Microsoft dev says Steve Ballmer didn't write the text for the Blue Screen of Death: "There are three different blue-colored screens, and each has a different author"

What you need to know

A Microsoft developer narrates the story behind the Blue Screen of Death in the Windows ecosystem.
The developer highlights three different Blue Screen of Death errors, each with a different author.
The developer indicated Windows 3.1 didn’t have a BSOD since users got a “black screen of death” when the operating system crashed

As a seasoned Windows user who has battled the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) more times than I care to remember, I find myself intrigued by the mystery surrounding its origins. Having spent countless hours staring at that chilling blue screen, I can’t help but feel a sense of camaraderie with the developers who brought it into existence.

“The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is an on-screen error that indicates a severe system malfunction during a particular operation. This error causes the entire device to shut down unexpectedly and restart automatically.”

Windows users might occasionally encounter the error during an upgrade, startup, or normal use.

There’s been a growing curiosity surrounding this ‘event,’ significantly boosted by the global IT failure experienced by CrowdStrike, which affected approximately 8.5 million Windows devices, causing BSOD issues for extended periods. Notably, Microsoft Software Engineer Dave Plummer (known as Dave’s Garage) has provided insights into the situation. He revealed that the primary cause of the widespread outage was a problematic kernel driver, and he spent much of his time at the company addressing the resulting errors during debugging.

It’s intriguing that for the past three decades, there has been a lingering question about who was responsible for creating Microsoft’s infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). The authorship of this notorious error message has been a subject of debate, with some arguing over who should receive recognition or criticism.

In a twist of events, a blog post published in 2014 by Microsoft developer Raymond Chen hinted that Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, authored the text displayed on the Ctrl+Alt+Del dialog box in Windows 3.1. However, this has led some to mistakenly believe that he also wrote the text for the Blue Screen of Death.

But that’s not the case.

Developer Chen has clarified in his recent blog post dated July 30, 2024, that Ballmer did not author the text for the Blue Screen of Death. Contrary to certain rumors, there is no ambiguity about who penned the Blue Screen of Death.

Who wrote the Blue Screen of Death in Windows?

Microsoft dev says Steve Ballmer didn't write the text for the Blue Screen of Death: "There are three different blue-colored screens, and each has a different author"

Multiple sources claim Steve Ballmer, John Vert, or Raymond Chen might be the creators of the infamous BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). But here’s the twist: There are actually three distinct versions of the blue screen, each attributed to a separate author.

Initially, Chen mentions the Windows 3.1 Ctrl+Alt+Del display, which the developer refers to as the “blue screen of sorrow, not demise.” Interestingly, you might not be aware that Windows 3.1 didn’t have a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). Instead, when the system crashed, users would encounter what was known as the “black screen of doom.”

It’s important to mention that while Steve Ballmer, a previous CEO of Microsoft, authored the text displayed during the Ctrl+Alt+Del screen in Windows 3.1, he did not write the code responsible for showing that specific message.

Following this, you might encounter a kernel error in Windows 95, frequently referred to as the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) by users. However, Windows 95 allows users to skip or disregard this error. It’s important to note that dismissing it could potentially cause your system to crash. The developer himself admitted he didn’t create the initial version of the Windows 95 blue screen message but refined it in 1995, a fact often misunderstood as being similar to the Blue Screen of Death seen in Windows NT.

Ultimately, John Verte penned down the infamous Windows NT kernel error. Chen dubbed it the “genuine Blue Screen of Death” as the system becomes “irrevocably non-functional” when it occurs at that stage.

In essence, this journey offers an intriguing exploration into the annals of time, focusing on one of the most distinctive and significant aspects of the Windows operating system. Whether you admire it or not, it holds a special place in history.

As a long-time Windows user with countless hours spent troubleshooting various issues, I can say that the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) has been an inevitable part of my computing journey. While it is not uncommon to encounter this infamous error screen, the question that truly intrigues me is whether Microsoft should consider updating it in the future.

2024-08-02 18:40

Microsoft dev says Steve Ballmer didn’t write the text for the Blue Screen of Death: “There are three different blue-colored screens, and each has a different author”

What you need to know

Who wrote the Blue Screen of Death in Windows?

Read More