7 Ways to Fix the Screenshots Not Working Issue on Windows 11

7 Ways to Fix the Screenshots Not Working Issue on Windows 11.

The screenshot or print-screen key is available in fairly helpful in on a regular basis use for players, technophiles, and anybody desirous to seize the contents of their display screen. It is a kind of capabilities which, through the years, now we have come to take without any consideration, and whose true price is barely understood when it stops working. 

There may very well be a wide range of the reason why you aren’t in a position to seize screenshots in your system. From lacking registry keys to outdated keyboard drivers to extraneous software program taking up the print display screen perform – there’s loads that might go flawed. But earlier than you relegate the duty to a third-party software, check out these easy fixes for all of your screenshots-not-working woes. 

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Screenshots not engaged on Windows 11? Here are 7 methods to repair this!

On most laptops and desktop computer systems, you might be certain to have a “Prt scr” key that captures the contents of your display screen. On Windows 11, this key’s by default related to the Snipping Tool – Windows’ built-in display screen seize app. But when you’re not using When this key’s pressed, the image of the display screen is copied to the clipboard.

It’s vital to notice that Windows doesn’t provide you with any affirmation that your display screen has been captured which does confuse many as as to if their Prt Scr key’s even working. You should open a program like Paint, Photoshop, Word, and so forth. (people who help images) and paste it there to see the screenshot. 

But when you don’t something, you’ll be able to make sure that you’re both not using the appropriate hotkeys, or there’s one thing flawed with the screenshot perform. Here are just a few methods that you may repair this drawback for good.

1. Make positive you’re using the appropriate key(s)

Other than merely urgent the Prt Scr button, there are just a few hotkey combos that you need to use to seize screenshots. Here they’re:

  • Prt Scr – Captures your entire display screen.
  • Ctrl + Prt Scr – Also captures your entire display screen
  • Alt + Prt Scr – Captures the lively window.
  • Fn + Prt Screen – On some keyboards, Print Screen shares the identical key as one other perform. So you could have to press the Fn and Prt Screen keys collectively. 

For the above hotkey combos, the screenshot shall be captured and copied to the clipboard. You will nonetheless be required to stick it right into a program that helps images. If you need to bypass this, use the next hotkey mixture.

Winkey + Prt Scr – captures your entire display screen and saves the screenshot to the default Screenshot folder (C:Users(username)PicturesScreenshots).

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2. Check ‘write’ permissions of the Screenshot folder

If you’re using the Win + Prt Scr  hotkey however don’t see your screenshot saved within the default Screenshots folder, it’s potential that you could be not have permission to put in writing to that folder. Here’s how one can verify if that’s the drawback:

  1. Press Win+E to open File Explorer, then open the Pictures folder. 
  2. Right-click the Screenshots folder and choose Properties. Go to the Security tab and verify if there’s a tick next to ‘Write’ for SYSTEM permissions.
  3. If you don’t see a tick next to Write, then you definitely don’t have permission to save lots of screenshots using the “Winkey + Prt Scr” hotkeys. But that is one thing that may simply be fastened. Use the steps ranging from the one linked right here

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3. Registry Fix

Another drawback may very well be that your system is lacking an vital Registry file. But fret not, it’s straightforward to repair this. Here’s how you are able to do so:

  1. Press Win+R to open the RUN field, kind “regedit”, then hit Enter.
  2. Once the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the next location: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorer.
  3. With the Explorer folder chosen within the left pane, see if there’s a ScreenshotIndex DWORD file in the appropriate pane.
  4. If there isn’t, then you’ll be able to create one your self. To do that, right-click within the empty house in the appropriate pane, choose New, then click on on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  5. Name this “ScreenshotIndex” and double-click it to switch it. Then, for “Value data”, enter 1. Click OK.
  6. Now, verify to see in case your screenshots are being saved to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.

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4. Use the Snipping instrument

If the aforementioned strategies don’t work, you need to use the built-in Windows 11 screenshot instrument – Snipping Tool. Here’s how one can open and use it.

  1. Open the Settings app, go to Accessibility > Keyboard, and toggle on Use the Print display screen key to open display screen seize to open Snipping Tool everytime you press the Print Screen key. 
  2. Alternatively, press Start, kind “snipping tool”, and open it. Click on New.

  3. Mark the world to seize after which view it on the app’s canvas. Click on the floppy icon to Save.
  4. To shortly seize a screenshot, press Win+Shift+S. The file shall be saved within the Pictures > Screenshots folder.  

5. Close background applications

Sometimes, just a few background applications can intervene with the screenshot capabilities and keep you from capturing your display screen’s content material. Some of those applications embody the likes of OneDrive, Dropbox, and Snipper instrument, and so forth. Here’s how one can shut them and wrest back management of your “Prt Scr” key.

  1. Right-click on the taskbar and open Task Manager.
  2. Now, beneath the “Processes” tab, choose the interfering program and choose End Task.

  3. Do this for all such applications and verify if the screenshot perform is working. 

6. Update keyboard drivers

An outdated or incorrect keyboard driver can be the wrongdoer stopping your Print Screen key from doing its job. So, updating your keyboard drivers would possibly simply repair the issue for you. Here’s how to take action:

  1. Press Win+X and click on on Device Manager.
  2. Click on Keyboards to increase it.
  3. Then right-click on Standard PS/2 Keyboard and choose Update driver.
  4. Now, you’ll get two choices – to seek for drivers routinely or to browse the pc for drivers. If you don’t have the keyboard drivers in your pc, choose Search routinely for drivers.
  5. Wait for the most recent drivers to be put in routinely, then reboot your PC.
  6. Or, you’ll be able to go to your keyboard (or laptop computer) producer’s web site and obtain the drivers. Once you’ve the drivers, return to the identical “Update driver” choice, and this time click on on Browse my pc for driver software program.
  7. Then click on on Let me decide from a listing of accessible drivers…
  8. Now, choose from the obtainable drivers and click on Next.
  9. Once the keyboard drivers are up to date, reboot your PC and verify if the issue is fastened.

7. Use third-party functions

When all screenshot-capturing capabilities fail, you’re left with the choice of using third-party functions. But that’s not a comfort; third-party functions far exceed Window’s bare-bones screenshot perform. In truth, of us who should often take screenshots know that these functions present helpful extra choices that streamline the screen-capturing course of and make it way more handy on the entire. Here are just a few that you could be need to take a look at.

We at NerdsChalk are an enormous of the ShareX software program, so we completely suggest you to test it out for all of your screenshot wants.


So these had been all of the fixes that you would get your screenshot perform to start out working once more on Windows 11. If you’re nonetheless experiencing bother with taking screenshots, we extremely suggest you get a third-party software for a similar. 


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