1. Start > Run > Type “regedit” (without the quotes) and select from the list.
  2. Find the key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
  3. You might want to export this as a backup first or note down the settings if there’s already a “VerboseStatus” field. In most cases, it won’t be there yet.
  4. Right-click under that and create a New > DWORD Value.
  5. Type VerboseStatus and double-click that new key, giving it the value data set to 1.

Next time you reboot, Windows will now give you verbose startup, shutdown, logon, and logoff status messages.