Microsoft is giving the iconic “Blue Screen of Death” a makeover after decades of the familiar blue background. The updated error message will now appear against a black backdrop. This change is part of Microsoft’s efforts to enhance the resilience of the Windows operating system following last year’s global CrowdStrike outage that caused numerous Windows machines to crash.

In a recent announcement, Microsoft stated that the new design aims to make it easier for users to navigate unexpected restarts and recover more swiftly. The company, headquartered in Redmond, Wash., is streamlining the user experience during disruptions caused by unexpected restarts, leading to the revamp of the infamous error screen.

The revamped error screen features a shorter message and eliminates the frowning emoticon, replacing it with a percentage completion indicator for the restart process. Microsoft describes this as a simplified user interface for handling unexpected restarts, which will be available on all Windows 11 (version 24H2) devices later this summer.

Additionally, Microsoft will introduce a “quick machine recovery” feature for PCs that encounter restart issues, particularly beneficial during widespread outages. This mechanism will enable Microsoft to deploy targeted remediations broadly and automate fixes without the need for complex manual intervention from IT personnel. The quick machine recovery will be rolled out on Windows 11 devices this summer, with further enhancements planned for later in the year.