How to Customize MMC and Schedule a System Log

It is good to have a baseline of your system's resources so when you need to troubleshoot certain issues, you know what component is having the most strain. It is also important to have a customized Microsoft Management Console (MMC) so you can troubleshoot problems efficiently. Let's get started.

Go to Run and type mmc. This is your MMC. Basically you add or remove what is called Snap-Ins. These basically translates to Microsoft tools like the Device Manager, Disk Management, Disk Defragmenter, to Performance Logs and Alerts. It allows you to have all of these on one location, so you don't have to go searching through the operating system every time. Go to file add/remove snap-in, click add and select Performance Logs and Alerts.

Expand Performance Logs and Alerts and select Counter Logs. On the right menu right click and select New Log Settings. Here is where you set up the log from selecting what you want to record, the name of the file, and where it is saved. There are two terms that you should know. First is Objects. Objects are basically the physical component that you want to measure or record performance. Counters are aspects of those components that you want to measure. So for example, the object processor has a percent L1 cache counter. You have lots of power for recording specific information.

With all of the options set, make sure to press the play button on the top of the main window. The computer now is recording the information that you specified.

There is no point in recording this information if you do not view this information. First take note of the directory where you saved the log file. The default location is the C:\Perflogs folder, and this folder is hidden.

To access the C:\Perflogs directory is to use the command prompt. Go to run and type cmd. Type cd C:\Perflogs (change directory). Then type the name of the file with the three letter extension. Windows will boot the log file. However, this file will be recording in real time once you see it. To view the saved log file click the View Log Data button. Add the log file(s) that you want to view and press apply. The data you see in front of you, is the recorded data from the specified log file.

It would be annoying to have to manually start this process and this is where you use the Scheduled Task Manager in the Control Panel. Double click Add Task and follow the instructions of the wizard. You are going to have to browse to the specified log file you want to be auto started. Once you click Finish that task will be performed at the time you specified in the wizard. However, you are going to have to manually stop the log file. To do this just access the MMC with the mmc command in the Run box, find the log file, and press stop.

Take a look at these various log files keeping in mind what your computer did during that session. You can move those log files and rename them, so when you are experiencing issues, you can really pinpoint what is going on.

Jon Brengle
Senior Technology Analyst
Certified A+, N+ Technician

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