Vista: Change Default Location of Log Files

Contributed by shamanstears February 1, 2007  
Tagged: Microsoft Vista

You can change the default location of one or more log files if you are running out of disk space or just prefer that they be located on a different drive. To do this . . .

1. Create a directory in which you wish to store the log files. (example: VistaLogs on your F drive)

2. Click the Start Button.

3. In the Search box, input regedit.exe and hit Return.

4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog.

5. Select the desired log file.

6. Double-click File in the right pane.

7. Change the Value data to the path of the directory you created in step 1. (example: If you wished to move your System log, you would change the path from %SystemRoot%\system32\winevt\Logs\System.evtx to F:\VistaLogs\System.evtx)

8. Close the editor.

9. Restart your computer.