Using Event Viewer to Help Troubleshoot Windows XP and Vista

One of the often overlooked methods for troubleshooting a system running XP or Vista is Event Viewer. Event Viewer is a component included with these operating systems and, as the name suggests, allows you to view the event logs on your machine. So let’s get to work on seeing if we can find out some more information in regards to your system troubles.

For Windows XP
1. Click ‘Start’, and then ‘Control Panel’. Click ‘Performance and Maintenance’, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click ‘Computer Management’.
2. In the leftmost column, click the ‘+’ sign beside Event Viewer.
3. You should see ‘Application’, ‘Security’, and ‘System’ should appear below ‘Event Viewer’
4. Click ‘Application’ and look to the right hand column. Look down the list for white ‘X’s’ in red circles with the word ‘Error’ beside it.
5. An ‘Event Properties’ window should open with details as to the error.
6. Input the appropriate information into the ‘Events and Error Message Center’. The link to it is here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/support/ee/ee_advanced.aspx
7. Repeat the process for ‘Security’ and ‘System’

For Windows Vista
1. Click ‘Start’ orb, and then ‘Control Panel’. Click ‘System and Maintenance’, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click ‘Event Viewer’.
2. In the leftmost column, click the triangle beside ‘Windows Logs’.
3. You should see ‘Application’, ‘Security’, and ‘System’ should appear below ‘Event Viewer’
4. Click ‘Application’ and look to the right hand column. Look down the list for white ‘X’s’ in red circles with the word ‘Error’ beside it.
5. An ‘Event Properties’ window should open with details as to the error.
6. Input the appropriate information into the ‘Events and Error Message Center’. The link to it is here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/support/ee/ee_advanced.aspx
7. Repeat the process for ‘Security’ and ‘System’
8. You can look under ‘Application and Service Logs’ which may contain further details as to possible problems with your system.

You can also use user driven sites such as EventId.net (http://www.eventid.net/) to find further solutions to your issue.