Adjusting the Size of an Event Log

by Barry Dysert
(last updated August 15, 2016)

The Event Log files don't take up a lot of disk space (e.g., the System event log by default only uses 16MB), but you can adjust the size of an event log so that it uses more or less disk space depending upon your needs. To do this, start by displaying the Event Viewer. The easiest way to do this is to use the search capabilities of Windows to look for "Event Viewer" (without the quote marks). Once the program is started, you can, if desired, use the Event Viewer to examine all of the event logs on your system.

Say that I want to adjust the size of the System event log. In the left pane of the Event Viewer I would expand the System Logs node and click on System. Then, in the right pane I'd click on Properties. Windows displays the Log Properties dialog box for the System event log. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Adjusting the size of the System Log file.

Near the center of the screen you can see the maximum log size. By default the System event log is set to use up to 16384 KB. You can either type in the size you want used for the event log or use the up/down arrows at the right of the box to specify, in KB, the size.

Once you've indicated the size you want, click OK. Your System log will now grow to the maximum size you specified.

 This tip (12732) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 30 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer.  He is currently a senior software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. ...

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