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Global tech outage: Here's how to fix the dreaded 'Blue Screen of Death'

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Updated  July 19, 2024 9:47am EDT
Technology
FOX 29 Philadelphia

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PHILADELPHIA - A global tech outage that impacted everything from travel to banks to emergency services, caused headaches Friday morning. The issue affected Microsoft 365 apps and services, and escalating disruptions continued hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing it.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said that the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack. CEO George Kurtz posted on social media platform X that the company "is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts."

Many Microsoft users reported experiencing the "Blue Screen of Death" during the outage. Microsoft says the critical error screen only happens "if a serious problem causes Windows to shut down or restart unexpectedly." 

Here's are step-by-step directions on how to repair the Blue Screen of Death from tech expert Anthony Mongeluzo.

What is the ‘Blue Screen of Death’?

According to Microsoft's website, the so-called Blue Screen of Death occurs "if a serious problem causes Windows to shut down or restart unexpectedly." The entirely blue screen is unmistakable to users who experience the problem, and a message reads "Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some error info, and then we'll restart for you." 

Microsoft adds that the error can be caused by "hardware and software issues," and users may also see a message that reads "Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer."

How to fix the 'Blue Screen of Death'

The Blue Screen of Death is a critical error, but the good news is it's not unfixable. Microsoft offers valuable tips of its website, including a tip to remove any recently added hardware and restarting the device. 

Tech expert Anthony Mongeluzo says users can also try these step-by-step instructions to repair the issue: 

  • Click ‘See Advanced Repair Options’
  • Click ‘Troubleshoot’
  • Click the command prompt
  • Enter ‘CD C:\Windows\System32\drivers\Crowdstrike’ and ‘del "C-00000291*.sys"'
  • Exit
  • Click continue and the system should reboot normally

If all else fails, users can try reaching out to Microsoft's support team for further advice.