In Windows XP context, an event is any important occurrence in a program or in the system that it needs users to be notified or that an entry should be logged. In line with this, Windows XP comes with the Event Log Service to record system, application and security events in Event Viewer. With these logs, information such as your computer's software, hardware and system components may be obtained. In short, event logs can help you determine and analyze the cause of some system problems or it can also help you predict what's to come.
What are the three Event Log types?
Windows XP records in the following logs:
1.System Log – this log consists of event logged in regards to system components. Take for instance if a driver wasn't able to load during startup. This event then would be recorded in the system log.
2.Application Log- this log has events logged by programs or software. Take for instance a word processor could record a file error in the application log. In short, the events written in the log are determined by the makers of the program.
3.Security Log – this log records events such as invalid or valid login attempts. It may also record events related to opening, creating or deleting of files.
What can you do with Event Logs?
You can view, manage and interpret event logs. Certain procedures are discussed further as you go along with this article.
How do you View Event Logs?
1.Go to the Start menu and select Control Panel. Under Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance and proceed to Administrative Tools by clicking on it. Then double-click Computer Management.
2.Click on Event Viewer in the console tree.
How do you View Event Details?
1.Go to the Start menu and select Control Panel. Under Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance and proceed to Administrative Tools by clicking on it. Then double-click Computer Management.
2.Click on Event Viewer in the console tree. Then to view the event you want to see, click on the log that contains it.
3.Double-click on the event you want to see in the details pane. On the Event Properties dialog box you will see the header information and at the same time the description of the event. If you want to copy the event information, click on the Copy button. After doing so, launch a word-processor where you can put down all the information. On the Edit menu, click on paste. If you want to view the next or previous event, use the DOWN ARROW and UP ARROW, respectively.
How do you Interpret an Event?
At first especially if you're not so much of an expert with computers, you'll find it a little difficult to understand an event. Here are meanings of some codes you will find in events.
In the Event Header:
Some are pretty easy to interpret such as date, time, etc. However, here are some codes that might be a little cryptic.
Event ID – A number that identifies the event type. This will be very helpful to product support people.
Source- This could be a name of a program, a system component or something else that is the source of the event.
Type – This could be Error, Information, Warning, Failure or Success Audit.
Category – An event classification
In the Event Types:
Error – Describes an important problem such as if a program failed to load during startup.
Information – Describes a successful operation of a task.
Warning – Not necessarily important but it may point to a possible occurrence of a problem in the future.
Failure Audit – Describes an audited security event that failed.
Success Audit – Exactly the opposite of Failure Audit.
View and Manage Event Logs in Windows XP 
