- The Event Viewer Windows 11 allows in-depth analysis of any system activity or failure.
- Properly configuring audit policies and understanding logs are critical for advanced diagnostics.
- Using Event Viewer correctly improves security, facilitates threat detection, and optimizes computer performance.
Have you ever noticed that your computer is running slower than usual, strange errors are appearing, or you just don't know what's wrong? Welcome to the club of those who look for solutions beyond restarting their computer. Today I'm going to show you one of the most powerful (and often underrated) resources for Windows 11: the Events viewer. Here you will not only be able to read error messages, but you will also learn how to perform a advanced diagnosis to find out what's really going on in the guts of your PC.
In this mega-article you will dive into all the details about How to get the most out of Event Viewer, from understanding its technical operation to mastering policy configuration, auditing, logging, and advanced troubleshooting. Don't skimp on the surface. Let's see how you can become the Sherlock Holmes of Windows 11, analyzing every event and detecting even the most hidden errors.
What is the Event Viewer in Windows 11 and what is it for?
El Events viewer It is a fundamental tool in any operating system diagnosis, whether you are an advanced user, system administrator, or IT technician. Its main function is record and display chronologically all important events that occur in the system: from the Boot of the equipment, going through the installation of drivers, problems of hardware, application errors, login attempts, and much more.
Having access to these records allows you to act in advance of possible incidents., identifies failure patterns and helps uncover both configuration problems and security breaches. It is therefore key in auditing, attack investigation, and preventive maintenance tasks.
Additionally, the Event Viewer not only shows critical errorsIt also documents warnings, relevant system information, informational events, and application and service-specific logs, making it a sort of Windows black box.
Accessing and Getting Started in Event Viewer
To open the Event Viewer in Windows 11 There are several shortcuts. You can search for it directly in the start menu by typing 'Event Viewer' or press the combination Windows + R y escribir eventvwr.mscAfter pressing 'Enter', a window will open divided into three panels:
- Left panel: Contains the tree structure of logs, such as the Windows logs and the Applications and Services logs.
- Center panel: chronologically lists the events in the selected category.
- Right panel: offers actions such as saving records, creating filters or custom views.
When you access it you will see events grouped into different levels: Critical, Error, Warning, Information, and Debug. You can also see the origin, date, and time of each event, helping to contextualize and understand the problem.
Structure of the logs in the Event Viewer
The events are classified mainly into two large sections: Windows logs y Application and service logs.
- Windows Logs: It includes the most general and basic system logs, such as System, Security, Application, Configuration and Forwarded Events.
- Application and service logs: groups individual and specific records of applications, services, internal components and external providers.
Within each record, the events are displayed in columns with relevant information: Level, Date and time, Origin, Event ID, Task category, User, Team, among others.
Types of events according to their level and importance
Each event is classified according to its level of severity:
- Critical: Serious failures requiring immediate intervention.
- Error: They indicate problems that require attention, even if they are not critical.
- Warning: Situations that could lead to problems if not managed.
- Information: Informative events about the normal operation of the system.
- Depuration: Useful details for developers and advanced diagnostics, not always visible by default.
Identifying which level an event belongs to is key to prioritize the resolution of incidents and know the health status of the system.
How to interpret and locate specific events
Are you looking for a specific error, want to know when an application crashed, or who tried to break into your computer? The Event Viewer allows you to filter by date, level, event ID, source, and keywords. For example, to detect failed login attempts, search for the ID 4625 in the Security log. For service errors, filter by the service name or error.
The system allows you to save filters as custom views, so you can reapply them whenever you need and not waste time configuring your search.
Create, manage, and reuse custom views
The custom views They're a very useful tool for those who regularly diagnose systems. They allow you to define complex criteria (for example, multiple event IDs, ranges, combining dates, and user or machine filters) and save them under a unique name. So, the next time you want to view those events, just select them in the left panel.
Custom views are dynamic: They are automatically updated when new events occur that fit the filters.
Advanced auditing and logging policy settings
For advanced diagnosis and real protection, it is not enough to consult the logs, but it is necessary to ensure that the system is auditing and documenting all relevant eventsThis is achieved through the Configuring advanced audit policies and group policies, especially in environments with multiple computers or users.
Through the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) You can determine what type of events you want to audit: logins, account changes, Active Directory object movements, NTLM usage, service modifications, certificate changes, etc.
- Credential validation (example, event ID 4776).
- Group and account management (IDs such as 4726, 4741, 4753, among others).
- Changes to objects and access to the directory service (IDs 4662, 5136).
- Security system extensions (ID 7045).
In addition, they can Automate report generation, export configurations, and check status from the audit using PowerShell, with commands on the table:
New-MDIConfigurationReport -Path "C:\Reports" -Mode Domain -OpenHtmlReport Set-MDIConfiguration -Mode Domain -Configuration All Get-MDIConfiguration -Mode Domain -Configuration All
What events to monitor and how to filter them correctly
One of the most common challenges is knowing which records are important for each situation. Some examples of key events:
- ID 4625: Failed login attempts (watch for possible brute force attacks).
- ID 7045: Installing services (very useful for detecting malware or infiltrations).
- ID 5136: Changes to Active Directory objects.
- ID 4662: Access to directory services.
- Critical system errors (System panel).
- Driver installation or failure (Application or System panel).
To filter by multiple identifiers, use commas and ranges. For example: 4624,4625,4700-4702You can exclude identifiers with the minus sign.
Practical examples of advanced diagnosis
Imagine an application crashing sporadically. Enter the Application logFilter by 'Error' and look for the app name or the associated Event ID. Look at the 'Source' and 'Description' columns to see if the cause is the app, the drivers, or Windows itself. If you see disk errors in the System log, the problem may be with the hardware.
Another common scenario is the detection of unauthorized users or suspicious actions: with proper auditing, you can detect when someone has accessed critical files, attempted to modify security policies, or deleted records.
In organizational environments, monitoring events from AD FS, AD CS, Microsoft Entra Connect, and other critical services is vital to anticipating threats and meeting compliance requirements.
Export, analyze, and share logs for technical support
If you need to ask for help, you can Export any custom record or view as an .evtx file and send it for analysis. This way, technical support will have all the information needed to reproduce the problem or provide a quick solution.
Third-party tools and automated solutions can analyze thousands of records, detect patterns, and generate sophisticated reports for tracking, auditing, and documentation.
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