Generate a System Health Report

Ever since Microsoft released update KB3140768 back in March 2016 the built in system health report has been broken. The only way to generate the report again is to create a new user defined data collector set.


  1. Open performance monitor. Win + R type perfmon, hit enter.
  2. Right click the User Defined folder tree, click New Data Collector Set.
  3. Create from template.
  4. Select System Diagnostic template.
  5. Finish.

That data collector set is essentially the same as what is created with the perfmon /report command that has since been broken.
 
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Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Ever since Microsoft released update KB3140768 back in March 2016 the built in system health report has been broken.
Click to expand...
Ummm, perfmon /report is not broken on any of my W10 systems. Nor can I find any report KB3140768 broke it.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

KB3140768 isn't in the list of installed updates because it must have been overwritten by another Windows update, I was aware of that. However it was the update at the time that I found broke perfmon /report. perfmon /report fails to save a report in the folder even though it looks like it's generating a report it's just hanging on the graphic that sais collecting data. I know of at least two other Windows 10 64-bit machines that this is occurring on.
With enough finagling I have eventually been able to generate reports. Since the latest cumulative update build 14393.222 actually generating a report is even less likely to be successful.
This is a good opportunity maybe to explain your configuration which allows perfmon /report to reliably generate reports as it should.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

There's nothing really to explain - 5 computers of various types (one notebook, 4 PCs) all running 64-bit Windows 10 (3 Pro, 2 Home). All running Windows Defender, 2 with MBAM Premium and 3 with MBAM Free. Other than that, everything is current and running at default settings. So noting out of the ordinary.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

By the way, in the bsod forum, there are a multitude of users that aren't able to send the perfmon report.
Even on my machine, it doesn't work: "collecting data for 60 seconds..." appears, but it doesn't finish and it doesn't create the perfmon file on the desktop (if it should), and I must terminate it (using the top-right X).
I still didn't try to correct its behaviour...
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

And is it attributed to that same KB?
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Just reread what you said and note you said you cannot "send" a report. The OP said a report could not be "generated".

I just tried on two systems here and not only can I generate reports, but I am able to send them as well. So all I can say is, it works fine here.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

I intended created and generated in the normal way, that I think is it should end on its own and put the report on the desktop, but I'm not sure of its previous behaviour (when it worked).

IIRC, it ended on its own and opened a new window with the report, I can't remember if it was saved to the desktop.
At the moment, it lasts more than 60 seconds and it doesn't finish to "collect data".

And yes, at the moment I'm using MS win Defender and FW.
 
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Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

By "put the report on the desktop" what it does is, after 60 or so seconds, a new window appears. From there, you click File > Send to and enter the email address you want it sent to. I have now done that on three 64-bit W10 systems (2 pro and 1 home) with no problems.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Instead on my machine it continues and doesn't stop to collect data.
A lot of users in the bsod forum don't provide that report, probably for this same problem.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Maybe we've verified that one person has that feature of Windows functional. Next reply please make an effort to help users who don't have that feature working unless by following my workaround.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Ok, I've now tried a bit to solve this issue on my machine.

My old Perflogs folder had got SYSTEM as the owner.
Permissions were given to these users:
  • System and administrators: full control
  • Performance log users: special permissions

After some tries, I deleted the Perflogs folder and ran perfmon /report (from an elevated command prompt).
It had re-created the perflogs folder and finally after the 60 seconds (or a bit more seconds?) perfmon opened the report (in the perfmon application windows itself).
I chose save as from the file menu and saved the file on the desktop.
Problem solved on my machine: Windows 10 home x64.

My new perflogs folder has got ADMINISTRATORS as the owner.
Permissions were given to these users:
  • System and administrators: full control
  • Performance log users: read

Hope this helps all users with the perfmon problem!

