How To View Windows Crash Logs And Error Logs

Are you experiencing Windows 10 crashing problems lately? Check out this article on how you can view your Windows 10 crash log. With this information, you’ll be able to figure out where the issue lies.

Windows 10 computers often crash or freeze. Then Windows 10 creates a crash log, which you can use to analyze and troubleshoot the cause. If you don’t know how to check Windows 10 crash logs, congrats, you’ve come to the right place!

What Are Windows Crash Logs?

An operating system generates a crash log record when your hardware or software crashes, hangs, or freezes so you can determine the cause of the crash. A Windows Event Viewer holds this log information.

Crash logs are extremely useful in troubleshooting. They are generated when Windows and Microsoft Office crash, which may provide clues about what caused the crash. We will examine and analyze these logs in greater detail.

What is the most common operating system to crash?

Windows, Linux, and Mac are the most widely used operating systems worldwide. Each one of these has its pros and cons. A tech geek will tell you that Windows is the operating system that is most prone to crashes, freezing, and hanging.

What Causes My Computer To Crash?

Computer crashes can be caused by various reasons, including hardware failures and OS malfunctions. Hardware errors are less common but can be more devastating. 

Here, we have compiled a list of problems that may cause your system to crash or freeze:

• Bad drivers: Another leading cause of Windows malfunctions is faulty drivers. Using the wrong driver might crash your system and let in viruses.
• Hard drive malfunctioning: An unreliable hard drive can result in a Windows crash. A defective hard drive prevents Windows from opening files, and all your computer data will also be affected.
• Failing RAM: In cases of faulty RAM configuration, Windows won’t be able to read data from memory. A RAM failure can cause your Windows system to crash or lock up while attempting to recover data from memory.
• CPU overheating: Overheating can cause various system components to malfunction, causing Windows to crash or freeze. Processors, RAM chips, video cards, and other electronic components are heat-resistant.
• Corrupted third-party software: It is also possible for third-party software to cause a Windows computer to crash

Windows crashes are difficult to diagnose. You can find out what is going on with your crash logs by reading this article rather than relying on advice that might not work. The following sections describe different approaches to viewing Windows crash logs. Now let’s begin!

Where Can I Find Windows 10 Error Logs?

It is difficult to find errors and fix them. Try these to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it instead of wasting time and energy on non-productive methods:

1. Event viewer
2. Create Custom view
3. Reliability motor
4. Memory dump files
5. Third-party software
6. PowerShell

1. Find Error Logs In Windows 10 Using Event Viewer

Windows Event Viewer is a built-in tool that allows you to view the event logs on your computer. This captured information can be errors, warnings, success audits, alerts, notices, and failure audits. Your computer will benefit from it in many ways:

• You can monitor the messages sent and received by your apps and systems.
•  Viewing a computer crash is possible using Event Viewer.

You can find errors in Event Viewer by following the steps below:

• Type event viewer in the Windows 10 Cortana search box and select the Event Viewer. After that, the main interface of the Events Viewer will appear.

• An overview of Administrative Events will be presented, including various event types. Recent errors will be listed here.
• Click on Windows logs. Here you can find crash logs of Windows 10, for example, blue screen errors.
• Select System from the Windows Logs section

• Find and click on the error in the event list. Details about the crash can be seen at the bottom of the window, such as when the error occurred, the Event ID, Task Category, and Source.
• Clearing a log entry is as simple as selecting the event and the “Clear Log” option.

2. Find Error Logs In Windows 10 By Creating Custom View

Creating custom views can help you view crash logs more quickly. This process begins with the same steps as the previous one. However, the next steps are distinct in their features. To create a custom view, do these things:

• In the right window, click Create a Custom View. Clicking Create Custom View opens another window.

• You can choose the time range you would like to view. Check the following boxes in the Event Levels section: Critical, Warning, and Error.
• Choose the By log option. Lastly, select Application, Security, and System from the drop-down menu next to Event logs.

• When you are done, click OK to keep your changes.
• Select the name of this custom view, and then click OK to begin viewing the Windows 10 crash log

• You can then view all the crash logs for Windows 10 for the selected time frame.

3. Find Error Logs In Windows 10 Using Reliability Monitor

Windows 10 inherited the reliability monitor feature introduced in Windows 7. It offers an easy-to-use interface that displays recent applications and system failures. This feature provides:

•  A glance at the stability history of your system
•  A list of critical events, informational events, and warnings
•  Graphical representation of crash data

It tells everything you need to know about the reliability and stability of your system. Here’s how Reliability Monitor can find Windows 10 crashes and error logs:

•  Search for reliability in the Windows search box. From there, click On reliability history.
• The Reliability Monitor will generate crash log reports after a few minutes.

