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This article will show you how to Clear Log Files on Windows and Mac. Mac and Windows both have a complex application-level logging system that keeps track of different system-level and app-level functions, such as app crashes, problems, and internal mistakes. Most of this logging information is only useful for debugging and developers. It doesn’t help the normal Mac or Windows user much in real life.
Macs also keep system log files, just like Windows computers. Over time, these log files can get bigger and take up a lot of space on your hard drive. If you need more room and are running out, you can run a command that will run maintenance and clean up the log files for you.
When something important happens on your computer or a program has an error, Windows keeps a record of it so that it can help you fix the problem and make program processes faster in the future. In the core Windows area, these records are kept in log files. Some users might find it annoying that these files are being saved, either because they take up room on a hard drive that is already full or because they could be a privacy risk.
How to Clear Log Files on Windows
Delete Windows Log Files Using the Event Viewer
- Press Win + R to open the Run window, input eventvwr.msc and press Enter to run Event Viewer as administrator.
- Expand Windows Logs the left pane and click one category.
- Select the entries from the middle pane. To choose a range of entries, you can press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. And then, click Clear Log from the right pane.
- Alternatively, you can right-click a folder like Application and choose Clear Log to delete all the entries.
Use Command Prompt to Delete Log Files Windows
The command-line tool in Windows is called “Command Prompt,” and it can be used to do many things, like deleting Win log files.
- Run Command Prompt with administrative privileges.
- Type the following commands and press Enter after each command:
cd/ cd windows del *.log /a /s /q /f
This will delete all the log files from your computer. If you want to delete individual log files, try these steps.
- Also run Command Prompt as administrator.
- Type wevtutil el and press Enter to list all the logs.
- Type wevtutil cl + the name of the log you want to delete and press Enter to remove the log file.
How to Clear Log Files on Mac
Find and Delete Log Files Manually with Finder
- Open Finder.
- From the Menu bar, click Go – Go to Finder.
- Type in ~/Library/Logs and click Go.
- You will see a list of all the log files on your Mac. If you want to delete any file, make sure to delete the files within a folder instead of dragging the entire folder to the Trash.
- We also recommend making a copy of the log files and put it somewhere else on your Mac before emptying the trash; if anything goes wrong you can put them back.
- After emptying the Trash, restart your Mac. If there isn’t any error after restarting, you can delete the copy of log files as well.
Find and Delete Log Files Automatically
- Open Cleaner One Pro.
- Go to Junk Files – System Logs.
- Select the log files you want to remove, and then click Remove.
FAQs
Getting rid of program and system logs on a Mac is completely safe, so you won’t do any harm by doing so. If you delete log files, your Mac will make new ones on its own, so it’s safe to do so.
Open Administrative Tools, and then click Computer Management. Double-click Event Viewer in the left pane, and then click Windows Logs. Right-click on “Security,” then click “Clear Log.” You can choose to save the information in the log.