Enable notification and reporting of unplanned shutdowns on your local computer
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2
To enable notification and reporting of unplanned shutdowns on your local computer
Enable Shutdown Event Tracker. See "Configure Shutdown Event Tracker on your local computer" in Related Topics for instructions.
Open Group Policy.
Navigate to Activate Shutdown Event Tracker System State Data feature, and double-click it.
Where?
- Local Computer Policy/Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System
On the Setting tab, click Enabled.
Click Apply, and then click OK.
Navigate to the Configure Error Reporting policy, and double-click it.
Where?
- Local Computer Policy/Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System/Error Reporting
On the Setting tab, click Enabled.
Click Apply, and then click OK.
Navigate to the Report unplanned shutdown events policy, and double-click it.
Where?
- Local Computer Policy/Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System/Error Reporting/Advanced Error Reporting settings
On the Setting tab, click Enabled.
Click Apply, and then click OK.
Navigate to the Display Error Notification policy, and double-click it.
Where?
- Local Computer Policy/Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System/Error Reporting
On the Setting tab, click Enabled.
Click Apply, and then click OK.
Notes
To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
The above procedure causes a system state data file to be created in the %windir%\system32\LogFiles\Shutdown\ directory prior to an unplanned restart or shutdown. The first user with administrative credentials who subsequently logs on to the computer will see a dialog box notification reading "The system has restarted after an unplanned shutdown. A log of this event has been created." From this dialog box, the administrator can navigate to a more detailed description of the system state data file, its contents, and Microsoft's privacy policy for data collection on the Web. The administrator can choose whether or not to send the system state data file to Microsoft by clicking either the Send Error Report or Don't Send button.
To enable the creation of the system state data file and notification, but disable error reporting, set all of the policies to Enabled except for the Configure Error Reporting policy, which should be set to Disabled.
To bypass the administrator and send the error report automatically, set all of the policies to Enabled except for the Display Error Notification policy, which should be set to Disabled.
You have the option of enabling Corporate Error Reporting by setting a path for uploading data to a central location on your network. You can also customize the error reporting dialogs by replacing instances of the word "Microsoft" with your company's name. For more information, double-click the Configure Error Reporting policy and click the Explain tab.
Information about functional differences
- Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.
See Also
Concepts
Restart or shut down locally and document the reason
Restart or shut down remotely and document the reason
Configure Shutdown Event Tracker on your local computer
Shutdown Event Tracker Resources