• A stability score of 1 to 10 is assigned to it. The score repeatedly changes according to your system.
• You can access all crash logs by clicking “View all problem reports.”
• The Reliability Monitor window is organized by date, with the latest days displayed on the right-hand side. Each column in the Reliability Monitor window displays the events for that day.
• Click any of the day’s columns to display the crash log, and the reliability details will appear below. Additionally, you can double-click on one of the events listed to open a new window with more details.
• If you wish to view the technical details of an event, click View technical details. To exit the Problem Details window, click OK.

• If you want to see all crash logs, click “View all problem reports.” The Problem Reports screen will appear. You can view the details of any crash event by double-clicking it.

It consists of 5 main categories:

• Application Failures: These tracks indicate unexpected program closings or non-responsive programs. Their icon is a red cross.
• Windows Failures: Traces the failure of the operating system to start, crashes, and driver issues. Red circles indicate these issues.
• Miscellaneous Failures: Problems not covered by the application or windows failures. Red circles indicate these.
• Warnings: For example, Windows cannot be updated. Yellow exclamation triangles indicate this.
• Information: A successful Windows update, for example. They are represented as blue info icons.

Application Failure, Windows Failure, and Miscellaneous Failures are critical errors.

The Reliability Monitor is excellent for establishing when major incidents occurred, viewing what else occurred around those events, and narrowing down potential causes.

As a side note, Reliability Monitor pulls its data from the same event logs as the venerable Event Viewer. Therefore, if you are more comfortable using Event Viewer, you can gather the same information.

4. Find Error Logs In Windows 10 By Memory Dump Files

A Windows Memory dump file may come in handy if your Windows system crashes. Windows dump memory when it encounters a blue screen. The file is useful for recovering data from a crashed computer.

Enable a memory dump in case the freeze issue reappears in the future:

• Click on Run, type sysdm.cpl, and hit Enter.

• On the Advanced tab, click.
• Go to the Startup and Recovery section >select Settings.

• After that, check “Write an event to the system log” and uncheck “Automatically restart.”
• If you have sufficient disk size, select “Complete Memory Dump”; otherwise, select a “Small memory dump” (256 KB) if you have insufficient disk space.
• To overwrite an existing file, select “Overwrite any existing file” and hit the OK button.

The crash information is now available at the path “%SystemRoot%/MEMORY.DMP “

5. Find Error Logs In Windows 10 By Third-Party Software

Many third-party applications are available for Windows 10 / 11 Event Logs. We’ve compiled a list of a few of the most frequently used Windows 10 Event Log Viewers:

• EventTracker
• SysMon
• Splunk
• Project Lasso
• LOGalyze
• ADAudit Plus

6. Find Error Logs In Windows 10 Using PowerShell

Windows PowerShell is an automation and scripting platform available free of charge. Scripts created with it can help its users accomplish their tasks more efficiently.

The cmdlets in PowerShell provide a lot of useful functions and commands. One way to view crash logs is via PowerShell. We will use the “Get-EventLog” command to accomplish this.

See below for a PowerShell method to view the crash log:

• Press Windows + X keys 
• Select PowerShell from the list

• Just type this into PowerShell and hit Enter:

Get-EventLog -Log system | where {$_.entryType -match “Error”}

You can run this command to get the entire event log. Alternatively, you can search for the latest 30 entries:

Get-EventLog -LogName System -Newest 15 -EntryType Error

Events categorized as Errors can be found in both commands.

Quick Fixes For Windows Crashes

Crashes in Windows 10 are a common yet troublesome problem. Here are some solutions you can try to solve this problem:

• Unplug all external devices: To resolve the problem, you can try disabling all your external devices.
• Install the latest drivers: Faulty or outdated drivers can cause Windows 10 to crash. As a result, make sure your device drivers are up-to-date.
• Eradicating Viruses/Malware: Malware infects Windows 10 files, including viruses. You might want to check for viruses on your PC if this is the case.
• Run an SFC command: Damaged system files prevent Windows from working. Thus, running SFC on your computer would fix corrupt system files.
• Use the PC Repair Tool: Professionals usually use this tool to fix Windows crashes. It can fix BSODs as well as other PC errors.