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EventLog.Clear Method

Definition

Removes all entries from the event log.

public void Clear ();

Exceptions

The event log was not cleared successfully.

-or-

The log cannot be opened. A Windows error code is not available.

A value is not specified for the Log property. Make sure the log name is not an empty string.

The log does not exist.

Examples

The following example clears an event log.

Caution

Because Application, System, Security, and other non-custom logs can contain crucial information; be sure to specify a custom log before executing this example code. This example deletes the custom log myNewLog.

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Threading;

class MySample{

    public static void Main(){

        // Create an EventLog instance and assign its log name.
        EventLog myLog = new EventLog();
        myLog.Log = "myNewLog";

        myLog.Clear();
    }
}

Remarks

Event logs are set with a maximum size that determines how many entries they can contain. When an event log is full, it stops recording new event information or begins to overwrite earlier entries. If event recording stops, you can use this method to clear the log of existing entries and allow it to start recording events again. You must have administrator permissions to the computer on which the log resides to clear event log entries.

Clear closes the event log, releases the event handles, retrieves new read and write handles, and reopens the event log. Events received after the call to the method are not cleared along with the existing events.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET 8 (package-provided), 9 (package-provided)
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7 (package-provided), 4.7, 4.7.1 (package-provided), 4.7.1, 4.7.2 (package-provided), 4.7.2, 4.8 (package-provided), 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 2.0 (package-provided)
Windows Desktop 3.0, 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

See also