Many users who previously used to work on computer terminals Microsoft Windows XP, when switching to the "seven" faced with many innovations. This concerned not only the settings or capabilities of the system, but also the emergence of new obscure directories. One of them is PerfLogs. What is the folder in front of us? This is what we will try to find out. At the same time, we briefly consider the question of why it is needed in the system and what data it contains.
PerfLogs: what is this folder?
To begin with, we note right away that this directory appeared in versions of Windows, starting with the seventh modification, and is currently present in later versions. Let's look at the directory itself with the obscure name PerfLogs. What folder is present in the system? It is not difficult to understand if we deal with decoding and translation of the abbreviation.
Basically, interpreting the name of a directory is easy. Log is a journal or diary, while Perf is an abbreviation for Performance, which can be interpreted as design, performance. From here it is not difficult to draw a conclusion about what the PerfLogs folder is for - to store report files on the performance of a computer system.
Where is the PerfLogs directory located?
As for the location of this directory, many users have probably noticed that, as a rule, it is located directly on the system disk.
Disk “C” plays its role, but if Microsoft Windows 7, for example, was installed in another partition (virtual volume), then this directory should be searched for there.
What data does the PerfLogs directory contain?
As already mentioned, the system performance report log files are placed in this folder. However, it is worth making one small clarification. The fact is that initially by default the directory is empty. Windows files and folders containing log information only appear there after the user has performed any performance tests. It is easy to figure out that if a large number of checks are carried out frequently, this directory will contain a sufficiently large amount of information data, which can take up a lot of space. But more about that later.
System Performance Analysis
So here is the PerfLogs directory. What kind of folder is considered in this case, I think, is already a little clear. Now let’s see how the data contained in it can be reproduced, so to speak, in its normal form, in order to fully view the results of inspections and tests.
It goes without saying that if the user suddenly notices some kind of malfunction in the system or, say, a significant decrease in its speed or even stability, he begins to try to find out the reasons for this situation. Accordingly, various kinds of tests for the speed of work on performing system or user tasks begin. All test data is logged. However, the Windows folder with the name PerfLogs may contain, so to speak, unreadable data, which, unlike regular logs presented as text files, cannot be viewed using standard methods or using some programs. Here you will have to use a special built-in utility called the system monitor (not to be confused with a similar resource monitoring service in the Task Manager, which works in real time and monitors the load on system resources).
Viewing reports in the system monitor
So, for starters, use the standard “Start” button. Right-click on a menu in which you should first select a search system (the line "Find), and then enter the abbreviated name of the service - perfmon.
You can do much easier if you write a similar command in the Run menu, called by the Win + R shortcut.
A system monitor window appears in front of us, in which we need to go to the groups of data collectors. All of them are combined according to various criteria (performance counters, configuration information, event tracking data, diagnostics, etc.).
At the same time, the groups presented in the form of their own Windows template are initially used. Nevertheless, they can be redistributed or divided into those that the system itself offers, and those that the user can create. It goes without saying that here you can see all the results of checks, tests or some kind of scan. The general report file for all groups is no longer stored in PerfLogs, but in the Diagnostics subfolder located in the System subfolder, in other words, along the path C: \ PerfLogs \ System \ Diagnostics. The file has the extension .html and easily opens in any Internet browser or even in Microsoft Word.
PerfLogs folder on Windows 7 and later: can it be deleted without harming the system?
Now a few words about how important the role of this directory is in Windows 7 and above. Yes, indeed, it contains reports that are generated during inspections, and they are viewed in the system monitor. As mentioned above, the more tests, the more files are created in this directory. As it is already clear, neither the system nor the user needs outdated data, therefore, everything that is in the PerfLogs folder can be deleted as unnecessary without critical consequences for the functioning of the OS.
But sometimes the question may also be to delete the directory itself. Without a doubt, you can remove it. Some may argue, they say, where will the log data be written? The answer is simple: upon rebooting, the system will automatically create a new directory with the same name and in the same place, so you don’t have to worry much about it.
However, deleting the contents of a folder in manual mode, if it is not intended to delete it, is not always justified. It is better to use the system’s disk cleaning tool , where you just need to select the log files with a tick, although the use of this method is not necessary.
Conclusion
That, in general, is all about the PerfLogs folder and questions related to why it is needed, what function it performs on the system, and whether it can be eliminated. The only thing worth paying attention to is the fact that after its removal, information for viewing in the system monitor will simply become inaccessible. If you have to find out the causes of the problems, it is better not to touch the directory at the initial stage of solving problems with the performance and speed of Windows. You can start data deletion after a solution has been found to eliminate the failures that have arisen.
Each user decides which way to get rid of this directory. However, if you approach this issue objectively, then there is nothing wrong with the fact that the folder will be deleted completely and completely in manual mode, and not by cleaning the system disk or partition. Anyway, this will not affect the system itself in any way, and upon repeated loading a similar directory will be created automatically.