Snipping Tool is one of the built-in features of Windows that is very useful for taking screenshots or screenshots of certain parts of your screen.
You can use the Snipping Tool to capture, edit, and save the images you want easily and quickly. However, sometimes the Snipping Tool can run into problems and not work properly.
If you’re having issues with the Snipping Tool not working on Windows 11, don’t worry. There are several ways you can try to fix this problem and get the Snipping Tool back to normal.
This article will discuss how to fix the Snipping Tool not working on Windows. Bardimin will discuss various solutions that you can try, ranging from simple to more complex solutions.
What is a Snipping Tool?
Snipping Tool is a small application included with Windows. The application allows you to take screenshots of specific areas of your computer screen.
There are several ways to open the Snipping Tool. One of the easiest ways is to press the keyboard shortcut (Windows + Shift + S).
Once you open the Snipping Tool, you can select the area you want to take a screenshot of. You can select the area freely, or use one of the modes provided by the Snipping Tool, such as:
- Square Mode: Select a square-shaped area with an adjustable size.
- Free Mode: Select a freeform area with an adjustable size.
- Window Mode: Take a screenshot of the currently active window.
- Full-Screen Mode: Take a screenshot of your entire computer screen.
How to Fix Snipping Tool Not Working
There are several solutions you can try to fix the Snipping Tool not working. These solutions include:
- Restart the Snipping Tool: Restarting the Snipping Tool can help a malfunctioning Snipping Tool.
- Restart the computer: Restarting the computer can help fix minor issues that cause the Snipping Tool to malfunction.
- Updating graphics card drivers: Outdated or corrupted graphics card drivers can cause various issues on Windows, including a malfunctioning Snipping Tool.
- Reset Snipping Tool: Resetting the Snipping Tool can help fix problems caused by corrupted files or settings.
- Update Windows: Windows updates often include bug fixes and performance improvements that can help fix the Snipping Tool not working.
1] Restart the Snipping Tool
If the Snipping Tool suddenly does not work, try to restart the application through the Task Manager. Here are the steps:
- Press the keys (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) to open the “Task Manager”.
- Then look for “Snipping Tool” under the “Processes” tab.
- Right-click on the application and select “End task”.
After that, try reopening the Snipping Tool and see if the problem is resolved.
2] Restart Windows File Explorer
One of the most common reasons why Snipping Tool doesn’t work is because File Explorer is having problems or is unresponsive. Since the Snipping Tool is part of File Explorer, if there is a problem with this program, then the Snipping Tool will also be affected.
Therefore, you can try to restart Windows File Explorer and see if it can fix the Snipping Tool.
To restart Windows File Explorer, follow these steps:
- Press the keys (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) to open the “Task Manager”.
- In the “Task Manager” window, click on the “Processes” tab and find “Windows Explorer” from the list of running processes.
- Right-click on “Windows Explorer” and select “Restart” from the context menu that appears.
- Wait for a while for Windows File Explorer to restart and then try opening the Snipping Tool again.