Overview

• The traditional Blue Screen of Death will be replaced by a Black Screen of Death in Windows 11 version 24H2, rolling out later this summer.
• The new interface removes the frowning face and QR code in favor of a streamlined black screen that displays stop codes and faulty driver details.
• Quick Machine Recovery will launch alongside the Black Screen of Death to automatically restore PCs that fail to boot after a crash.
• These updates form part of Microsoft’s Windows Resiliency Initiative, created after a faulty CrowdStrike update left 8.5 million devices offline in July 2024.
• Microsoft is also revising how security applications interact with the Windows kernel to boost stability and prevent future large-scale outages.