Print screen not working with fullscreen programs

Question

I am having issues with the Print Screen function on my desktop. If I alt-tab into a full-screen application while the app is in one state, and then move to another state (e.g. changing menus, moving in a game, basically anything), print screen captures the first state, usually the app's pause menu. However, this does not happen with my laptop. I have tried turning the Xbox Game Bar off, as well as disabling full-screen optimisations. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

In order to get clarity and to assist you accordingly, please reply with the answers to the questions below.

• What is the Windows 10 Version and Build installed? (Type winver in Windows search/Run command)
• Are you aware of any changes on the PC prior to this issue?

We would suggest you to perform these methods and check.

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Step 1: Run the SFC.

1. Click on the Start button, Type CMD.
2. Right click on CMD and select Run as Administrator.
3. Type “sfc /scannow” without quotes and hit Enter.
4. After the scan, restart the computer.
5. Now check for the issue.

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Step 2: Run the DISM Tool.

1. Click on the Start button, Type CMD.
2. Right click on CMD and select Run as Administrator.
3. In the Administrator: Command Prompt window, type the following commands. Press the Enter key after each command:
   • DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth
   • DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
4. To close the Administrator: Command Prompt window, type Exit, and then press Enter.

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Note: The tool might take some time to finish, so please do not cancel it.

Step 3: Clean boot

Try booting your PC in clean boot. Refer to the article on How to perform a clean boot in Windows

**Note:**Clean Boot starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs, so that you can determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program. Also, you may not be able to use some programs in clean boot. 

If performing a clean boot fixes the issue then, please refer to the section How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot to check which program is causing the issue.

Note: Please refer the section Reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting to boot the computer in to normal mode after troubleshooting.

Regards,

Aditya Roy

Microsoft Community – Moderator