The "blue screen of death" on Windows was initially believed to be created by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, but this information was later denied.
On July 19, millions of devices received a "Blue Screen of Death" (BSoD) error message when security company CrowdStrike deployed an untested update for Microsoft's Windows. This is considered the largest and most widespread incident related to BSoD since this feature was introduced.
BSoD is an iconic error message. This feature was officially introduced in Windows NT 3.1 in 1993 with the name Stop Error. However, it is said to have been around since the first Beta Release of Windows 1.0, showing up as a random character after the "Incorrect DOS version" line.
In later versions, the interface is gradually improved, but the notification background remains blue. BSoD occurs when serious problems occur such as memory errors, operating system kernel conflicts, power supply problems, overheating, or software running beyond technical specifications. Most versions of Windows include a "blue screen" message, except for the Windows Embedded Compact operating system (formerly known as Windows CE).
The person behind the "blue screen of death".
On September 4, 2014, many technology sites such as Business Insider, Engadget, BGR or The Verge simultaneously reported that Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, was the person behind BSoD. The content cites information from the blog of Raymond Chen, a Microsoft developer, titled "Who wrote the text for the Ctrl+Alt+Del dialog box in Windows 3.1?".
The article focuses on creating the first "rudimentary" task manager in Windows 3.x when pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. The background color when activating this program has visual similarities with BSoD.
In fact, Ballmer wrote only notifications that appear on the Task Manager interface, but it was mistakenly thought that he also wrote "blue screen" notifications. This caused Chen to then speak up. In another article on September 9, 2014, he said the sites "completely misunderstood and considered it real". At the same time, he revealed that he was part of the group that modified BSoD on Windows 95. "I wrote the code, or at least modified it last," he said.
At this time, on Quora, developer John Vert also had a post claiming to have created the "blue screen of death". "Back in 1991, I wrote the original code for Windows NT 3.1 that enabled the screen to display text as video and the routines that fed text to it," he wrote.
According to Vert, he used white on a blue background for two reasons. First, the MIPS OS tool he used for programming has a white-on-blue-background interface and therefore makes it easier to check for errors and makes the programming experience more consistent. The other reason is that he is used to using the SlickEdit text editor, which also has a default color palette of white text on a blue background.
"I don't know the history of the Win3.1/Win9x blue screen, but I think it's just a coincidence that they have the same color," Vert added.
After Vert's article, on Microsoft's developer page, Chen said Vert was indeed the author of BSoD. He added that Vert once taught him the basics of the Alpha AXP language.
The story subsided until 2021, when another developer who worked for Microsoft, Dave Plummer, spoke up. On the YouTube channel Dave's Garage, he said he worked with Vert and BSoD exactly created by this colleague, instead of taking inspiration from Task Manager on Windows 3.x.
Vert's "movements" are currently quite mysterious, his image rarely appears on the Internet. According to his LinkedIn profile, he earned a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Virginia, working as a Windows engineer in 1991. From 2004 to 2012, he held various roles at Microsoft. At the end of 2012, he joined Valve Corporation and built SteamOS. In 2017, he co-founded and chief technology officer Groopit, a company specializing in AI solutions.
To date, there is no further information about who is the "father" of BSoD. According to TechCrunch, based on shared stories, Vert is now the default creator of the "blue screen of death".