back to article Schermata blu di errore: Italy might be in lockdown, but the sh!tshow must go on

We're going topical in today's instalment of computers behaving badly because here's an Italian display that developed the blues just before the country sent everyone home. These days, BSOD might as well mean "Bastard Sneeze Of Doom" instead of the Blue Screen Of Death that Windows users came to know and love (before Microsoft …

  1. herman Silver badge

    Towel Day

    That B0rkage was a sneeze from the Great Blue Arkleseizure.

    1. Totally not a Cylon

      Re: Towel Day

      Higher or lower dimensional than Green?

      1. David 132 Silver badge
        Happy

        Re: Towel Day

        Yes, I think someone’s conflated the Great Green Arkleseizure and the Hooloovoo (“a super-intelligent shade of blue”).

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
          Joke

          Re: Towel Day

          Are you being colourist?

  2. Someone Else Silver badge
    Coat

    Oh, I dunno

    We are far too classy a publication to suggest that perhaps the computer driving the display has become infected with a virus and hacked up a big ol' screen of blue. That would be in terribly poor taste.

    Oh, I dunno. The mind races with possible puns and ironic wisecracks along those lines.

    Besides, when has El Reg ever been accused of good taste?

  3. Waseem Alkurdi

    We are far too classy a publication to suggest that perhaps the computer driving the display has become infected with a virus and hacked up a big ol' screen of blue. That would be in terribly poor taste.

    This deserves a medal.

    1. elkster88
      Big Brother

      In the spirit of F. U.

      "You might well think that- I couldn't possibly comment."

  4. Luiz Abdala
    Trollface

    Mind exercise: what is the resolution of that borkage?

    You can see the upper corner of the borkage perfectly, so it is not running a multiplexer of some sort, or extended desktop views to force the image accross multiple monitors, or at least this is the first monitor of an array. But... does it keep a purposely low res image, upon boot, accross multiple monitors?

    The message: A PROBLEM HAS BEEN DETECTED AND... suggests an extremely low resolution mode upon boot. Something on the VGA - SVGA range, which is below 1024 x 768. XP is famous for loading VGA-level resolution on default drivers and then tune up when proper drivers are loaded.

    Not only it is a BSOD, it must be a really old motherboard under that BSOD, to run that resolution into the ground. I am suggesting XP and lower, and VGA drivers, not even SVGA. The machine must preceed the OS by several years.

    My guess is 640 x 480.

    My own machines never managed to mangle even the BSOD text that bad, by that era.

    1. Martin an gof Silver badge

      Re: Mind exercise: what is the resolution of that borkage?

      Many displays for this sort of use can do the multiscreen thing independently. I can see how it would be fairly easy to cause a computer to output (say) four separate streams of adverts in a single (say) 1920 x 1080 canvas and just feed that to the monitors, with each one set up to display one appropriate quarter. At the sort of distances we're looking at here, 960 x 540 is plenty of resolution and images and text will be large anyway.

      This is one of Panasonic's "entry level" monitors which can do the above (up to 5 x 5). You just tell it how many monitors are in the group and which one it is (e.g. A1 or B4 or whatever). They also have 4k monitors that can do similar things and I think some of their higher-end 1920x1080 monitors can accept a 4k signal for a similar purpose, in which case you could get four FHD displays running from one computer capable of outputting a 4k image (Raspberry Pi anyone?). Other manufacturers have devices capable of the same sort of stuff, but I'm only really familiar with Panasonic.

      M.

  5. martin 62

    The IRQL error is a memory related error that often appears if a system process or a driver attempts to access a memory address without proper access rights.

    This, in turn, can be triggered by any of these causes:

    Corrupt system files

    Incompatible device drivers

    Faulty hardware items

    Incorrect software installation

    An downgrade to a lower version of Windows, e.g. downgrading Windows 7 to Windows Vista.

    in my experience irql errors usually relate to a driver issue which is fairly easy to solve by reading the minidump logs with WinDBG

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      So instead of doing something moderately useful, like showing the last line of the log, it gives you an error that is completely wrong, meaningless, irrelevant, confusing and unhelpfull?

      Have they ever thought of going into marketing?

  6. Anonymous Custard Silver badge
    Headmaster

    Achoo You BSOD

    Come on, it's at least a Biohazard Sneeze of Doom.

  7. jmch Silver badge
    Trollface

    Language pedant

    "Schermata blu di errore"

    Google translate has let you down there! In Italian, screen is 'schermo', so BSOD would be 'schermo blu della morte'.

    'Scherma' means fencing, as in the swordfighting sport. I've never come across 'Schermata' but from the way Italian words are constructed this could be construed as (a) a fencing / defensive action (in the same way as 'to screen' can mean 'to protect' or (b) being hit by a screen.

    On second thoughts, maybe that latter usage is a good translation after all ;)

    1. TheJude (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Language pedant

      We didn't use Google Translate. Check again.

    2. Marco Fontani

      Re: Language pedant

      Hello pedant,

      "schemata blu" is what we say in Italy when Windows bluescreens. For SEO purposes, many use "schermata blu di errore", but really "schermata blu" suffices. Everyone knows that a "schemata blu" is "di errore".

      See also: https://www.google.it/search?q=%22schermata+blu%22

      We also usually utter a ton of not-so-nice words along with "schermata blu", too - but those aren't safe for publication and aren't restricted to Windows kernel panics. I've been guilty of uttering some really nasty ones when my Linux boxes have had a kernel panic, too.

      HTH

      1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

        Re: Language pedant

        Nel blu dipinto di blu ?

    3. Stuart Castle Silver badge

      Re: Language pedant

      Blue fence of death maybe?

  8. jmch Silver badge
    Trollface

    Language pedantry alert

    Google translate let you down there with "Schermata blu di errore" ! Besides using 'error' instead of 'death' (since when does the register play things down?), in Italian screen is 'schermo' (and can also be used as 'to screen' meaning to hide or to protect.

    'Scherma' means fencing, as in the swordfighting sport. I haven't seen 'schermata' used before, but from the way Italian words are built, it could mean a fencing clash, a protective action, or a hit with a screen*.

    Finally, while 'blu' is correct and in very common use, the 'proper' Italian word would be 'azzurro' (as in azzurri referring to their national football or rugby teams).

    At least you got 'of' right. Sort of, as you neglected to combine it with the feminine definite article.

    A correct translation would be 'schermo azzurro della morte'.

    To be fair, I like the idea of describing it as "being hit by an error screen", where the hit is literal rather than metaphorical

    1. MiguelC Silver badge
      Headmaster

      Re: Language pedantry alert

      please recheck your italian, screen can be either schermo or schermata when referring to the picture or the physical object, respectively

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Language pedantry alert

        Can we extend this useful discusion to other languages?

        Is there an official German word for WindowsBlauScreenVonTodes ?

        Does the Welsh word require an extra widescreen monitor ?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Language pedantry alert

        I think you have it the wrong way around.

  9. 1752
    Devil

    Bologna Bork

    The pictures of the trains top right in the photo, abit Thomas the Tank Engine? I I mean are they looking at me?

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