Windows Setup Log Files and Event Logs

Windows® Setup creates log files for all actions that occur during installation. If you are experiencing problems installing Windows, consult the log files to troubleshoot the installation.

WindowsВ Setup log files are available in the following directories:

Log location before Setup can access the drive.

Log location when Setup rolls back in the event of a fatal error.

Log location of Setup actions after disk configuration.

Used to log Plug and Play device installations.

Location of memory dump from bug checks.

Location of log minidumps from bug checks.

Location of Sysprep logs.

WindowsВ Setup Event Logs

WindowsВ Setup includes the ability to review the WindowsВ Setup performance events in the Windows Event Log viewer. This enables you to more easily review the actions that occurred during WindowsВ Setup and to review the performance statistics for different parts of WindowsВ Setup. You can filter the log so as to view only relevant items that you are interested in. The WindowsВ Setup performance events are saved into a log file that is named Setup.etl, which is available in the %WINDIR%\Panther directory of all installations. To view the logs, you must use the Event Viewer included with the Windows media that corresponds to the version of the customized image that you are building.

To view the logs on a computer that does not include the corresponding kit, you must run a script from the root of the media that installs the Event Trace for Windows (ETW) provider. From the command line, type:

where D is the drive letter of the Windows DVD media.

To view the WindowsВ Setup event logs

Start the Event Viewer, expand the Windows Logs node, and then click System.

In the Actions pane, click Open Saved Log and then locate the Setup.etl file. By default, this file is available in the %WINDIR%\Panther directory.

The log file contents appear in the Event Viewer.

To Export the log to a file

From the command line, use the Wevtutil or Tracerpt commands to save the log to an .xml or text file. For information about how to use these tools, see the command-line Help. The following commands show examples of how to use the tools:

Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 setup log file locations

This article describes where to locate these log files and which log files are most useful for troubleshooting each setup phase of Windows 7, of Windows Server 2008 R2, and of Windows Vista.

Original product version: В Windows 10 — all editions, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016
Original KB number: В 927521

Introduction

Windows setup log files are in different locations on the hard disk. These locations depend on the setup phase.

Support for Windows Vista without any service packs installed ended on April 13, 2010. To continue receiving security updates for Windows, make sure you’re running Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (SP2). For more information, see Windows XP support has ended.

Down-level phase

The downlevel phase is the Windows setup phase that is running within the previous operating system. The following table lists important log files in this setup phase.

Log file location	Description

Log file	Description
C:\WINDOWS\setupapi.log	Contains information about device changes, driver changes, and major system changes, such as service pack installations and hotfix installations. This log file is used only by Microsoft Windows XP and earlier versions.
C:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log	Contains information about setup actions during the installation.
C:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\setuperr.log	Contains information about setup errors during the installation.
C:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\miglog.xml	Contains information about the user directory structure. This information includes security identifiers (SIDs).
C:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\PreGatherPnPList.log	Contains information about the initial capture of devices that are on the system during the downlevel phase.

Windows Preinstallation Environment phase

The Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE or WinPE) phase is the Windows setup phase that occurs after the restart at the end of the downlevel phase, or when you start the computer by using the Windows installation media. The following table lists important log files in this setup phase.

Log file	Description
X:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log	Contains information about setup actions during the installation.
X:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\setuperr.log	Contains information about setup errors during the installation.
X:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\miglog.xml	Contains information about the user directory structure. This information includes security identifiers (SIDs).
X:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\PreGatherPnPList.log	Contains information about the initial capture of devices that are on the system during the downlevel phase.
or
C:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log	Contains information about setup actions during the installation.
C:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\setuperr.log	Contains information about setup errors during the installation.
C:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\miglog.xml	Contains information about the user directory structure. This information includes security identifiers (SIDs).
C:$WINDOWS. BT\Sources\Panther\PreGatherPnPList.log	Contains information about the initial capture of devices that are on the system during the downlevel phase.

You may also see a log file in the X:\WINDOWS directory. The Setupact.log file in this directory contains information about the progress of the initial options that are selected on the Windows installation screen. The Windows installation screen appears when you start the computer by using the Windows installation media. After you select Install now from the Windows installation screen, the Setup.exe file starts, and this log file is no longer used.

Online configuration phase

The online configuration phase (the first boot phase) starts when you receive the following message:

Please wait a moment while Windows prepares to start for the first time.

During this phase, basic hardware support is installed. If it’s an upgrade installation, data and programs are also migrated. The following table lists important log files in this setup phase.

Log file	Description
C:\WINDOWS\PANTHER\setupact.log	Contains information about setup actions during the installation.
C:\WINDOWS\PANTHER\setuperr.log	Contains information about setup errors during the installation.
C:\WINDOWS\PANTHER\miglog.xml	Contains information about the user directory structure. This information includes security identifiers (SIDs).
C:\WINDOWS\INF\setupapi.dev.log	Contains information about Plug and Play devices and driver installation.
C:\WINDOWS\INF\setupapi.app.log	Contains information about application installation.
C:\WINDOWS\Panther\PostGatherPnPList.log	Contains information about the capture of devices that are on the system after the online configuration phase.
C:\WINDOWS\Panther\PreGatherPnPList.log	Contains information about the initial capture of devices that are on the system during the downlevel phase.

