The dreaded Blue Screen of Death is still plaguing many firms — but over half of these crashes are preventable
Study finds 1 in 200 devices hit with the ‘blue screen of death’ every day
![BSOD](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EaVXEjwuDms8XLiafqP3Ak-320-80.jpg)
The Windows ‘blue screen of death’ or BSOD, is a frustration most people are all too familiar with.
The scale of the problem is illustrated in new research from Nexthink which claims even under normal circumstances, 1 in 200 devices suffer from the error - and this rose to 1 in 10 after the recent Crowdstrike outage.
The analysis found significant differences from one industry to another, with Tech (unsurprisingly) leading the way with over 15% of devices facing the issue monthly. Healthcare and retail services were observed to suffer the least, with 10% and 8% respectively.
Reducing the risks
These errors are costly and resource intensive with even the shortest interruptions taking between 0-15 minutes, and with 30% of employees needing IT assistance to help resolve BSOD incidents. However, Nexthink concluded that by using preventative measures, these incidents could be halved. Pre-empting problem areas and taking action before errors hit could help organizations limit the BSOD incidents to 1 in 400.
“Unfortunately, although the majority of these crashes are avoidable, most businesses simply don’t have the tools needed to preemptively identify the problem and take action," noted Gaurang Ganatra, Product Marketing Director at Nexthink.
"Most don’t even know which devices are functioning properly right now, never mind which ones are liable to BSOD in the future”
For businesses to switch from reactive tickets handling to a proactive approach, identifying weaknesses in IT systems is key.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
The research noted nine core drivers of BSOD errors, with problematic hardware models, poorly managed Windows updates, and misconfigured graphic card, network, or audio drivers topping the list.
Ganatra recommends businesses give their IT departments the ability to generate insights in order to ‘make data-driven decisions that can reduce costs, relieve employee stress, and increase productivity’.
More from TechRadar Pro
- Take a look at the best workstations around today
- 100 common Windows 10 problems and how to solve them
- We've listed the best business laptops
Ellen has been writing for almost four years, with a focus on post-COVID policy whilst studying for BA Politics and International Relations at the University of Cardiff, followed by an MA in Political Communication. Before joining TechRadar Pro as a Junior Writer, she worked for Future Publishing’s MVC content team, working with merchants and retailers to upload content.