What's With All The Jokes About A Microsoft Windows Outage? The Disastrous CrowdStrike Update And Memes About Blue Loading Screens Explained

Millions of Americans woke up to the news that their weekend has been inadvertently elongated — but only if their office uses a Microsoft Windows system paired with a cybersecurity software called CrowdStrike.

News of a global Microsoft outage affecting everyone from airlines to banks to Fortune 500 companies had people puzzling over what could have caused such a worldwide software failing, with flights being grounded in some parts of the world and entire television broadcasters going dark for hours.

If you've seen memes about a bright blue loading screen (or "BSOD") affecting everything from workplace computers to the MSG Sphere, here's a recap of how one cybersecurity firm's software update caused perhaps the largest global system blackout entirely by accident.

What Is CrowdStrike And Why Did It Cause Microsoft Windows Systems To Endlessly Reboot?

CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity software trusted by hundreds of companies around the world, from global banks to international airlines. Sometime in the early hours of July 19th, 2024, many Windows operators reported that a CrowdStrike update caused their systems to start endlessly rebooting.

Faced with a glowing "blue screen of death," people began to notice that their workplaces weren't the only ones dealing with a seeming Microsoft outage. According to a senior Microsoft official, reports of booting and rebooting systems began pouring in from around the world before the sun hit the eastern coast of the United States.

One of the first widespread shutdowns as a result of the bug was the grounding of several major American airlines, with a Reddit user posting the news early on July 19th.

So What Actually Caused The Microsoft Windows Outage Of 2024?

CrowdStrike's CEO, George Kurtz, took to his X / Twitter account around 5 a.m. EST on July 19th to issue some damage control. He said that the outage was a result of a "defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts," and that a fix had been deployed from their end.

The CEO went on to apologize to all his users, further clarifying the bug that caused the outage. Sky News, one of the media companies that experienced a blackout due to the outage, uploaded the video to their YouTube channel.

Is There Any Way To Fix The Windows Rebooting Error?

Some X users posted about how the issue could be fixed by deleting the file causing the bug. X user @brody_n77 made a post on July 19th, 2024, saying that deleting the "C-00000291*.sys" in the Windows CrowdStrike folder would resolve the issue, while another X user lamented about how his airline desk clerk would not let him try the fix on their computer.

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How Did Internet Users React To The Microsoft Windows Outage?

Initial posts about the global Windows system outage discussed how companies were (or were not) adapting to their systems being in flux. An X user from India shared how, in lieu of operating computers, he had been handed a handwritten boarding pass for his domestic flight. Other internet users posted memes and jokes mocking Microsoft hours before news about CrowdStrike's involvement in the bug broke.

For the full history of CrowdStrike Microsoft Global Outage, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.