Windows Welcome phase

The Windows Welcome phase includes the following options and events:

• It provides the options to create user accounts.
• It provides the option to specify a name for the computer.
• The Windows System Assessment Tool (Winsat.exe) finishes performance testing to determine the Windows Experience Index rating.

The Windows Welcome phase is the final setup phase before a user signs in. The following table lists important log files in this setup phase.

Log file	Description
C:\WINDOWS\PANTHER\setupact.log	Contains information about setup actions during the installation.
C:\WINDOWS\PANTHER\setuperr.log	Contains information about setup errors during the installation.
C:\WINDOWS\PANTHER\miglog.xml	Contains information about the user directory structure. This information includes security identifiers (SIDs).
C:\WINDOWS\INF\setupapi.dev.log	Contains information about Plug and Play devices and driver installation.
C:\WINDOWS\INF\setupapi.app.log	Contains information about application installation.
C:\WINDOWS\Panther\PostGatherPnPList.log	Contains information about the capture of devices that are on the system after the online configuration phase.
C:\WINDOWS\Panther\PreGatherPnPList.log	Contains information about the initial capture of devices that are on the system during the downlevel phase.
C:\WINDOWS\Performance\Winsat\winsat.log	Contains information about the Windows System Assessment Tool performance testing results.

Rollback phase

If a Windows upgrade installation fails, and you’ve successfully rolled back the installation to the previous operating system desktop, there are several log files that you can use for troubleshooting. The following table lists important log files in this phase.

Windows install program log

Отладочные логи для msi-пакетов можно получить стандартными средствами Windows Installer, запустив установку через командную строку с определенными параметрами.

1. С зажатым Shift нажимаем на msi-пакет правой кнопкой мыши и выбираем из предложенного диалога Копировать как путь — это в команде будет в место «installer.msi»;
2. Открываем Командную строку (Заходим в Пуск набираем cmd и Ввод или Win+R вводим cmd и нажимаем OK );
3. В Командной строке, вводим команду:

1. Для удобства, создаем рядом с msi -пакетом txt файл и называем его log, так же копируем путь до файла (как в пункте 1 Копировать как путь) — путь до этого файла у нас будет, в место «log.log»;
2. Нажимаем в Командной строке, ввод, производим установку;
3. После завершении установки, можно смотреть log.txt.

Предложенный выше способ, подходит если требуется взять диагностический лог для небольшого количества msi-пакетов, если диагностические логи будут требоваться часто, то нам надо включить ведения журнала работы установщика Windows для всех запущенных msi-пакетов:

Вручную создав ветку реестра:

1. Открываем Редактор реестра (Заходим в Пуск набираем regedit и Ввод или Win+R вводим regedit и нажимаем OK );
2. Открываем путь HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ (путь будет одинаковый для x64 и x86);
3. Нажимаем правой кнопки мыши по папке Windows, выше указанного пути и нажимаем Создать — Раздел и называем его Installer;
4. Выделяем раздел Installer, внутри него нажимаем Создать — Строковый параметр и называем его Logging;
5. Открываем параметр Logging и присваиваем ему значение iwearucmopv ;
6. После этого выполняем установку msi-пакетов;
7. Файлы логов будет расположены в каталоге TEMP (данную директорию можно открыть зайдя в Пуск набираем %TEMP% и Ввод или Win+R вводим %TEMP% и нажимаем OK)
8. По завершению сбора логов, обязательно удалите параметр Logging, так как это окажет неблагоприятное воздействие на производительность системы и заполнит дисковое пространство;

Выполнив файл, для автоматической настройки:

1. Скачиваем архив msi_log.zip;
2. Открываем скаченный архив, внутри два файла:
   • MSI_log_on.reg — при запуске этого файла, будет включено ведение логов;
   • MSI_log_off.reg — при запуске этого файла, будет отключено ведение логов;
3. После этого выполняем установку msi-пакетов;
4. Файлы логов будет расположены в каталоге TEMP (данную директорию можно открыть зайдя в Пуск набираем %TEMP% и Ввод или Win+R вводим %TEMP% и нажимаем OK);
5. По завершению сбора логов, обязательно выполнить MSI_log_off.reg, так как это окажет неблагоприятное воздействие на производительность системы и заполнит дисковое пространство;

Расшифровка параметров Logging:

Буквы в поле значения могут быть указаны в любом порядке. Каждая буква включает определенный режим записи в журнал. Для MSI версии 1.1 каждая буква имеет следующую текущую функцию:

v – полный вывод
o – сообщения о нехватке места на диске
i — Сообщения состояния
c — Исходные параметры пользовательского интерфейса
e — Все сообщения об ошибках
w – предупреждения об ошибках, не являющихся критичными
a – запуск действий
r — записи, относящиеся к конкретным действиям
m – информация о нехватке памяти или аварийном завершении
u — запросы пользователя
p — свойства терминала
+ — добавить в существующий файл
! — выравнивание строк в журнале
x — дополнительная отладочная информация. Отметка x отображается только в системе Windows Server 2003 или более поздней версии, а также в распространяемом компоненте MSI версии 3.0 или более поздней.

«*» — подстановочный знак: Запись в журнал всей информации, за исключением результатов работы функций v и x. Чтобы включить функции v и x, укажите «/l*vx».