How to get the system uptime in C# and VB.NET

To get the system uptime in C# and VB.NET you can use the following snippet.

Sample C#

private static String GetSystemUpTimeInfo()
{
	try
	{
		var time = GetSystemUpTime();
		var upTime = string.Format("{0:D2}h:{1:D2}m:{2:D2}s:{3:D3}ms", time.Hours, time.Minutes, time.Seconds, time.Milliseconds);
		return String.Format("{0}", upTime);
	}
	catch (Exception ex)
	{
		//handle the exception your way
		return String.Empty;
	}
}

private static TimeSpan GetSystemUpTime()
{
	try
	{
		using (var uptime = new PerformanceCounter("System", "System Up Time"))
		{
			uptime.NextValue();
			return TimeSpan.FromSeconds(uptime.NextValue());
		}
	}
	catch (Exception ex)
	{
		//handle the exception your way
		return new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 0);
	}
}

Sample VB.NET

Private Shared Function GetSystemUpTimeInfo() As String
        Try 
            Dim time As var = GetSystemUpTime
            Dim upTime As var = String.Format("{0:D2}h:{1:D2}m:{2:D2}s:{3:D3}ms", time.Hours, time.Minutes, time.Seconds, time.Milliseconds)
            Return String.Format("{0}", upTime)
        Catch ex As Exception
            'handle the exception your way
            Return String.Empty
        End Try
    End Function
    
    Private Shared Function GetSystemUpTime() As TimeSpan
        Try 
            Dim uptime As var = New PerformanceCounter("System", "System Up Time")
            uptime.NextValue
            Return TimeSpan.FromSeconds(uptime.NextValue)
        Catch ex As Exception
            'handle the exception your way
            Return New TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 0)
        End Try
    End Function