Microsoft reveals how many Windows PCs were bricked by CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike, an independent cybersecurity company, was the cause of a global Windows outage after it rolled out a faulty driver update.

Microsoft reveals how many Windows PCs were bricked by CrowdStrike
Comment IconFacebook IconX IconReddit Icon
Tech and Science Editor
Published
2 minutes read time

The world experienced one of, if not the biggest IT outage in history over the weekend, as independent cybersecurity company CrowdStrike rolled out a faulty driver update that caused millions of Windows PCs to be hit with the dreaded blue screen of death.

Microsoft reveals how many Windows PCs were bricked by CrowdStrike 6526

The IT outage affected numerous facets of society, including emergency services, hospitals, airlines, supermarkets, payment systems, telecommunications companies, stock exchanges, and more. The problem was traced back to a faulty driver that was pushed out by CrowdStrike, and since the issue resulted in affected PCs entering boot loops the fix has to be performed manually, which poses a real issue to businesses and companies that heavily rely on multiple Windows PCs.

Microsoft has now taken to its blog to recognize the outage, writing that while it wasn't the outage isn't the company's fault, it's working with CrowdStrike to remedy the situation for affected customers.

The blog post revealed the first official mention of how many Windows PCs were affected by the faulty driver. According to Microsoft, that number is less than 1% of all Windows machines, or more specifically 8.5 million.

"While software updates may occasionally cause disturbances, significant incidents like the CrowdStrike event are infrequent. We currently estimate that CrowdStrike's update affected 8.5 million Windows devices, or less than one percent of all Windows machines. While the percentage was small, the broad economic and societal impacts reflect the use of CrowdStrike by enterprises that run many critical services," wrote David Weston - Vice President, Enterprise and OS Security

Photo of the $10 -PlayStation Store Gift Card [Digital Code]
Best Deals: $10 -PlayStation Store Gift Card [Digital Code]
Country flag Today 7 days ago 30 days ago
- $10 USD
Buy
- $10 USD
Buy
- $10 USD
Buy
$50 CAD $50 CAD
Buy
- $10 USD
Buy
- $10 USD
Buy
* Prices last scanned on 2/17/2025 at 6:20 am CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.

Tech and Science Editor

Email IconX IconLinkedIn Icon

Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms.

Related Topics

Newsletter Subscription