/DOS/6nkoK02J">reserved device names</a> for DOS systems; attempting to access them from Windows causes a crash, which in turn brings up said BSoD. Creating the aforementioned directories within Windows will also not work and may cause the same BSOD to occur. On March 16, 2000, Microsoft released a <a href="/facts/Patch_(computing)/sIHVBPls">security update</a> to resolve this issue.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35">35</a>
One famous instance of a Windows 9x BSoD occurred during a presentation of a Windows 98 <a href="/facts/Beta_software/z4Q4RElA">beta</a> given by <a href="/facts/Bill_Gates/z16t4m7s">Bill Gates</a> at <a href="/facts/COMDEX/8xz4Xv8K">COMDEX</a> on April 20, 1998: The demo PC crashed with a BSoD when his assistant, <a href="/facts/Chris_Capossela/I5nm6Bx3">Chris Capossela</a>, connected a scanner to the PC to demonstrate Windows 98's support for <a href="/facts/Plug_and_Play/LISny9tL">Plug and Play</a> devices. This event brought thunderous applause from the crowd and Gates replied (after a nervous pause): "That must be why we're not shipping Windows 98 yet."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36">36</a>
On June 26, 2025, Microsoft announced that the blue screen of death will be changed to black. The change will be released to <a href="/facts/Windows_11%2c_version_24H2/hJeC6AcL">Windows 11, version 24H2</a> in mid-2025.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37">37</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38">38</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39">39</a> The changes to the screen itself comes as part of broader efforts by Microsoft to "streamline" the Windows operating system in the wake of <a href="/facts/2024_CrowdStrike-related_IT_outages/VDcshMYQ">the previous year's CrowdStrike-related IT outages</a> that crashed millions of Windows PCs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40">40</a> Microsoft released a statement following the announcement, saying that the new design will be "easier to navigate unexpected restarts and faster recoveries".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41">41</a>

<h2 id="similar-screens">Similar screens</h2>
"Red Screen of Death" redirects here. The term may also refer to an error message used on <a href="/facts/PlayStation/09r71TxV">PlayStation</a> systems.
Stop errors are comparable to <a href="/facts/Kernel_panic/aSp4ojw2">kernel panics</a> in <a href="/facts/MacOS/Y93vVpTm">macOS</a>, <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a>, and other <a href="/facts/Unix-like/YAKrAxzd">Unix-like</a> systems, and to bugchecks in <a href="/facts/OpenVMS/rAnHAgpD">OpenVMS</a>.
A <a href="/facts/Black_screen_of_death/44RlL5mF">black screen of death</a> can occur upon hardware or software failures. <a href="/facts/Windows_3.1/zYnWyaC6">Windows 3.1</a> displays a black screen of death instead of a blue one.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42">42</a> Some versions of macOS (notably <a href="/facts/OS_X_Lion/CHyxXg8X">OS X Lion</a>) display a black screen of death instead of a kernel panic, usually pointed to a graphics card or sleep/wake issue,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43">43</a> it may also display a black screen when the operating system fails to boot properly.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44">44</a> The <a href="/facts/Xbox/c4vCQ0kC">Xbox</a> series of consoles (which includes the <a href="/facts/Xbox_(console)/2FuQrJeX">original Xbox</a>, <a href="/facts/Xbox_360/dYlE3mL5">Xbox 360</a>, <a href="/facts/Xbox_One/Nom1XYbe">Xbox One</a> and the <a href="/facts/Xbox_Series_X_and_Series_S/gkN9VjV2">Xbox Series X/S</a>) also display a black screen when a hardware or software error occurs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45">45</a>

In some cases, a differently-colored error screen was used. <a href="/facts/Beta_version/z4Q4RElA">Beta versions</a> of <a href="/facts/Windows_98/6qtq4oJm">Windows 98</a> display a red error screen raised by the <a href="/facts/Advanced_Configuration_and_Power_Interface/GnLLzfyr">Advanced Configuration and Power Interface</a> (ACPI) when the host computer's <a href="/facts/BIOS/2RY3dzQe">BIOS</a> encounters a problem.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46">46</a> The <a href="/facts/Bootloader/6sNpcLMK">bootloader</a> of the <a href="/facts/Development_of_Windows_Vista/ffbcNuR4">first beta version</a> of <a href="/facts/Windows_Vista/IASEUCTB">Windows Vista</a> originally displayed a red screen background in the event of a boot failure,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47">47</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48">48</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49">49</a> which was changed to black afterwards. As mentioned earlier, the <a href="/facts/Windows_Insider/zMnRVcCJ">insider builds</a> of <a href="/facts/Windows_10/be9IHehJ">Windows 10</a> and later, as well as <a href="/facts/Windows_Server_2016/LBMMCjYC">Windows Server 2016</a> and later, display a green screen instead of blue.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50">50</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51">51</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52">52</a> Windows 10 and later (and Windows Server 2016 and later) also display an orange screen in an extremely rare case where a hardware issue with the GPU or a graphics driver problem was encountered.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53">53</a>

