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Windows XP Event Logs help links no longer working?


Dave-H

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Almost all of the help links in my XP Event Log entries now seem to be going just to the Microsoft homepage.
Can anyone else confirm this?
Have MS finally withdrawn the online help facility for XP with its list of what the Windows log entries mean?
:(
 

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To be fair, AFAICR there NEVER REALLY WAS an online help facility, what did exist were a number of completely unuseful pages giving NO help whatever, nor providing any meaningful info, at least for those events that needed some help/documentation and actually - sometimes - occurred and were logged.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/event-log-online-help-does-anyone-routinely-get/f36732d4-2b27-4c66-8f1d-3cfabadd2c30?auth=1
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/47a4458a-8d6c-4553-950a-27a2e38124d2/event-log-online-help-not-working?forum=w7itprogeneral
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/91f362e8-7cf2-44bd-b5f6-367f13663bde/event-log-online-help-page-not-found?forum=winserver8gen

If you prefer, you are now missing a "feature" that rarely or never worked.

And you are not alone (meaning that also users of later OS's have the same or similar problem):
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-performance/event-viewer-event-log-online-help-link-returns/7c0f6c8f-a153-44a3-8dad-e6dd11f384d1?page=1

Google usually makes a better job, JFYI:
http://www.howtogeek.com/school/using-windows-admin-tools-like-a-pro/lesson3/

There is even a site (totally and utterly untested by me) that provides (hopefully) the info that MS doesn't:

http://www.eventid.net/evredirect.asp
 

Quote

Windows XP
For most of the events, Event Viewer adds at the end the following sentence:
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

eventdetail.JPG

If one clicks on this link, another window will open with information that will be submitted to the site. The main problem is that in 99% of the cases, there is no additional information listed on that web page.

 The following registry modification will redirect all the requests for http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp to ...

jaclaz

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Yes, I've ranted futilely before about the Windows 8/8.1 Event Log "more information" links almost never producing anything meaningful!
It seems MS put the links in the system, but never bothered to implement the database that they should have used, which I thought was pretty bad!
Does Windows 10 actually have the links in its Event Log entries?
The XP ones have stopped working properly before, which I have queried both here and on Technet, you may have seen some posts from me there!
They did come back to life though until now, whether the present problem is permanent or temporary remains to be seen.
I do agree with you that they are of very limited use in many cases even when they do work!
I have used eventid.net and it's very useful, but IIRC you have to be a paying member to get some of the more detailed information.
:)
 

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Today I found that all the help links in the Windows 8.1 Event Log entries (which have never worked, usually just going to "page not found") are also now just going to the Microsoft homepage.
:no:

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well when it showed no sign of being a temporary problem, I finally tried asking about this on the MS support forums, with the inevitable result.
The usual "fixes" were suggested involving scanning for system file errors and using a new profile, and when I reported that (surprise, surprise) this made no difference, there was no further response from the MS "technician", as usual. What a joke, but I suppose i shouldn't have expected any different!
I don't really care if the Event Log help links in Windows XP or 8.1 have finally been depreciated, but they should at least have the decency to say so!
:angry:
 

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Following this new and improved policy....
"KBnnnnn Fixes some problems. We won't tell you exactly what it fixes, but trust us."
...MS apparently doesn't want anyone to find out exactly WHAT is buggered anymore.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well things seem to have changed again for the last few days.

On both my XP computers, any attempt to use the help links in the Event Log entries now results in the Windows Help and Support Center window just coming up and "not responding" permanently and eventually having to be forcibly shut down.

On Windows 8.1 the links all still all just going to the Microsoft homepage.

:no:
 

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