How to Screen Record on Windows 11 and 10 (With Audio)

Every Windows PC can record its screen without extra software, but the two built-in tools do different jobs. Snipping Tool records any area of the screen and is the quickest answer on Windows 11. Xbox Game Bar records one app or game and is the only built-in recorder on Windows 10. This guide covers both step by step, plus PowerPoint, Clipchamp and our free browser recorder, then sound, laptops, where files are saved and what to do when recording fails.

Where this comes from: the Windows steps follow Microsoft's support pages and Windows Insider blog posts, with Dell's and HP's support articles where Microsoft's pages are silent, all checked October 2026. Snipping Tool updates through the Microsoft Store, so we give version numbers where Microsoft does. ZoomCap details come from our own product.

Every way to screen record on Windows, at a glance

Short version: Snipping Tool for a quick clip on Windows 11, Game Bar for one app or a game, and a browser recorder when you need the whole desktop, File Explorer or several windows, or you're on Windows 10 and want the computer's sound.

Method 1: Snipping Tool (Windows 11)

Best for: quick clips of part of the screen. Microsoft added a screen recorder to Snipping Tool in the February 2023 Windows 11 update, and it has improved since. According to Microsoft's support pages, the steps are:

1. Press Windows key + Shift + R. (Or open Snipping Tool from Start, switch from Snip to Record, and select New.)
2. Drag a rectangle over the area you want to record. For the full screen, drag from one corner to the opposite corner.
3. On the capture bar, turn on the microphone for your voice and system audio for the PC's sound, if you want them.
4. Select Start. A short countdown runs before recording begins.
5. Use Pause if you need a break, and Stop when you're done.
6. A preview opens. Current versions have already saved the MP4 to Videos\Screen Recordings; from the preview you can also save a copy elsewhere, copy, share, or select Edit in Clipchamp to trim it.

Does Snipping Tool record audio?

Yes. The first version recorded video only, which is why older guides (including some of Microsoft's own) say it can't record sound. Version 11.2307.44.0, announced on the Windows Insider blog on August 31, 2023, added “optionally recording your PC audio and voice overs using a microphone”. The audio buttons sit on the capture bar, Snipping Tool's settings set which ones are on for new recordings, and if you have several microphones you can pick one before you start. If the buttons are missing, update Snipping Tool from the Microsoft Store.

Saving, GIFs and limits

• Auto-save: since version 11.2405.24.0 (June 2024), recordings save automatically to the Screen Recordings folder inside Videos. You can turn that off in Snipping Tool's settings, and since version 11.2408.15.0 you can choose a different folder there.
• GIF export: version 11.2505.21.0 (June 2025) added Export GIF to the preview toolbar, for recordings of 30 seconds or less, per Microsoft's announcement.
• Limits: the area is fixed once you start, so you can't follow a window you move. Editing beyond the preview means opening Clipchamp. And Microsoft documents the recorder and its shortcut for Windows 11 only.

Method 2: Xbox Game Bar (Windows 10 and 11)

Best for: recording one app or a game, and the only built-in option on Windows 10. Game Bar is part of both Windows 10 and Windows 11. From Microsoft's Game Bar guide:

1. Make sure it's on: press Windows key + I, search for “xbox” and turn on Xbox Game Bar.
2. Click into the app or game you want to record, so it's the active window.
3. Press Windows key + Alt + R to start. (Or press Windows key + G, open the Capture widget and click Record.)
4. Press Windows key + Alt + M to turn your microphone on or off while recording.
5. Press Windows key + Alt + R again to stop.
6. The MP4 is saved in the Captures folder inside Videos, named after the app with the date and time.

For all the computer's sound, not just the game's: press Windows key + G, open Settings, go to Capturing and choose All. In full-screen games the overlay doesn't appear, but Windows key + Alt + R still starts and stops recording, according to Dell's Game Bar article.

What Game Bar can't record

Game Bar records one app at a time. Dell's article (updated April 2026) says it “does not work in applications such as File Explorer or Notepad” and “will also not open on the desktop screen”, and HP's guide says the same about the desktop and File Explorer. So it's the wrong tool for a tutorial that moves between programs or starts on the desktop. Use Snipping Tool over the full screen on Windows 11, or Method 3 on either version.

Method 3: Record the whole desktop with sound, in the browser

Best for: the whole desktop, File Explorer, several windows, Windows 10 with sound, and videos you'll edit. We make ZoomCap, so weigh this accordingly. Our free online screen recorder runs in Chrome or Edge using the browser's own screen capture, so there's nothing to install and no account:

1. Open the recorder in Chrome or Edge. Leave Microphone on for your voice.
2. Click Start recording and choose Entire screen in the browser's picker (or one window or tab).
3. Turn on Share audio to include the computer's sound, then click Share. On Windows, Chrome and Edge capture the whole computer's sound this way.
4. Work through your demo. Pause and resume as needed, then click Stop and save (or the browser's “Stop sharing”).
5. Play it back on the page and click Download MP4. It goes to Downloads.

What it adds over the built-in tools: the whole desktop and File Explorer on Windows 10 and 11, your voice and the computer's sound mixed into one track, pause and resume, and no watermark or time limit set by us. Nothing is uploaded: the video sits in the browser tab until you download it. Firefox works too, but saves WebM and records the microphone without computer sound.

