A review of the history of Windows through blue screenshots of death

5 min read

Today we learned how Microsoft is posing a striking change for the blue screen of death, and that made we want to go back in time and review the history of this Shall eminent? Feature of Windows operating systems.

These error messages have in their own right become a hallmark of Microsoft development, and although the worst seems to have happened and its appearance is less lavish with the arrival of Windows 10, these blue screens keep surprising us every so often. Thus they were born and evolved so famous BSOD.

blue-screenshots-of-death
Image Source: Google Image

Windows NT and the birth of BSODs

The blue screenshots of death have a long history. They debuted in the Windows NT family that became available in 1993, and became a classic feature that would inherit all editions of Windows.

The format of these screens has been more or less uniform, but there have been slight differences: Windows 95, 98 and Me the screenshots appear in text 80×25 columns mode, while the Windows NT family showed the text message 80×50 mode. Also there were changes in the fonts used, which were Lucida Console from Windows XP to Windows Vista consoles and Segoe UI 7 or Windows Server 2012.

The history of Ctrl + Alt + Del

The escape sequence that enabled restarting Windows – based computers is also closely linked to the history of this operating system, and a few years we remembered how the creation of that famous combination was developed ago: was born Ctrl + Alt + Del.

That shortcut was originally intended to reboot the machine without memory checks, but eventually no longer be used until Bill Gates rescued for users to have a quick way to reset the machine when it appeared the dreaded blue screen of death. Be careful, because the dialog screen that appeared when you press Ctrl + Alt + Del was very similar to that of the BSOD.

Windows 8 makes us sad

The blue screen of death were never too comprehensible to ordinary mortals. In fact, its mission was not to inform us necessarily, but to serve as a tool for Windows developers who could know what each failure was.

However, this type of screen shots is a little makeover with the arrival of Windows 8, and in this edition of the operating system blue screen of death was a little more “sensitive” with users. In addition to the message, indicating the problem was an emoticon with a sad face to accompany us in the feeling. At least a little.

QR codes, the latest innovation

This year came another novelty this type of messages classic error. 14393 in the compilation of Windows 10 Microsoft introduced the QR codes to access information on the problem quickly.

These codes allow to be scanned quickly with a smartphone for access to data to correct the problem or at least know why we are having it.

You may also like to read another article on Web-Build: Go Saying Goodbye to ‘Command Prompt’ in Windows 10: PowerShell Takes Over

Mobile screens

The arrival of Windows to our smartphones has not been as successful as many expected, but the Redmond company is still trying to promote the virtues of this converged platform that allows a mobile to have a full version of Windows 10.

That, of course, can also lead to the inheritance of desktop platform failures and problems as well. Blue screens of death also have come to appear in phones based on Windows, for example algoque happened to Peter Bright, editor of Ars Technica.

The Mac is not free either

Obviously the blue screen of death is an absolute feature of Windows, but is that Windows can also be installed on Macs. Support for this type of scenario was provided by Apple itself for years through BootCamp.

That has made the BSOD have also made an appearance on these computers, which makes it clear that Windows can be hung in any circumstances and in any configuration. Even those that appeared to be pump-proof, like those of Apple computers.

When the BSOD is no longer blue, but green

It is one of the defining marks of Windows: the blue screen of death (BSOD Blue Screen Of Death) has accompanied us throughout the different versions of the operating system Microsoft, but that blue will no longer be absolute protagonist in these Error messages.

In a leaked compilation of Windows 10 version 14997 it has appeared an image in which this screenshot appears with a green and not blue , but anecdotal something surprising for everyone. Eye, because only available for certain types of users, and as pointed out by our fellow is only available for Window Insiders.

Blue screens in unsuspected places

The appearance of the blue screen of death on our computers has been more common than Microsoft would have liked, but there have been situations in which these screenshots have appeared to make even bigger his legend.

Blog service Pingdom did years ago a look at some of these screenshots surprise.

BSOD appeared in places like a concert by the group ‘Nine Inch Nails’ at the Beijing Olympics, on the monitors of public transport in cities like London or New York, and of course, at airports and ATM. There are almost unlimited examples: the blue screen of death are everywhere.

In the wake of BSOD

Fortunately or unfortunately for Microsoft the BSOD screens are best known error, but are not the only ones that have finished making famous in the world of computing.

Surely many users of the Amiga recall (now wonderful) guru meditation, but other operating systems have error messages such as “kernel panics” Linux and OS X. In the latter and also in systems Microsoft was a “black screen of Death “in certain scenarios. Sinister, right?

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