Editing Black screen of death

{{Short description|Error screen displayed after a fatal system error on a computer}}
{{Distinguish|Blue screen of death}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Win3x Black Screen of Death.gif|thumb|A hardware black screen of death that occurs when the system [[hard drive]] is unable to load the [[master boot record]]. The screen is blank apart from a flashing white [[text cursor]].]]
The '''black screen of death''' is a screen displayed on many [[computer system]]s after encountering a [[fatal system error|critical system error]]. It gets its name from the black colored background seen during hardware or software errors.

Some versions of [[Microsoft Windows]] (and to a lesser extent, [[macOS]]) also display a black screen of death upon fatal system errors, usually caused by several factors.

==Microsoft Windows==
===Windows 3.x===
[[Image:EMM386.PNG|thumb|right|An example of an EMM386 error message in Windows 3.0 that results in a black screen during Standard Mode]]
In [[Windows 3.1x|Windows 3.x]], the '''black screen of death''' is the behavior that occurred when a DOS-based application failed to execute properly. It was often known to occur in connection with attempting certain operations while networking drivers were resident in memory. (Commonly, but not exclusively, it was seen while the [[Novell NetWare]] client for [[DOS]], NETX, was loaded.).

The issue was fixed in most instances by adding an additional section in the [[SYSTEM.INI]] of affected clients with the text TimerCriticalSection = 10000. The following files were also updated, vtdapi.386re.386 and vipx.38id-1991 by Ed Brown, a technician with [[the Coca-Cola Company]]'s IT department in [[Atlanta]], GA. He reports that the company was rolling out [[Windows 3.0]] within the Global Marketing group and when the users would attempt to run [[WordPerfect]], they would receive a black screen.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

=== Later versions of Windows ===
[[MS-DOS]] and all versions of Windows after Windows 3.1 ([[Windows 95]], [[Windows 98]], [[Windows Me]], [[Windows 2000]], [[Windows XP]], [[Windows Vista]], [[Windows 7]], [[Windows 8]], [[Windows 10]] and [[Windows 11]]) also display a black screen of death when the operating system is unable to boot properly. There are many factors that can contribute to this problem, including the ones listed below.

The most common issue contributing to a black screen of death on startup is usually due to a missing file.<ref>{{cite web |title=Example of such a black screen |url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GEHOlQt7jbg/maxresdefault.jpg |website=YouTube |access-date=February 9, 2021 |archive-date=August 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822055235/https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GEHOlQt7jbg/maxresdefault.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> It also occurs when the user enables file compression on all the files, causing the entire operating system to become compressed and unbootable. Rarely an experienced user would reinstall Windows. In the case of the former, the boot loader will most likely inform the user the name of the missing file, allowing for the user to supply and/or reinstall the missing files to resolve the boot problem. In the case of the latter, however, the computer will not be able to boot, even into [[safe mode]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/155053 |title=Black Screen on Boot |publisher=Support.microsoft.com |date=January 19, 2007 |access-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-date=March 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311052253/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/155053 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/314503/computer-stops-responding-with-a-black-screen-when-you-start-windows-x |title=Computer stops responding with a black screen when you start Windows XP |publisher=Support.microsoft.com |date=February 3, 2011 |access-date=December 14, 2017 |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215111348/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/314503/computer-stops-responding-with-a-black-screen-when-you-start-windows-x |url-status=live }}</ref> The only way to resolve this problem is to boot into another device and then uncompress the files from it to make the system bootable again.

In late 2009, several new reports of the black screen in [[Windows XP]], [[Windows Vista]], and [[Windows 7]] emerged. At first, several claims pointed at [[Windows Update]]. This was later recanted by [[Prevx]] as an erroneous report.<ref>{{cite web |last=Erasmus |first=Jacques |url=http://www.prevx.com/blog/141/Windows-Black-Screen-Root-Cause.html |title=Windows Black Screen Root Cause |publisher=Prevx.com |date=November 30, 2009 |access-date=January 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104234236/http://www.prevx.com/blog/141/Windows-Black-Screen-Root-Cause.html |archive-date=January 4, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Morris |first=Mel |url=http://www.prevx.com/blog/142/Windows-Black-Screen-recap.html |title=Windows Black Screen recap |publisher=Prevx.com |access-date=January 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228235701/http://www.prevx.com/blog/142/Windows-Black-Screen-recap.html |archive-date=December 28, 2011 }}</ref> Microsoft reported that no security update was causing the issue, and may be tied to [[malware]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34223754 |title='Black screen of death' for some Windows users - Technology & science - Security - NBC News |work=NBC News |date=January 8, 2012 |access-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-date=March 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331070802/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34223754 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=MSRCTeam |url=http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2009/12/01/reports-of-issues-with-november-security-updates.aspx |title=Reports of Issues with November Security Updates - MSRC - Site Home - TechNet Blogs |publisher=Blogs.technet.com |date=December 1, 2009 |access-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-date=March 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316163414/http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2009/12/01/reports-of-issues-with-november-security-updates.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

In other cases, the black screen was replaced with a [[blue screen of death]]. A black screen may also be caused by certain components of the computer overheating, in place of the traditional blue screen, that appeared to indicate a stop error. This black screen was simplified compared to the previous blue screen, omitting instructions that the user is recommended to take.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

[[Windows 10]] and later also displays a black screen due to an unfinished update in addition to the aforementioned causes above; in this case, after the system restarts and the user tries to login to the system, the user is then stuck at a black screen instead. Performing a hard shutdown and then a [[cold-booting|cold-boot]] of the system is the only way to resolve this problem.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 9, 2019 |title=How to Fix a Black Screen of Death Error in Windows 10 |url=https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/troubleshoot-fix-windows-black-screen-issues/ |access-date=April 26, 2022 |website=MUO |language=en-US |archive-date=May 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527125651/https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/troubleshoot-fix-windows-black-screen-issues/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== macOS ==
Some versions of [[macOS]] (such as [[OS X Lion]]) display a black screen of death instead of a [[kernel panic]] in the event of a hardware or software failure. This is usually pointed to a graphics card failure or a sleep/wake issue.<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Screen Of Death Plagues Some Mac Users After Lion Update |author=David W. Martin |date=August 6, 2011 |url=https://www.cultofmac.com/107879/black-screen-of-death-plagues-some-mac-users-after-lion-update/ |access-date=August 27, 2018 |archive-date=August 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828001756/https://www.cultofmac.com/107879/black-screen-of-death-plagues-some-mac-users-after-lion-update/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It may also display a black screen when the operating system is unable to boot properly at startup,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://support.apple.com/en-us/102575|title=If your Mac starts up to a blank screen|website=Apple Support|access-date=2024-12-06}}</ref> similar to that of Windows.

==See also==
*[[Fatal system error]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links==

* [http://www.geekworldnews.org/windows-7-black-screen.html Windows 7 black screen of death] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412003246/https://geekworldnews.org/windows-7-black-screen.html |date=April 12, 2022 }}

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[[Category:Computer errors]]
[[Category:Screens of death]]