How to Try Out the New Windows Blue Screen of Death
Even if you don’t use a computer, you’re probably aware of the Blue Screen of Death (or BSOD). This iconic error screen has been a staple of Windows since the first version of the OS (although back then it looked more like something out of The Matrix ). A BSOD is not something you necessarily want to see , especially if you’re Bill Gates showing off a new version of Windows , because it means that some factor caused your system to crash and now your computer needs to be rebooted. However, soon enough, when you see it, you might not even recognize it.
It so happens that Microsoft is changing the appearance of BSOD. The company announced the redesign in a Windows Insider blog post Friday . (The Windows Insider program allows software testers to try out new Windows features long before Microsoft releases them to the public.) In addition to a number of other new features and changes testers can try out, there’s a new BSOD that Microsoft says is “more optimized” and “better aligns with Windows 11 design principles” while maintaining the same technical information you’d expect from a traditional blue screen.
The thing is, this new Blue Screen of Death isn’t even blue. It appears green during testing, but eventually the screen will turn black when it’s released to the public. (At least the BSOD acronym is still relevant.) Also, the text you’ll see is different. Gone is the frowning face emoji that has defined the appearance of BSOD since Windows 8. The screen now displays a simple message: “Your device has encountered a problem and needs to reboot,” followed by the current reboot progress, presented as a percentage. At the very bottom of the screen you can see the stop code, as well as what failed.
This is not the first time Microsoft has changed the BSOD for Windows. Martin Nobel has an excellent timeline of changes , starting with the very first Matrix-style screen in Windows 1.0, through the warning that Windows users of the 90s and 2000s are likely to be very familiar with, all the way to the current design scheme launched in Windows 8 in 2012. The color also changed over the years. Microsoft has experimented with black BSOD for Windows NT, Windows 8, Windows 10, and even the earlier version of Windows 11. If you hate change, there’s a chance that Microsoft might go back to blue in the future.
How to try out the new Windows Blue Screen of Death
I hope you don’t encounter BSOD often. However, if you want to see a new error screen the next time your system crashes, you’ll need to enroll your computer in the Windows Insider program. Because the Insider program allows you to test new versions of Windows in front of the general public, there is a risk of errors and other problems occurring after installation. Before registering, make sure that all important data is saved. If you’re comfortable with these risks, you can follow our guide here to register your computer.
This particular change applies to the Canary, Dev, and Beta channels, not the Release Preview channel, so you’ll need to sign up for one of those three channels to see the new BSOD. If you want to minimize your risk, I would recommend the beta channel here. This channel features builds that Microsoft has already tested, meaning some issues have likely already been discovered and fixed. It’s not secure, but offers a better balance than Dev, which offers the latest Windows features that haven’t been tested yet.