Microsoft Investigates Windows 7 "Black Screen of Death"

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Microsoft Investigates Windows 7 "Black Screen of Death"

Posted by timothy on Tuesday December 1, 2009 @05:38AM from the appropriate-namespace-overload dept.

duguk writes "Microsoft has confirmed that it is investigating a problem described as the 'black screen of death,' which affects Windows 7 — and reports suggest it affects Vista and XP, too. The firm said it was looking into reports that suggest its latest security update, released on Tuesday 25 November, caused the problem. The error means that users of Windows 7 and earlier operating systems see a totally black screen after logging on to the system." Update: 12/01 22:35 GMT by KD : Microsoft now says that its November Windows updates are not causing the BlackSOD: "The company has found those reports to be inaccurate and our comprehensive investigation has shown that none of the recently released updates are related to the behavior described in the reports."

12 of 351 comments (clear)

Problem Solved! by bravo_2_0 · 2009-12-01 05:40 · Score: 5, Funny

Turns out it was just affecting a bunch of old people who kept forgetting to turn their monitors on.

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I AM A SEXY SHOELESS GOD OF WAR!!!
1. Re:Problem Solved! by Cassini2 · 2009-12-01 06:07 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Turns out it was just affecting a bunch of old people who kept forgetting to turn their monitors on.
  I just put a painting in front of the monitor, and then take it away before my kids come over. They think it is so cool I'm into computers.
2. Re:Problem Solved! by Taibhsear · 2009-12-01 07:03 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Had a secretary at my first job with a similar problem. Reasons for "The computer is broken!":
  1.) forgot to turn monitor on.
  2.) didn't press power button on desktop
  3.) kicked monitor plug near the power strip pulling it out of back of monitor.
  4.) stepping on power strip rocker switch.
  5.) somehow put the entire OS in dutch.
3. Re:Problem Solved! by cixelsyd · 2009-12-01 07:07 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  My lawn, get off it, whippersnapper!
  
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  Take a dollar, divide it by 100, take two and call me in the morning.
4. Re:Problem Solved! by sexconker · 2009-12-01 08:16 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  At least you kept warm.. In my day the temperature never got above -10 Kelvin.
  My home town nearly went to zero Kevins back in 1978.
  It was a particularly cold winter, and we were already down to 3 Kevins (due to their low popularity at the time).
  Kevin Thomas had flown out to be with his son's family for a wedding and got stuck in Boston for a whole week due to the weather. 2 Kevins left.
  Kevin Lemmer was rushed to the hospital during my shift. I still remember the call from the EMTs as the ambulance was rushing toward us. "It's Lemmer. He's in bad shape. Drove right into the fucking ditch." We called the time of death at 6:15 PM.
  At 6:16, all eyes turned to room 2217. Kevin Spencer was 82 and on his death bed with leukemia. His family being Catholic, he had already been given his last rights. If he couldn't hold out until Kevin Thomas returned, we would be at zero Kevins. Sure, we had 4 perfectly healthy Calvins, but they're just not the same.
  It was 7:15 when Carla Brooks and her husband James burst through the main entrance. "She's not due for 2 weeks!", James exclaimed. As the staff bustled around getting the Brookses settled, they exchanged darting glances with each other. This was their first child, and they wanted to keep the baby's sex a secret. Of course, in a small town, secrets don't get kept. Nearly all of the hospital staff new that the child about to rip open Mrs. Brooks was indeed a boy.
  The delivery was routine, and Kevin Brooks was born healthy, if a tad underweight, at 10:52 PM. Kevin Spencer was pronounced dead at 10:54.
  It was, as they say, a close one. Kevin Thomas arrived two days later, the weather having finally cleared up. To this day, we still rib him about it.
  Cedar Falls is currently at 5 Kevins.
Nice of them to change the color by alen · 2009-12-01 05:41 · Score: 5, Funny

i was getting tired of the blue screen
1. Re:Nice of them to change the color by srussia · 2009-12-01 06:09 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  I believe the change was implemented in order to prevent phosphor burn-in on older CRT monitors.
  Actually, blue was chosen deliberately because zinc sulfide silver (blue phosphor in CRTs) is more resistant to burnout than the other phosphors, thus ensuring more even color rendition over time. It was a feature, not a bug :-). With no burnout problems in LCD panels, they went with black.
  
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  Set your phasers on "funky"!
Henry Gates Ford: by Tablizer · 2009-12-01 05:42 · Score: 5, Funny

"You can have any screen of death color you want, as long as it's black"

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Table-ized A.I.
Headline is misleading by ericthughes · 2009-12-01 05:49 · Score: 5, Informative

The issue is not limited to Win7 but effects most versions of windows. A ACL bug causes the black screen http://www.prevx.com/blog/140/Black-Screen-woes-could-affect-millions-on-Windows--Vista-and-XP.html
Re:Heh, simple. Don't update. by Shagg · 2009-12-01 05:50 · Score: 5, Insightful

He might not do much with it, but the botnet it's on has plenty of uses.

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Unix is user friendly, it's just selective about who its friends are.
patches may make Win 7 not genuine by svendsen · 2009-12-01 05:52 · Score: 5, Informative

11/24 my windows machine is working perfectly,. Been up for over a month and fully activated (I bought the $30 Win 7 prof. EDU discount). Turn off my computer the same night (vacation).

11/28 come back from vacation turn my computer on and it updates itself with the 11/25 patches. As soon as they are installed all of a sudden my copy is no longer genuine and I get all the warnings.

Spend 2 hours with Microsoft last night. product key is valid. They tell me that windows updater is corrupted and I need to reinstall the entire OS. I was told it is an "issue" when doing a custom upgrade from Vista.

Now this article is out I am wondering if their patches tried to tighten some DRM and broke a lot more then being reported.
Re:Heh, simple. Don't update. by ClayJar · 2009-12-01 06:00 · Score: 5, Funny

Securing windows is like pushing water uphill with a sharp stick.
So, if I follow what you're saying, securing windows is much easier when it freezes?