<a href="/facts/ReactOS/BFmfC6BB">ReactOS</a>, an open-source operating system designed to achieve binary compatibility with Windows, implements a version of the Blue Screen of Death similar to that used in Windows NT operating systems. <a href="/facts/Systemd/zls5HoVh">systemd</a>, a software suite providing system components for <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> operating systems, also implements a version of the Blue Screen of Death similar to that of Windows, albeit not as a replacement to the kernel panic in Linux (see above), but rather was used in the event of a bootup failure. This iteration uses systemd-bsod, which was added on December 6, 2023 starting with version 255 of systemd.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54">54</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55">55</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Screen_of_death/pjs8v6S4">Screen of death</a>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Guru_Meditation/BumXqzhs">Guru Meditation</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Kernel_panic/aSp4ojw2">Kernel panic</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Purple_Screen_of_Death/VQrtsQQg">Purple Screen of Death</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Sad_Mac/GplXrVPI">Sad Mac</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Black_screen_of_death/44RlL5mF">Black screen of death</a></li></ul></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Red_Ring_of_Death/xe6lJ9nQ">Red Ring of Death</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Hang_(computing)/4Tx1l7xs">Hang (computing)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Machine-check_exception/8aLxkI6W">Machine-check exception</a> (MCE)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Windows_Hardware_Error_Architecture/MpwCW3Fj">Windows Hardware Error Architecture</a> (WHEA)</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

<a href="/facts/Wikimedia_Commons/lzkBFxTg">Wikimedia Commons</a> has media related to:
BSoD (category)

