Viewing the system log
The system log contains events logged by the Windows system components. For example, the failure of a driver or other system component to load during startup is recorded in the system log. To view the system log:
1. Open a command prompt.
2. At the prompt, type eventvwr. This opens the Windows Event Viewer.
3. In the left pane of this window, click the System Log (this is often selected as default). Here all the events that have been written to the local system are displayed.
Viewing the application log
The application log contains events that are logged by applications or programs. For example, a database program might record a file error in the application log. To view the application log:
1. Open a command prompt.
2. At the prompt, type eventvwr. This opens the Windows Event Viewer.
3. In the left pane of this window, click the Application Log. This is where all the events that have been logged by applications or programs are displayed.
Interpreting log information
In both logs, each event is displayed on a separate row, in date and time order (most recent first), with the following information:
* Type: The event type, which can be information, a warning, or an error.
* Date and time: The date and time when the event was written to the log.
* Source: What action has caused the event.
* Category: The category of the event. The default category is none.
* Event: The event number.
* User: The name of the user at the time of the event.
* Computer: The name of the local machine.
To view an individual log entry:
1. Within the system or application log, find the log entry.
2. Right-click the entry and from the pop-up menu click Properties. This opens the Information Properties window, where there is a description of the event. There is also a Data section that details bytes or words that were parsed when the record was written to the log.
3. In the Information Properties window, use the up and down arrows to move through the events of the log.
4. To close the Information Properties window, click OK; this returns you to the system or application log.
