The Red Screen of Death (abbreviated RSoD, sometimes called "Red Screen of Doom") is a nickname for the error message

Error message

An error message is information displayed when an unexpected condition occurs, usually on a computer or other device. On modern operating systems with graphical user interfaces, error messages are often displayed using dialog boxes...

 which existed in some beta versions of Microsoft's

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

, Windows Vista

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...

 and some video game consoles and handhelds. It was dropped in Beta 1 (Build 5112) of Windows Vista for all errors except boot loader errors. It can also be found (but rarely) in versions and early builds of Microsoft's Windows 98

Windows 98

Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...

 operating system, even when it was known as codename "Memphis".

PlayStation 2

A Red Screen can be also found on the PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

if there is a format disc error, when the console fails to recognize the format of an inserted disc. When it appears, it says "Please insert a PlayStation or PlayStation 2 format disc."

It was accompanied by a sound similar to the startup tune of the browser, but with a more tense and distorted feel to it, along with the typically blue background changing into a dark and angered shade of red. When not expected, it was generally considered by gamers as a very frightening error screen.

It is caused by a disc that is incompatible with the PS2, (e.g., Xbox or GameCube disc), a disc that is so badly damaged that the console fails to recognize its format, if there is a problem with the laser, or very occasionally for no apparent reason at all.

Windows Vista

When a computer running Windows Vista or usually the boot loader of the Beta versions has a critical error, Windows Vista will display a Red screen of death. It has been seen many times since it was released in 2006 for beta and 2007 for the final version of Windows Vista, though it has the BSOD more often.

Windows 98 SE/Memphis

On Windows 98 SE (back as far as when it was codenamed "Memphis"), the Red Screen Of Death will occur if an ACPI driver fails during the Windows 98 boot, causing the system to crash.