<ul><li><a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/bug-check-code-reference2">Bug Check Code Reference</a></li>
<li><a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/bluescreen">SysInternals BlueScreen Screen Saver v3.2</a></li>
<li><a href="https://malwiki.org/index.php?title=Blue_Screen_of_Death">Blue Screen of Death</a>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220331220455/https://malwiki.org/index.php?title=Blue_Screen_of_Death">Archived</a> March 31, 2022, at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> on MalWiki.</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Troubleshoot blue screen errors". Support. Microsoft. April 10, 2019. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14238/windows-10-troubleshoot-blue-screen-errors" target="_blank">https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14238/windows-10-troubleshoot-blue-screen-errors</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Understanding Bugchecks". Microsoft TechNet. March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2023. <a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/ask-the-performance-team/understanding-bugchecks/ba-p/372609" target="_blank">https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/ask-the-performance-team/understanding-bugchecks/ba-p/372609</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Blue screen data - Windows drivers". Microsoft Learn. January 4, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023. <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/blue-screen-data" target="_blank">https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/blue-screen-data</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Why does Windows 1.01 crash at the splash screen?". Retro Computing. August 30, 2021. In the final release of Windows, these detailed messages were hastily removed. The code that would print them; however, was not, and this is what produces the garbage output. <a href="https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/21656/why-does-windows-1-01-crash-at-the-splash-screen" target="_blank">https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/21656/why-does-windows-1-01-crash-at-the-splash-screen</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"Why does Windows 1.01 crash at the splash screen?". Retro Computing. August 30, 2021. In the final release of Windows, these detailed messages were hastily removed. The code that would print them; however, was not, and this is what produces the garbage output. <a href="https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/21656/why-does-windows-1-01-crash-at-the-splash-screen" target="_blank">https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/21656/why-does-windows-1-01-crash-at-the-splash-screen</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Chen, Raymond (September 26, 2017). "Who implemented the Windows NT blue screen of death?". The Old New Thing. Microsoft. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2021. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190315181031/https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20170926-00/?p=97085" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190315181031/https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20170926-00/?p=97085</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Blue screen - Microsoft Windows Embedded Compact VErsion 7.00 (Build 2864)". social.msdn.microsoft.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230118000308/https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/bd0f931f-3407-4a63-bae8-1d1e24fe535f/blue-screen-microsoft-windows-embedded-compact-version-700-build-2864?forum=winembplatdev" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20230118000308/https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/bd0f931f-3407-4a63-bae8-1d1e24fe535f/blue-screen-microsoft-windows-embedded-compact-version-700-build-2864?forum=winembplatdev</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Wilson, Michelle (July 25, 2019). "What is the Blue Screen of Death in Windows 10 and How to Fix it?". HP. Retrieved October 1, 2021. <a href="https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-blue-screen-of-death-windows-10" target="_blank">https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-blue-screen-of-death-windows-10</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Cepero, Robert (May 17, 2019). "Blue Screen of Death: Causes and Fixes". Bleuwire. Retrieved October 1, 2021. <a href="https://bleuwire.com/blue-screen-of-death-causes-and-fixes/" target="_blank">https://bleuwire.com/blue-screen-of-death-causes-and-fixes/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">For the Business Insider, see Smith, Dave (September 4, 2014). "Steve Ballmer Wrote The Blue Screen Of Death". Business Insider. Business Insider Inc. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For the DailyTech, see Mick, Jason (September 4, 2014). "Microsoft Exec Reveals Steve Ballmer Created Original Blue Screen of Death Message". Daily Tech. DailyTech LLC. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For the Engadget, see Fingas, Jon (September 4, 2014). "Steve Ballmer wrote Windows' first Ctrl-Alt-Delete message (updated)". Engadget. AOL. Archived from the original on September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For the Gizmodo, see Condliffe, Jamie (September 4, 2014). "Steve Ballmer Wrote the Blue Screen of Death". Gizmodo. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For the Lifehacker, see Kidman, Alex (September 5, 2014). "Steve Ballmer Wrote The BSOD, So Stop Slacking Off". Lifehacker. Allure Media. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For the Neowin, see Sams, Brad (September 4, 2014). "Steve Ballmer wrote the BSOD text". Neowin. Neowin LLC. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For the Softpedia, see Popa, Bogdan (September 4, 2014). "Steve Ballmer Himself Created the First Blue Screen of Death Text". Softpedia. SoftNews SRL. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For the TechSpot, see Schiesser, Tim (September 4, 2014). "The original Blue Screen of Death was written by Steve Ballmer". TechSpot. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For the Boy Genius Report (BGR) and The Register, see Sharwood, Simon (September 4, 2014). "Ballmer Personally wrote Windows' Blue Screen of Death text". The Register. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.For The Verge, see Warren, Tom (September 4, 2014). "Steve Ballmer wrote the Blue Screen of Death message". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014. <a href="/wiki/Business_Insider" target="_blank">/wiki/Business_Insider</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Steve Ballmer schrieb "Blue Screen of Death"-Botschaft". futurezone.at. September 4, 2014. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2024. <a href="https://futurezone.at/digital-life/steve-ballmer-schrieb-blue-screen-of-death-botschaft/83.762.704" target="_blank">https://futurezone.at/digital-life/steve-ballmer-schrieb-blue-screen-of-death-botschaft/83.762.704</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Chen, Raymond (September 2, 2014). "Who wrote the text for the Ctrl+Alt+Del dialog in Windows 3.1?". The Old New Thing. Microsoft. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020. <a href="https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140902-00/?p=93" target="_blank">https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140902-00/?p=93</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Chen, Raymond (September 2, 2014). "Who wrote the text for the Ctrl+Alt+Del dialog in Windows 3.1?". The Old New Thing. Microsoft. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020. <a href="https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140902-00/?p=93" target="_blank">https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140902-00/?p=93</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Chen, Raymond (September 9, 2014). "Steve Ballmer did not write the text for the blue screen of death". The Old New Thing. Microsoft. