ClearEventLog method of the Win32_NTEventlogFile class

The ClearEventLog method clears the specified event log.

This topic uses Managed Object Format (MOF) syntax. For more information about using this method, see Calling a Method.

Syntax

uint32 ClearEventLog(
  [in] string ArchiveFileName
);

Parameters

ArchiveFileName [in]

Path and file name of the file to be cleared.

Note

If the ArchiveFileName comes from a source that you do not know or trust, then this value should be verified before using it in a call to ClearEventLog.

Return value

Return code	Description
0	Success
8	Privilege Missing
21	Invalid Parameter

Examples

The following VBScript sample demonstrates how to clear the entries from the System event log file on the local machine from instances of Win32_NTEventlogFile.

Note

A backup file can be specified to the ClearEventLog method if a backup of the data is desired before clearing the log.

Set LogFileSet = GetObject("winmgmts:{(Backup,Security)}").ExecQuery("select * from Win32_NTEventLogFile where LogfileName='System'")

for each Logfile in LogFileSet
 RetVal = LogFile.ClearEventlog()
 if RetVal = 0 then WScript.Echo "Log Cleared"
next

The following perl sample demonstrates how to clear the entries from the System event log file on the local machine from instances of Win32_NTEventlogFile.

Note

A backup file can be specified to the ClearEventLog method if a backup of the data is desired before clearing the log.

use strict;
use Win32::OLE;

close(STDERR);

my ($LogFile, $LogFileSet);
eval {$LogFileSet = Win32::OLE->GetObject("winmgmts:{(Backup,Security)}")->
 ExecQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_NTEventLogFile WHERE LogfileName='System'");};
if(!$@ && defined $LogFileSet)
{
 foreach $LogFile (in $LogFileSet)
 {
  my $RetVal = $LogFile->ClearEventlog();
  if ($RetVal == 0)
  {
   print "\nLog Cleared\n";
  }
  else
  {
   print Win32::OLE->LastError, "\n";
  }
 }
}
else
{
 print Win32::OLE->LastError, "\n";
}

Requirements

Minimum supported client	Windows XP
Minimum supported server	Windows Server 2003
Namespace	Root\CIMV2
Header	Winbase.h
MOF	Ntevt.mof
DLL	Ntevt.dll

See also

Operating System Classes

Win32_NTEventlogFile

WMI Tasks: Event Logs