After you stop, Add zooms in the editor opens the clip in the ZoomCap editor (free account) for zooms, backgrounds, captions, a webcam overlay and 9:16 or 1:1 versions, exported as MP4 up to 4K. To be plain about Windows: you add zooms by hand there, because automatic zoom on clicks and typing comes from our terminal recorder, which runs on macOS and Linux (X11) and has no Windows version yet. Recording is free; the editor's free plan has 2 exports a month with a small watermark, and $29 once (or $12.49 a month) removes it. Editing happens in your browser and video is never uploaded (our security page shows the data flow). Payments go through Dodo Payments, and there's a 14-day refund if it doesn't work for you. More on recording a PC, laptops and audio is on our screen recorder for PC page.

Method 4: PowerPoint's screen recorder

Best for: a clip that belongs in a presentation. If you have PowerPoint 2016 or later (including Microsoft 365), it has a recorder of its own. Per Microsoft's PowerPoint guide:

1. Open the slide you want the recording on, then select Insert → Screen Recording.
2. On the Control Dock, choose Select Area (or press Windows key + Shift + E) and drag over the area. The minimum is 64 × 64 pixels.
3. Audio and Record Pointer are on by default; deselect them if you don't want them.
4. Select Record. Pause with Windows key + Shift + D and stop with Windows key + Shift + Q.
5. The video lands on the slide. To keep it as a separate file, right-click it and choose Save Media as.

Method 5: Clipchamp

Best for: recording straight into a video editor. Clipchamp is Microsoft's video editor, in the browser or as a Windows app. According to Microsoft's Clipchamp guide for personal accounts:

1. Open the Record & create tab and choose Screen (or Screen & camera).
2. Allow camera and microphone access, pick your microphone, and click the red record button.
3. Choose a browser tab, a window or the entire screen, and click Share.
4. Click Stop sharing when you're done. The clip goes onto the timeline and a WebM copy downloads.
5. Edit, then click Export to save an MP4.

The catch: Microsoft's page says computer audio is recorded only when you share a browser tab, and each recording has a maximum length shown next to the timer.

How to screen record on Windows with audio

There are two kinds of sound: your voice from the microphone and the computer's sound (a video, a call, app alerts). Here is how each tool handles them:

If a recording comes out silent, check these in order:

1. The audio option was on before you started. Sound you didn't record can't be added afterwards, so record a five-second test first.
2. Windows lets apps use the mic: Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone, with “Microphone access”, “Let apps access your microphone” and “Let desktop apps access your microphone” on (on Windows 10, Settings → Privacy → Microphone).
3. The right input is selected under Settings → System → Sound → Input. Microsoft's guide has a Start test button there, or use our webcam and mic test.
4. The sound isn't protected. Streaming services can block capture, which records as silence or a black picture.

Our full guide to screen recording with audio covers Mac, Chromebook and Linux as well.

How to screen record on a laptop (HP, Dell, Lenovo and others)

A Windows laptop records exactly like a desktop PC, because the shortcuts and tools come from Windows, not from HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS or Acer. Dell's and HP's own guides describe the same Game Bar shortcuts as Microsoft's. A few things are specific to laptops:

• No Print Screen key? It doesn't matter. Windows key + Shift + R and Windows key + Alt + R don't use PrtScn or Fn. HP's guide notes that some HP keyboards need Fn + Print Screen, but that only affects screenshots.
• Typing noise. A laptop's built-in mic sits next to the keyboard. If you type during the recording, a headset sounds cleaner.
• External monitor. Snipping Tool records the rectangle you drag on either screen; browser recorders list each screen separately in the picker.
• Long recordings. Plug in: encoding video uses more power than normal work.

Not a Windows laptop? A Chromebook has its own Screen capture tool; see how to screen record on a Chromebook. On a MacBook, see how to record your screen on a Mac.

Where screen recordings are saved on Windows

Game Bar also lists its recordings under Show all captures in the Capture widget. If you can't find a Snipping Tool recording, check whether auto-save was turned off in its settings; in that case only the copies you saved yourself exist.

How to stop a screen recording on Windows

• Snipping Tool: select Stop on the capture bar.
• Xbox Game Bar: press Windows key + Alt + R again, or click Stop on the recording widget.
• PowerPoint: press Windows key + Shift + Q.
• Clipchamp: click Stop sharing.
• ZoomCap: click Stop and save, or the browser's “Stop sharing” button.

Fixes for common problems

Game Bar won't record, is greyed out, or says gaming features aren't available

Usually you're on the desktop or in File Explorer, which Game Bar doesn't support. Click into an app window and press Windows key + Alt + R again. If nothing happens anywhere, check that Xbox Game Bar is turned on (press Windows key + I and search “xbox”). Microsoft lists a disabled Game Bar and unsupported windows as common reasons recording fails. For the desktop itself, use Snipping Tool or a browser recorder.

Snipping Tool has no Record option

You're on Windows 10, or Snipping Tool is out of date. On Windows 11, update it from the Microsoft Store and run Windows Update; Microsoft rolled the recorder out to Windows 11 version 22H2 from February 2023. On Windows 10, use Game Bar or a browser recorder.

The recording has no sound

Work through the checklist in the audio section: audio turned on before recording, microphone access allowed, the right input selected, and no protected content.

The recording is black

Protected video, such as some streaming services, records as black by design; Microsoft lists protected content as a reason recording fails. If an ordinary app records black in Game Bar, try Snipping Tool or a browser recorder instead.

The file is too big to send

Trim it first, then compress it once with our free video compressor, which runs in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Record your Windows screen now

For a quick clip, Windows key + Shift + R on Windows 11 or Windows key + Alt + R in an app on Windows 10 is all you need. For the whole desktop with sound on any version, open the free screen recorder in Chrome or Edge: no download and no card. When the video needs zooms, captions or a background, the editor is free to try, and $29 once on the pricing page removes the watermark.