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020. <a href="https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140909-00/?p=44123" target="_blank">https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140909-00/?p=44123</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">Chen, Raymond (September 10, 2014). "I wrote the original blue screen of death, sort of". The Old New Thing. Microsoft. Retrieved September 3, 2024. <a href="https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140910-00/?p=44113" target="_blank">https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20140910-00/?p=44113</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Plummer, David (January 30, 2021). "Why are Bluescreens Blue?". YouTube. Retrieved July 7, 2023. <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=KgqJJECQQH0" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=KgqJJECQQH0</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Plummer, David (January 30, 2021). "Why are Bluescreens Blue?". YouTube. Retrieved July 7, 2023. <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=KgqJJECQQH0" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=KgqJJECQQH0</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">Warren, T. (2025) Windows is getting rid of the Blue Screen of death after 40 years, The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/news/692648/microsoft-bsod-black-screen-of-death-color-change-official (Accessed: 02 July 2025).
 <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/692648/microsoft-bsod-black-screen-of-death-color-change-official" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/news/692648/microsoft-bsod-black-screen-of-death-color-change-official</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">Warren, Tom (July 1, 2021). "Microsoft's Blue Screen of Death is changing to black in Windows 11". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved July 2, 2021. While Microsoft is switching to a Black Screen of Death in Windows 11, the screen is identical to the one found in Windows 10 otherwise. The sad face remains, as does the stop code and crash dump. The current preview of Windows 11 includes a green BSOD, a color that Microsoft has been using for Windows Insider builds since 2016. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/1/22559852/microsoft-windows-11-black-blue-screen-of-death-bsod-change" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/1/22559852/microsoft-windows-11-black-blue-screen-of-death-bsod-change</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">Klotz, Aaron (November 23, 2021). "Windows 11 Update Makes BSOD Blue Again and Fixes Major File Explorer Bugs". Tom's Hardware. <a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-11-update-fixes-bsod-file-explorer-issues" target="_blank">https://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-11-update-fixes-bsod-file-explorer-issues</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">"Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3653 (Beta Channel)". Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-3653-beta-channel/" target="_blank">https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-3653-beta-channel/</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">Williams, Wayne (December 29, 2016). "Behold the Windows 10 GSOD -- Green Screen of Death". BetaNews. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. <a href="http://betanews.com/2016/12/29/gsod-windows-10-green-screen-of-death/" target="_blank">http://betanews.com/2016/12/29/gsod-windows-10-green-screen-of-death/</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Warren, Tom (December 29, 2016). "Windows 10 testers will now get a Green Screen of Death". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/29/14111584/microsoft-windows-10-green-screen-of-death" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/29/14111584/microsoft-windows-10-green-screen-of-death</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">Warren, Tom (July 1, 2021). "Microsoft's Blue Screen of Death is changing to black in Windows 11". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved July 2, 2021. While Microsoft is switching to a Black Screen of Death in Windows 11, the screen is identical to the one found in Windows 10 otherwise. The sad face remains, as does the stop code and crash dump. The current preview of Windows 11 includes a green BSOD, a color that Microsoft has been using for Windows Insider builds since 2016. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/1/22559852/microsoft-windows-11-black-blue-screen-of-death-bsod-change" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/1/22559852/microsoft-windows-11-black-blue-screen-of-death-bsod-change</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:25">Seely, Scott (2000). Windows Shell Programming. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. pp. 232–233. ISBN 9780130254962. OCLC 44090524. BSOD stands for Blue Screen Of Death. One can customize the colors of this screen by setting a couple of variables in the 386Enh section of SYSTEM.INI: MessageTextColor and MessageBackColor. The user can only customize the BSOD under Windows 3.1, 95, and 98. These changes do not work under the Windows NT variants. <a href="9780130254962" target="_blank">9780130254962</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:26">Seely, Scott (2000). Windows Shell Programming. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. pp. 232–233. ISBN 9780130254962. OCLC 44090524. BSOD stands for Blue Screen Of Death. One can customize the colors of this screen by setting a couple of variables in the 386Enh section of SYSTEM.INI: MessageTextColor and MessageBackColor. The user can only customize the BSOD under Windows 3.1, 95, and 98. These changes do not work under the Windows NT variants. <a href="9780130254962" target="_blank">9780130254962</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:27">Graff, Eliot; Marshall, Don (December 15, 2021). "BCDEdit /set - Windows drivers". Windows Hardware Developer. Microsoft. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020 – via Microsoft Docs. <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/bcdedit--set" target="_blank">https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/bcdedit--set</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:28">"Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3653 (Beta Channel)". Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-3653-beta-channel/" target="_blank">https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-3653-beta-channel/</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:29">Microsoft Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit (1st ed.). Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press. October 29, 1996. ISBN 1-57231-343-9. <a href="1-57231-343-9" target="_blank">1-57231-343-9</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:30">DOMARS. "Getting Started with WinDbg (Kernel-Mode)". msdn.microsoft.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2018. <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn745912(v=vs.85).aspx" target="_blank">http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn745912(v=vs.85).aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:31">"Stop error code 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE)". support.microsoft.com. April 17, 2018. Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2020. <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/2673509/you-receive-error-stop-error-code-0x0000007b-inaccessible-boot-device" target="_blank">https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/2673509/you-receive-error-stop-error-code-0x0000007b-inaccessible-boot-device</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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<li id="fn:33">"Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3653 (Beta Channel)". Retrieved April 4, 2025. <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-3653-beta-channel/" target="_blank">https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26120-3653-beta-channel/</a> <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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</ol>

Blue screen of death open-in-new

Blue screen of death