The Windows NT event log is a special file that can be viewed only by using the Windows NT Event Viewer. If you are part of the Windows NT Administrators group, you can also view remote event logs. The event log contains SQL Server error messages as well as messages for all activities on the computer.
When you use the Windows NT event log, each SQL Server session writes new events to an existing event log; you can filter the log for specific events. Unlike the SQL Server error log, a new event log is not created each time you start SQL Server; however, you can specify how long logged events will be retained. For information about viewing the Windows NT event log, see your documentation for Windows NT.