How to Access the Computer Management Console Event Viewer in Microsoft Windows Vista

So your new computer is acting up and you want to find out why. Today, I will show you how to access your computer management logs and see what is going on behind the scenes of your operating system.

1. Click on the start menu to the bottom left of your screen.


2. Right-click on computer (a menu will now show up with several options)


3. Left-click on Manage


4. If UAC (User Account Control) is turned on, you will need to click Continue to allow Windows to access your computer management console


5. You will now see the computer management console - double click on "System Tools" on the left of the management console


6. Now double-click on "Event Viewer'


7. Next, double-click on "Windows Logs"


8. Finally, single-click on "System"

In the middle of the computer management console, there is a list of events that can be sorted by date and time, level, source, event ID, or task category. Level gives you an idea of the severity of the event. There are going to be many events in the "Information" category. These events are just information on common tasks that are occurring behind the scenes. There are other events that are classified as "Warning" and have a yellow sign with an exclamation mark in the middle. There are yet other events in the "Error" category which have a circle with an exclamation mark.

Each event has a description of the event in the details field on the bottom portion of your screen. If you are having a particular issue, research the different events that hare happening in and around the time frame of when the issue at hand occurred. If you are unsure about what an event means, copy and paste the details into a search engine and see if you can find out some more information like that.