Microsoft SQL Server can log events to the SQL Server error log and/or the Windows NT application log. Both logs record similar information; however, the SQL Server error log contains only SQL Server messages, and the Windows NT event log contains messages for all activities on the computer. Both logs automatically time-stamp all events recorded.
By default, setup installs the server to use both logs, but by using SQL Enterprise Manager or SQL Setup, you can control whether SQL Server uses one or both of the logs. For information about setting up logging, see Chapter 3, Configuring Servers.
For information about viewing the logs, choose one of the following topics: