We’ve been fiddling around with the Windows 7 Beta for a few days, but just now finally run into that old staple of Windows users: the blue screen.
It’s good to see that Microsoft hasn’t bothered to change the old Windows blue screen; and by good, we mean bad. Isn’t it about time to fail a little bit more gracefully? Or at the very least, in a way that actually makes sense to end-users? The error throws up the driver that caused it (way at the bottom of the error) before automatically rebooting, but actually identifying it via which type of component it is—sound, video, USB, hard drive—would be useful for people who just want to know what they did to cause it.
It’s still a beta, Microsoft, but it’s doubtful you have enough time to revamp this BSOD for launch. Maybe by Windows 8?
iJoostin
January 13, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Damn, any idea what caused it?
Report PermalinkI’ve been running the BETA since Saturday…luckily I haven’t had any problems
…yet :P
meinrosebud
January 13, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Yeah, perhaps brown would be more apt!
Report PermalinkAnonymous
January 14, 2009 at 5:32 AM
I understand the solution is to buy a Mac or a Linux .
Report PermalinkPhilip Cass
January 14, 2009 at 12:28 PM
The problem is that a bluscreen is a kernel error. Kernel drivers, unlike normal programs, have the ability to stomp all over other driver’s memory space. So just because it was win32k.sys that crashed does not mean it was win32k.sys that caused the problem – it could be audio, or video, or anything. In that situation, windows sticks the most basic fault stuff on the screen and does a more in-depth analysis of the issue after reboot (this is why always sending error reports to MS is a good idea). The only more friendly option would be to do nothing at all and reboot as fast as possible – but some bluescreens occur on boot, and so the minimal information they give you is all you have to go on for troubleshooting.
Report PermalinkSkembear
January 23, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Been getting BSOD once a day since installing win7, vista in a party dress!
Report Permalinkcaught it once just as it was going into reboot, all drivers have been updated, but i’m sure there is something win7 doesnt like.
My main gripe is what it tells you after reboot, nothing is explained, why did it halt? what can be done to resolve it? its a case of “your system failed, but i’ll be damned if I will tell you why, go to another software vendor and figure it out yourself”