March 6th, 2017

Some internal developer chatter on a bug that caused your screen to turn black

There was a bug in an internal build of Windows (let’s call it build N) where if you were sufficiently unlucky, your screen would turn black and get stuck that way. The team responsible for the bug was busy working on a fix. They later reported that verification in their branch was successful and that the fix was awaiting (but had not received) fasttrack approval for build N + 2.

The person who reported the problem asked, “So am I to assume that I shouldn’t install build N+1?”

The team dryly replied, “You should if you’re really into black.”

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Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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