Additional information:
This pc came with windows 8 home x64 installed.
Then it was upgraded to windows 8.1.
Then it was upgraded to windows 10.
Then it was upgraded to windows 10 anniversary update (iirc, I did it the first week of September 2016).
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

While I'm at it, I get an error in the report.

diagnostics results, warnings, error
Symptom: A service is reported as having an unexpected error code
Cause: One or more services has failed. The service did not stop gracefully, suggesting the service may have crashed or one of its components stopped in an unsupported way.
Details: Service exited with code not equal to 0 or 1077
Resolution: Restart the service
Related: Performance Diagnosis (link to Microsoft)

Abnormally Stopped System Services: CDPSvc
Display Name: Connected Devices Platform Service
Exit Code: -2147467259
Service Name: CDPSvc
Path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe -k LocalService
Service Code: 0
Started: False
State: Stopped

From an elevated command prompt, I ran sc qc cdpsvc and sc queryex cdpsvc:
Read More:
Looking on batcmd.com (click), it seems that service was previously disabled by default, now instead it seems it is enabled and started by default.
It also seems nobody knows what it does and the general users behaviour is to disable it (thing that I'm doing right now from services.msc, and that also was the thing I thought to do before the search).

Hope this helps!
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Wow changing the PerfLogs folder owner to administrators instead of SYSTEM fixed this on my machine also.

  • That was basically what my mind was telling me was happening, but I'm so insistent that everything on Windows is automatic, so I didn't want to believe it. So thank you xilolee for diligently troubleshooting like a pro to make a little more sense of that. I didn't have to replace any inherited, or child anything, all I had to do was change the owner to administrators.
  • Strange thing was then I could even delete the whole PerfLogs folder, and perfmon /report recreated the folder with administrators as the owner, it wouldn't recreate the folder at all before.
  • It looks like the service error your report found is unrelated.
  • The update history may have been part of the key this.


I have noticed that after a new Windows 10 update the security settings of anything may change. One time my favorites folder got a whole bunch of new security settings on the files therein after OS Builds 14393.187 and 14393.189 were live. The next question is why does Windows do that, maybe by design, but more information on that would be useful.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Maybe we've verified that one person has that feature of Windows functional. Next reply please make an effort to help users who don't have that feature working unless by following my workaround.
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Make an effort? :( Ummm, it is not easy, if possible at all, to troubleshoot a problem you cannot duplicate, and have never seen. And note that not everyone claims to be an expert on the inner workings of Windows. I sure am not. I'm just a hardware tech. And while I may be "one person", it works just fine on all 5 of my computers here.

I am glad xilolee made the effort and was able to identify and "fix" the problem. Workarounds tend to get in the way and often cause conflicts down the road.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Alright all I did was reboot my computer and I'm right back where I started. Now even changing the owner of the PerfLogs folder makes no difference.
* alright now I excluded the PerfLogs folder from Windows Defender then rebooted and it did generate a report. :huh:
 
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Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

I was not able to reproduce that fix again after another reboot. All I can say is that sometimes it works for some reason and I have no idea why, but most of the time it doesn't.
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

I did find out that every time a user generates a system health report a scheduled task is created which does the report. If you've been troubleshooting this you've probably got hundreds of scheduled tasks that never started. The task is supposed to delete itself when it completes successfully so I deleted all of the tasks that never started. Then I attempted to generate a report, then the task is known that is supposed to generate the report and can be changed. If you uncheck the do not store password box, then put in the user's password, then run that task until it's complete: that task works correctly; It's supposed to delete itself when it's done; future health reports work thereafter; until next reboot; but the tasks don't delete themselves as they should unless you manually run the task as well as uncheck do not store password on the task.
Capture.JPG
My initial thought is that Windows does not manage creating new users well. So anyone that has created a new user and migrated their stuff might see this bug.
I hope I can have more help troubleshooting to maybe fix this. :thumbsup2:
 
Re: How to Generate a System Health Report in Windows 10

Actually run only when user is logged in has to be selected, then the task automatically deletes like it's supposed to not the do not save password ​check box.
 

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