How to Check Windows Crash or BSOD Logs

If everything you’ve been working on for the last hour has suddenly been lost to a “blue screen of death” (or BSOD) and reboot, there’s no doubt you’re going to want some answers. The good news is that Windows keeps logs of these fatal errors for users to better diagnose what caused the shutdown in the first place.

In this article, we’re going to show you how to find the BSOD logs for Windows and where they’re stored. Just as with most Windows solutions, there’s more than one way to achieve it.

Finding BSOD Logs for Windows – Different Solutions to the Same Problem

Whenever your computer shuts down unexpectedly, Windows creates a crash log for you to look at. Where does Windows store crash logs? These are added to your system hard drive for access at a later stage. There are a few ways to access these logs, some more complicated than others. Let’s get started:

Using the Event Viewer

Perhaps the easiest, most user-friendly way to check the logs is via the Event Viewer, a dedicated tool that keeps track of all events on your machine, including the crashes. Here’s what to do:

Step 1. Right-click on the “Start” button and select “Event Viewer” from the menu.

Step 2. A new window will open, and all events will load. Click “Event Viewer (Local)” from the left sidebar.

Step 3. Not all events are related to crashes. You’ll need to perform a custom search. To do this, click “Action” in the menu and “Create Custom View.”

Step 4. A new window will open. Choose the time frame via the “Logged” dropdown, and ensure the “Error” box is checked. Under “Event Logs,” select “Windows Logs” to include only system errors.

Step 5. Click the “OK” button to finalize. You’ll be asked to name your new filter. Do so, and click “OK.”

Step 6. Your errors in your indicated timeframe should now appear. Use the time of the BSOD to search for error IDs that usually signal crashes (1001, or 41).

The Reliability Monitor

The Reliability Monitor is a great visual way to track BSODs and system crashes. You can use the timeline of errors to track your specific crash and find out more. Here’s what to do:

Step 1. Type “Reliability History” into the search bar and choose the option that comes up.

Step 2. In the new window, you’ll see a timeline of your machine’s reliability, which you can change between “Days” and “Weeks.” Simply click on a column to view the error reports that occurred and find BSOD logs in this way.

Step 3. Click “View technical details” to see the log. Once you’re done, click “OK” to exit.

Using Command Prompt

If you don’t mind dealing with walls of text and typing in a command line interface, then try using Command Prompt. Here’s what to do:

Step 1. Open the Run dialog (Win + R) and type “cmd” into the box before hitting (Ctrl + Shift + Enter) to run as Admin.

Step 2. In Command Prompt, type the following command in “wevtutil qe System /f:text /c:20 /q:”*[System[(EventID=1001)]]” before hitting “Enter.” Type “c:20”, which in this case is the number of events you want to see, and “EventID=1001”, the ID for shutdown. You can change these as needed.

Step 3. Command Prompt will then display the latest errors along with their logs.