Blue, red, black or another color: that is the meaning of the different error screens that appear on computers

Operating systems crash, everyone does that sometimes. When Windows detects these failures, it is usually able to resolve them automatically or continue to function relatively well, isolating these failures.

But there are times when Windows can’t recover from a system failure or thinks it can’t, then decides it’s best to stop everything, as Microsoft publishes.

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It is at this point that the Windows blue screen appears, popularly known as the ‘Blue Screen of Death’.

This catastrophic name comes from the fact that when it appears, it is because a serious error has occurred and Windows cannot continue working, so it remains frozen without being able to be used and you have to reboot.

This screenshot may appear for several reasons. It is true that in Windows 10 its presence has been greatly reduced, but its bad reputation and terror comes from previous versions of the operating system, where it was more common to see it.

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What do the error screens that appear on computers mean?

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

The famous “blue screen of death” appears when a Windows operating system encounters a serious error.

This can be caused by faulty hardware components, insufficient power, or when hardware components operate beyond their design capabilities.

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Black screen (BkSOD)

The “black screen of death” appears when a critical system error occurs. It could be because an important DLL file is missing or because you zipped your hard drive and the operating system can’t unzip it quickly.

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Red screen (RSOD)

The “red screen of death” is visible when the Windows system has problems with the installed graphics card.

Green screen (GSOD)

“Green screen of death” appeared on Xbox One after update errors that led to the game console crashing.

Xbox One users had to reset their consoles to resolve the issue. The green screen of death is visible on the Nintendo Entertainment System when it does not start.

Purple screen (PSOD)

There is also a ‘purple death’, known as the ‘purple screen of death’. Displays an error on the VMware ESX/ESXi Server hypervisor indicating a fatal kernel error.

Gray screen (GSOD)

The “gray screen of death” was observed after the May 2015 Update in Windows RT. A permanent solution was to go back to factory settings and then disable updates.

Multi-color display (MSOD)

The “multicolor screen of death” is a mix of the colors of previous screens and appears on Linux operating systems. Indicates that the system has stopped working and can be caused by a wide variety of problems.

Now that you know the different error screens, don’t panic if you encounter one. Search online for a solution or take your computer to a specialist technician.