How to Copy Event Viewer Logs

By Kevin Lee

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The Event Log Service stores important events that occur on your computer, such as when a program crashes or when you boot up. Windows creates separate logs to track application, system, security and other events that the operating system and software applications perform. Event logs are useful for diagnosing system problems, determining why applications fail and identifying security breaches. You can view and copy these events using the Event Viewer.

Step 1

Click the Windows "Start" menu and type "eventvwr.msc." Press "Enter." The Event Viewer will open.

Step 2

Click "Windows Logs" to view the logs.

Step 3

Click on one of the logs to view the events in the log. For example, if you click the "Application" log, Application events appear on the right side of the Event Viewer.

Step 4

Double-click an event. The "Event Properties" window will open and display event details.

Step 5

Click "Copy" to copy the details to the Windows clipboard. Click "Close" to close the "Event Properties" window and return to the list of events for the selected log.

Step 6

Open Notepad and click an empty area in the new document. Select "Paste." Windows will paste the contents of the clipboard into the document.

Step 7

Return to the Event Viewer and double-click additional events to copy their details using the same procedure.

Step 8

Click "File" and select "Exit" to exit the Event Viewer.

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