Blue Screen of Death Overview

One day as I happily typed out my latest version of the great American Novel on my PC, a horrifying and dramatic event occurred. Suddenly, and quite literally out of the blue, my computer screen disappeared and a terrifying blue screen of death, boldly thrust itself into my life. As if the blue screen itself were not bad enough, the confusing array of Xs and Os and the vaguely threatening message about Windows having “encountered an error” pretty much sealed the deal as far as it being the worst error message I’d ever received.

Most People Fear the Blue Screen of Death

If you are like most people who have encountered this terrible computer demon you were probably, at least temporarily, confounded and shocked by it. Images of long lines at the computer repair shop, or immanent and drastic reductions to your bank account, no doubt danced through the recesses of your panic stricken mind. In my case, these terrors were secondary to the fact that I hadn’t created a back up of my magnum opus. Something I have now, long since learned to do.

A Calming Effect

Believe it or not that arresting blue screen was designed to have a calming effect on the computer user. Evidently someone with a degree in psychology decided long ago that sky blue is a non-threatening and totally relaxing color, evoking pleasant thoughts of clear summer skies and rolling pastoral vistas.

The Role of the BSOD

The Blue Screen Of Death or BSOD as it is more commonly called, is what is known in computer jargon as a “stop error message.” It appears for several reasons. The first and foremost is to tell you that something just went terribly wrong with your computer—the “calming” blue screen, of course, is intended to soften the blow somewhat. The second reason for the BSOD is to tell you exactly what went wrong.

After you catch your breath and allow yourself to be calmed by the death screen’s azure tones, you will notice a series of words, written in capital letters near the top of the screen. These words, may do two things: 1. Allay your fears by explaining in simple terms what went wrong with your computer. And 2. Magnify your fears by explaining what went wrong in unintelligible and complicated sounding computer jargon. There seems to be no middle ground in this. It’s an either/or kind of situation. Hopefully, the BSOD’s simple suggestion that you reboot your computer will do the trick and all will work out in the end. But chances are you may be in for more complicated repairs.

Misery Loves Company

But do not be alarmed. Many others have found themselves in the same position. If nothing else, this realization should calm you significantly (misery loves company). There are, in fact, a great number of helpful troubleshooting guides on the Internet that can walk you through the process of fixing your computer. Otherwise those lines at the repair shop are always a lot longer than they look.