Event log file corrupt?

[Kenny]

Looking in Event Viewer under Application there were a whole load of
warnings about Msinstaller, either 1001 under description "Kenny" (me) or
1004 under description "Network Service". MS says no further info on these
errors.
Scrolling down this list of errors a message box came up suddenly telling me
event log file corrupt and everything under Application disappeared!
Not sure what, if anything, is happening here.
Reason I looked in Event Viewer was because twice I tried to download Nero
update.
Both times it went to 99% and whilst it appeared to be still downloading it
wouldn't complete, it was showing a transfer rate of approx. 85Kbps but
nothing was actually being transferred.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Event Viewer Logs Empty

Make sure the Event Log service is set to Automatic and running.

Clear *all* Events. There may still be some data and it may be corrupted.

In Event Viewer, right click Application, Security and System one at a time
| Clear All Events | Click No to... Do you want to save "Application"
before clearing it?

How to Delete Corrupt Event Viewer Log Files
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172156

The event log stops logging events before reaching the maximum log size
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/312571

Make sure that the Overwrite Option is set...

How to Set Log Size and Overwrite Options
To specify log size and overwrite options, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and
Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer
Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
2. In the console tree, expand Event Viewer, and then right-click the log in
which you want to set size and overwrite options.
3. Under Log size, type the size that you want in the Maximum log size box.
4. Under When maximum log size is reached, click the overwrite option that
you want.
5. If you want to clear the log contents, click Clear Log.
6. Click OK.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Kenny]

Thanks for the reply.
Cleared all the event logs but there were again dozens of MsiInstaller
errors under Application within minutes of doing that.
Didn't understand that about setting log size and overwrite options,
couldn't find the settings.
I use True Image and have restored an image of C: and so far all seems OK.
Would still like to know what caused the problem in the first place.
Googling came up with different answers, one blaming WMP 11 and another
blaming Corel Paint Shop Pro, both of which I have.

Kenny Cargill

Event Viewer Logs Empty

Make sure the Event Log service is set to Automatic and running.

Clear *all* Events. There may still be some data and it may be corrupted.

In Event Viewer, right click Application, Security and System one at a
time
| Clear All Events | Click No to... Do you want to save "Application"
before clearing it?

How to Delete Corrupt Event Viewer Log Files
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172156

The event log stops logging events before reaching the maximum log size
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/312571

Make sure that the Overwrite Option is set...

How to Set Log Size and Overwrite Options
To specify log size and overwrite options, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and
Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click
Computer
Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
2. In the console tree, expand Event Viewer, and then right-click the log
in
which you want to set size and overwrite options.
3. Under Log size, type the size that you want in the Maximum log size
box.
4. Under When maximum log size is reached, click the overwrite option that
you want.
5. If you want to clear the log contents, click Clear Log.
6. Click OK.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Cleared all the event logs but there were again dozens of MsiInstaller

errors under Application within minutes of doing that.

No idea without Event ID and Event Source.

Didn't understand that about setting log size and overwrite options,
couldn't find the settings.

Open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK |
Right click Application on the left | Click Properties |
On the general tab set Maximum log size to 64 KB |
Select Overwrite events older than XX days and set it to 7

Right click Security on the left | Click Properties |
On the general tab set Maximum log size to 64 KB |
Select Overwrite events older than XX days and set it to 7

Right click System on the left | Click Properties |
On the general tab set Maximum log size to 64 KB |
Select Overwrite events older than XX days and set it to 7

Or set to whatever you want.

Maximum log size...
[[Provides a space for you to enter the maximum log file size. Or click the
arrows to change the log file size. The default maximum size is 512K.
The overwrite options on this tab specify what happens when this limit is
reached.]]

Overwrite events as needed...
[[Specifies whether all new events will be written to the log, even when the
log is full. When the log is full, each new event replaces the oldest
event.]]

Overwrite events older than XX days...
[[Specifies the number of days a log file will be retained before writing
over it. You can set the number of days before a log can be overwritten,
using numbers from 1 to 365. New events will not be added if the maximum log
size is reached and there are no events older than this period.
The default setting for this option is 7 days. This is the best choice if
you want to archive log files weekly.]]

Do not overwrite events (clear log manually)...
[[Specifies whether existing events will be retained when the log is full.
If the maximum log size is reached, new events are discarded.
This option requires that you manually clear the log. Select this option
only if you must retain all events.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In