Monitoring the Error Logs

Microsoft® SQL Server™ logs events (although only certain system events and user-defined events) to the SQL Server error log and the Microsoft Windows® application log. Use the information in the error log to troubleshoot problems related to SQL Server.

The Windows application logs provide an overall picture of events that occur on the Windows NT® 4.0 and Windows 2000 systems, as well as events in SQL Server and SQL Server Agent. Use Event Viewer to view the Windows application log and to filter the information. For example, you can filter events, such as information, warning, error, success audit, and failure audit.

Both logs automatically timestamp all recorded events.

Comparing Error and Application Log Output

You can use both the SQL Server error log and the Windows application log to identify the cause of problems. For example, while monitoring the SQL Server error log, you may detect a certain set of messages for which you do not know the cause. By comparing the dates and times for events between these logs, you can narrow the list of probable causes.