Export, Clear, and Increase Size for Event Logs in Windows

Can bog down your load time

The Event Viewer in Windows is a centralized log service utilized by applications and operating system components to report events that have taken place, such as a failure to complete an action or to start a component or program.

There are several sections in the Event Viewer, such asApplicationandSecurityunder Windows Logs andApplications and Services Logs. The lists of events in each section in the Event Viewer cumulate over time and the lists can get very long and bog down the loading time of the Event Viewer. It can also make it difficult to find problems. You might even encounter a message telling you the event log is full.

This article explains how to export event logs to back them up, how to clear them, and how to increase the size of an event log.

Export a Windows Event Log

It is recommended that you export an event log to back it up before clearing it. To do this, right-click on the log you want to export in the tree on the left side of the Event Viewer window and selectSave All Events Asfrom the popup menu. Use the arrows to the right of the tree items to expand and collapse the different sections of the tree.

NOTE:You can also clickSave All Event Asin theActionslist on the right side of the window. The name of the selected log displays as a heading above the available options.

If you don’t see the available options that are also available on the popup menu under the name of the selected log, click the down arrow on the heading to expand the list.

On theSave Asdialog box, navigate to where you want to save your event log file. Enter a name for the saved log file in theFile nameand choose a file type from theSave as typedrop-down list.

NOTE:You can save your log file as an Event File (.evtx), an XML file (.xml), a tab-delimited file (.txt), or a comma-separated file (.csv). The only file type that you can import again into the Event Viewer is the.evtxtype. The other types allow you to view your log data outside of the Event Viewer, but the files cannot be imported back into the Event Viewer.

ClickSaveto save the event log to a file.

If you selected the.evtxfile type, theDisplay Informationdialog box displays. If you want to be able to import the log data into the Event Viewer on another computer, you may need to include display information with the exported log file. Select theDisplay information for these languagesradio button. If you need another language, select theShow all available languagescheck box and select the check box for your desired language, if available. ClickOK.

A directory containing the metadata for your locale is written to the same directory as the log file you saved.

Open a Saved Log

To open a log file you exported as a .evtx file, selectOpen Saved Logfrom theActionmenu.

On theOpen Saved Logdialog box, navigate to where you saved your.evtxfile, select it, and clickOpen.

Clear an Event Log

Once you have exported a log, you can easily clear it. To do so, selectClear Logfrom theActionmenu.

NOTE: You can also right-click on the log and selectClear Logfrom the popup menu or clickClear Login theActionslist on the right side of the Event Viewer window.

A dialog box displays allowing you to save the log before you clear, in case you haven’t already exported it. If you clickSave and Clear, the sameSave Asdialog box mentioned earlier displays and theDisplay Informationdialog box displays, if you select the.evtxfile type. If you have already saved your log file, clickClearto clear the log.

Increase the Maximum Size of an Event Log

If you have received a message that the event log is full, you may want to increase the maximum size allowed for that log. To do this, right-click on the desired log and selectPropertiesfrom the popup menu.

NOTE:Again, you can access thePropertiesoption from theActionmenu or in theActionslist.

TheLog Propertiesdialog box displays. To increase the maximum size allowed for the selected log, click the up arrow on theMaximum log sizeedit box to change the number (in kilobytes). You can also highlight the current number and type a new number.

Select an action to take when the maximum event log size is reached. You can choose toOverwrite events as needed, starting with the oldest events, toArchive the log when full, which does not overwrite any events, orDo not overwrite the events, which means you must clear the event log manually.

You can also clear the selected log on theLog Propertiesdialog box by clickingClear Log. ClickOKwhen you have finished making your changes.

To close the Event Viewer, selectExitfrom theFilemenu.

The Windows Event Viewer is a useful tool for obtaining information about your hardware, software, and system components. It can help you identify current system problems, like why your computer crashed, or what caused the latest problem with a specific program. Enjoy!

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications.Read Aseem’s Full Bio

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