---
title: "Print Screen not working: seven causes, in order"
url: "https://screenshot-laptop.com/fix/print-screen-not-working/"
platform: "cross-platform"
section: "Troubleshooting"
updated: "2026-09-16"
license: "CC-BY-4.0"
attribution: "screenshot-laptop.com"
shortcuts:
  - "Fn + PrtSc"
  - "Ctrl + V"
  - "Win + Shift + S"
---

# Print Screen not working: seven causes, in order

*Work down this list. The first two account for most cases and neither is a fault.*

URL: https://screenshot-laptop.com/fix/print-screen-not-working/

## The short answer

- `Fn` + `PrtSc` — Try this first
- `Ctrl` + `V` in Paint — Check if it worked silently
- `Win` + `Shift` + `S` — Works even when PrtSc doesn't

## 1. It worked, silently

On Windows 10, `PrtSc` copies to the clipboard with no flash, no sound, no notification and no file. There's nothing to see. Most "not working" reports are this.

**Test it:** open Paint and press `Ctrl`+`V`. If your screen appears, the key is fine and the behaviour is expected. Use `Win`+`PrtSc` instead when you want a file.

## 2. The function row is in media mode

Laptop F-keys do two jobs, and only one layer is active at a time. In media mode, the key you pressed adjusted the brightness rather than capturing.

**Test it:** hold `Fn` and press `PrtSc`. If that works, this was the cause.

**Fix it permanently:** look for a padlock on `Esc` or `Fn` and press `Fn`+`Esc`, or change the setting in firmware. The name differs by brand — Action Keys Mode on [HP](https://screenshot-laptop.com/hp/), Fn Lock on [Dell](https://screenshot-laptop.com/dell/), Hotkey Mode on [Asus](https://screenshot-laptop.com/asus/), Function Key Behavior on [Acer](https://screenshot-laptop.com/acer/), and on [Lenovo](https://screenshot-laptop.com/lenovo/) the indicator lights up on the `Fn` key itself. [Galaxy Book models](https://screenshot-laptop.com/samsung/) show the state on a small LED.

## 3. Another app has claimed the key

Print Screen is a popular hotkey, and gaming laptops are the worst affected — [MSI machines](https://screenshot-laptop.com/msi/) often ship with three apps competing for it. Any of these will take the key, silently, on install:

- OneDrive — has a *capture screenshots I take* setting
- Dropbox — same feature, same behaviour
- GeForce Experience / AMD Software — bound by default
- Snagit, ShareX, Greenshot, Lightshot
- Steam's in-game overlay
- [Xbox Game Bar](https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/game-bar/)
- Vendor overlays: Omen Gaming Hub, Armoury Crate, MSI Center, Alienware Command Center

**The tell:** the key seems to do *something* — a flash, a sound, a brief overlay — but Pictures › Screenshots stays empty.

**Find the culprit:** close apps one at a time from the system tray and retest after each. Faster shortcut: check Videos › Captures and OneDrive › Pictures › Screenshots. Finding your missing captures there identifies the app immediately.

## 4. Clipboard history or a clipboard manager

A clipboard utility can take the image and hold it somewhere other than the system clipboard. Press `Win`+`V` to see Windows' own history. If images are there, the capture worked and pasting was the problem.

## 5. The specific app blocks capture

Banking apps, DRM-protected video players and some remote desktop clients deliberately prevent capture. You get a black rectangle or an empty clipboard, only in that app.

**Test it:** press `PrtSc` with File Explorer in front instead. Working there and failing in one app means the app is blocking it, not the key. [Why, and what you can do](https://screenshot-laptop.com/fix/black-screenshot/)

## 6. The keyboard driver

Rare, but real after a Windows update.

1. Right-click Start, choose **Device Manager**.
2. Expand **Keyboards**.
3. Right-click your keyboard, choose **Uninstall device**.
4. Restart. Windows reinstalls the standard driver automatically.

## 7. The key is physically dead

If none of the above applies, test the switch:

- Press `Ctrl`+`Win`+`O` for the on-screen keyboard and click **PrtScn** with the mouse. Working there means the software is fine and the physical key is broken.
- Or plug in a USB keyboard and press its Print Screen key.

A dead key isn't worth repairing for this, because Windows doesn't need it. [Five methods that don't use it](https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/no-print-screen-key/)

## The answer that skips all of this

`Win`+`Shift`+`S` doesn't involve the Print Screen key, its Fn layer, or anything that intercepts it. If you just need a screenshot right now, use that. [The Win + Shift + S guide](https://screenshot-laptop.com/windows/windows-shift-s/)

## Questions

**Why does Print Screen work in some apps but not others?**

That's the app blocking capture deliberately, which narrows it to cause 5. Streaming video players and banking software are the usual ones. There's no setting to override it.

**Why did Print Screen stop working after a Windows update?**

Check whether the update changed the Print Screen toggle in Settings › Accessibility › Keyboard — Windows 11 updates have flipped this before. Failing that, reinstall the keyboard driver as in cause 6.

**Does a BIOS update help?**

Only if the function-key setting is missing or broken in your current firmware, which is unusual. Try the Fn test and the in-Windows fixes first — a BIOS update carries more risk than this problem warrants.