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How to Resolve Event Viewer Not Working in Windows 10 and 11

Overwrite the previous log files to troubleshoot this issue

5 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

Windows Event Viewer logs all system activities and errors, enabling users to identify the cause of problems and troubleshoot them in time. However, several Windows 10 and 11 users reported the Event Viewer not working for reasons such as system file corruption, memory problems, etc.

This article, therefore, provides simplified steps for resolving the issue so you don’t miss important system health, performance, and security information.

What is the Event Viewer, and why is it not working?

There are various types of events: information, warning, error, and Security log. Irrespective, they all perform these functions inthe Windows Event Viewerapart from the custom view access to PC activities:

In addition, you are likely to encounter some of these errors:Event Log service is unavailable. Verify that the service is running;Access denied. You do not have sufficient privileges to access the event log;Error 1079.etc.

Now that you know what the Event Viewer does and some potential reasons why it may not work as outlined above, let’s proceed to the fixes.

What causes the Event Viewer not to work?

Some common and prominent issues that cause problems in Event Viewer are:

How do I fix Event Viewer not working?

Before anything else, kindly try these preliminary checks:

If they fail to curb the issue, try the following tweaks.

1. Restart the Windows Event Log service

Some users claim they could fix the Event Viewer not working issue by merelyrestarting the Windows Event Log service.

2. Create a new user account

Once you’vecreated a new user account, sign in with the credentials and check if the issue persists.

3. Review log security settings

If yourFile Explorer is not opening, check out our detailed guide.

4. Use the Windows Registry to grant full permission

If you haveissues with the Registry Editor, you can fix them here.

5. Overwrite old log files

By modifying the log settings, you can configure how logs overwrite events when they reach maximum size. Hence, protecting important events from getting lost due to log size limitations.

As stated earlier, it is essential to troubleshoot the issue to ensure consistency in events logging quickly. Although there may be several causes for this problem, following our guide should ease the troubleshooting process.

If you need athird-party event log analyzer toolthat provides free and advanced analysis, select from our best options.

Also, please leave your questions or suggestions in the comments section below.

How to Resolve Event Viewer Not Working in Windows 10 and 11#

What is the Event Viewer, and why is it not working?#

What causes the Event Viewer not to work?#

How do I fix Event Viewer not working?#

1. Restart the Windows Event Log service#

2. Create a new user account#

3. Review log security settings#

4. Use the Windows Registry to grant full permission#

5. Overwrite old log files#