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Analyze Windows event logs efficiently

Windows Event Viewer — Event Log FAQ

What is Event Viewer?

Event Viewer is a standard Windows tool that reads Windows event logs and displays detailed information about Windows events on your computer. Although Event Viewer does its job well, it provides only basic functions. Third-party Windows event log viewer tools commonly extend the functionality of Windows Event Viewer. Our Event Log Explorer brings many new features for event log management.

How to open Event Viewer?

The most common way to open Event Viewer is as follows:
Open Windows Control Panel
Click System and Security
Click Administrative Tools
Double-click Event Viewer.
 

Other ways to open Event Viewer:

Run Event Viewer from Command Prompt:
Open Windows Command Prompt, type command:
EVENTVWR 
and press Enter.
 
Run Event Viewer from Windows Power Shell:
Open Power Shell, type command
EVENTVWR
and press Enter.
 
Run Event Viewer from Run dialog.
Open Run dialog by pressing Windows+R.
Type eventvwr.msc (or eventvwr.exe) and click OK.
 
Run Event Viewer in Microsoft Management Console.
Open Microsoft Management Console (mmc.exe)
Select File->Add/Remove snap-in from the main menu.
Select Event Viewer, then click Add button.
Select the computer you want to view event logs on (e.g. local computer) and press OK.
Press Ok in Add or Remove snap-in dialog.
Then click on Event Viewer from Microsoft Management Console window.
 

I am unable to open Event Viewer by typing its name. Where is Event Viewer location?

Event Viewer location is
C:\Windows\System32\eventvwr.exe
or
C:\Windows\System32\eventvwr.msc

How to use Event Viewer?

To view events with Event Viewer:
  • Open Windows Event Viewer.
  • If you want to read events on a remote computer, click on Event Viewer (Local) in the tree, then click Action and select Connect to another computer.
    • Application, Security and System logs are located in Windows Logs folder. Other logs are located in Applications and Services Logs in the tree.
  • Click on the log name in the tree and it will appear in the main (central) pane of Event Viewer.
  • Browse events with mouse or keyboard. Use commands on Actions pane to manage the event log or refine displayed events.
More information about Event Viewer usage is available in Event Viewer Help.
However, we recommend using Event Log Explorer as an Event Viewer alternative.