The Blue Screen of Death in Windows 11 is going black

The start menu may not end up the only element of Microsoft’s desktop operating system that gets a visual overhaul in Windows 11. According to The Verge, Windows 11 will feature a Black Screen of Death, instead of the current blue one we all know and dread. It will be the first major tweak to that part of the Windows interface since Microsoft added QR codes to it in 2016.

Microsoft hasn’t enabled the new BSOD in Windows 11 yet, primarily because the OS is in preview and Insider builds have featured a Green Screen of Death since 2016. As Gizmodo notes, there’s a way to enable the new BSOD in the current preview build, but it involves editing your Windows registry and definitely not worth doing for something you don’t want to see anyway.

It’s unclear why Microsoft is changing the color of the Blue Screen of Death. However, The Verge suggests it could be because the company is already tweaking other parts of the Windows interface to make the OS feel more modern. At the very least, there’s no new acronym to learn. We'll also point out a lot could change between now and when Microsoft ships Windows 11 in the fall.