Blue Screen of Death

Noun · Hacker Culture

Definitions

  1. The iconic blue error screen displayed by Microsoft Windows when the operating system encounters a fatal kernel-level error (bug check / STOP error) from which it cannot recover, forcing a system halt. Technically called a STOP screen, the BSOD has been a cultural shorthand for catastrophic computer failure since Windows 3.1, and was notably updated with a sad face emoji (":(") in Windows 8.

    In plain English: The dreaded blue error screen on Windows computers that means something went seriously wrong and the computer needs to restart.

    Example: "I was 30 minutes into an unsaved presentation when I got the Blue Screen of Death — IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, naturally."

Related Terms