So Long, Blue Screen of Death. Amazingly, You'll Be Missed

After a long and storied history, the BSOD is being replaced. WIRED takes a trip down memory lane to wave goodbye to the iconic screen we all love to hate.

For decades, the Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD to its friends, has instilled a mix of panic, dread, exasperation, and rage across countless Windows users. But now, Microsoft is getting ready to retire it. According to a Microsoft blog post, the Windows 11 crash screen—or, as the company puts it, “unexpected restart screen”—will soon adopt a distinctly more minimalist vibe.