You press Win + Shift + S and nothing happens. Or the Snipping Tool opens, you drag a region, and the app crashes before saving anything. This guide covers every real cause behind the problem and how to fix each one on Windows 11, starting with the quickest fix and working toward the more advanced ones. Most people find their fix within the first three.
What Causes Snipping Tool to Stop Working
A handful of specific issues account for almost every broken Snipping Tool report on Windows 11.
- Clipboard History is turned off, so snips copy silently with no confirmation
- Focus Assist or Do Not Disturb blocks the “click to annotate” notification
- A corrupt app package from a failed Windows update
- Third-party tools like OneDrive, Dropbox, or ShareX intercept the screenshot hotkey
- The Print Screen key isn’t mapped to open the snipping overlay
Fix 1: Repair the Snipping Tool App
A repair resets the app’s internal files without touching your saved settings, and it clears the majority of crash and “this app can’t open” errors.
- Open Settings with
Win + I, then go to Apps > Installed apps - Find Snipping Tool, click the three-dot menu, and choose Advanced options
- Scroll down and click Repair
- Test
Win + Shift + Sagain
If Repair doesn’t help, return to the same screen and click Reset instead. That wipes app data but keeps the install intact. If the tool opens now but your snips seem to vanish after capture, that points to a clipboard problem, not a broken app.
Fix 2: Turn On Clipboard History
Snipping Tool copies every snip to the clipboard first, so if Clipboard History is off, a completed snip can look like nothing happened.
- Press
Win + V - Click Turn on if Clipboard History is disabled
- Take a snip and check whether it appears in the list
If the snip shows up in Clipboard History but you never see a confirmation banner, the app is working correctly. You just need to turn notifications on.
Fix 3: Enable Snipping Tool Notifications
Without the notification banner enabled, a snip saves correctly but the “click to annotate” prompt never shows, which makes the tool look frozen.
- Go to Settings > System > Notifications
- Confirm the master toggle at the top is on
- Scroll to the app list, find Snipping Tool, and toggle it on
- Open that row and confirm “Show notification banners” is checked
If notifications are already on for Snipping Tool and the banner still doesn’t appear, something is actively suppressing it rather than blocking it at the app level. That points to Focus Assist.
Fix 4: Turn Off Focus Assist
Focus Assist, now labeled Do Not Disturb in newer Windows 11 builds, silently suppresses the Snipping Tool toast during active hours.
- Go to Settings > System > Notifications
- Turn Do not disturb off
- Expand Turn on do not disturb automatically and disable any rules that overlap with your work hours
Test a capture again. If the toast appears now, that was the cause. If Win + Shift + S still does nothing at all rather than just missing a notification, check whether the shortcut itself is mapped correctly.
Fix 5: Check the Print Screen Key Setting
Windows 11 can route the PrtScn key to open the snipping overlay directly, and if that setting is off, pressing the key does nothing.
- Open Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard
- Find Use the Print screen key to open screen snipping
- Toggle it on and test with
PrtScn
If both shortcuts are correctly mapped but the capture overlay itself never shows up on screen, the issue likely sits with Windows Explorer rather than a setting.
Fix 6: Restart Windows Explorer
When the shell process gets stuck, overlay elements including the Snipping Tool’s dimmed capture layer stop rendering entirely. This is a different kind of problem than a toggle being off, so the fix works at the process level instead.
- Press
Ctrl + Shift + Escto open Task Manager - On the Processes tab, right-click Windows Explorer and choose Restart
- Test
Win + Shift + Sonce the taskbar reloads
If none of the fixes so far have helped, the cause is likely outdated system or app files rather than a setting or a stuck process.
Fix 7: Update Windows and the Snipping Tool App
Older builds can still carry the certificate that expired on October 31, 2023, along with other patched bugs, which the Microsoft release health dashboard tracks by build number.
- Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates and install everything available
- Open the Microsoft Store, go to Library, and click Get updates to refresh the app itself
- Restart your PC after both finish
If Snipping Tool is fully updated and still won’t open, the next step involves a couple of command-line scans. They sound technical, but each one is a single command you paste into an admin window and let run.
Fix 8: Run SFC and DISM Scans
These built-in scans repair damaged Windows system files that sit outside the Snipping Tool package but still block it from launching.
- Click Start, type
cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and choose Run as administrator - Run
sfc /scannowand let it finish, then reboot if it reports repaired files - If the issue persists, run
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, which can take 10 to 20 minutes
Once DISM finishes and you’ve rebooted, test the app again before moving on. If it still shows “this app can’t open,” the app package itself is the problem, and the fastest way to fix that is a clean reinstall.
Fix 9: Reinstall Snipping Tool via PowerShell
A clean reinstall clears every trace of a broken install, and it’s the most reliable option when the app shows “this app can’t open” after a reset.
- Click Start, type
powershell, right-click Windows PowerShell, and choose Run as administrator - Run
Get-AppxPackage *ScreenSketch* | Remove-AppxPackage - Reboot, then open the Microsoft Store, search “Snipping Tool,” and click Install
A fresh install fixes a broken app package, but it won’t help if something else is intercepting the shortcut before Snipping Tool ever gets triggered. That’s worth ruling out next, and it only takes a minute to check.
Fix 10: Check for Hotkey Hijackers
Apps that register their own screenshot hotkey can quietly block Snipping Tool from ever launching, even though nothing looks wrong on the surface.
- Check OneDrive under Settings > Backup for “Automatically save screenshots I capture to OneDrive”
- Check Dropbox under Preferences > Backups for “Share screenshots using Dropbox”
- Close ShareX, Greenshot, Lightshot, or Flameshot if any are running
- Check PowerToys Keyboard Manager for custom remaps on
PrtScnorWin + Shift + S
If you’ve disabled every hotkey hijacker you can find and Snipping Tool still won’t launch, a background service you haven’t spotted may still be interfering. A clean boot rules that out completely.
Fix 11: Perform a Clean Boot
A clean boot starts Windows with only Microsoft services and no startup apps running, which isolates whether a background program is silently blocking Snipping Tool.
- Press
Win + R, typemsconfig, and press Enter - On the Services tab, check Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all
- Go to the Startup tab, open Task Manager, and disable every listed startup item
- Restart your PC and test
Win + Shift + S
If Snipping Tool works after the clean boot, a background app was the cause. Re-enable services and startup items one at a time, testing after each, until you find the one responsible. Once you’re done testing, return msconfig to Normal startup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Win+Shift+S do nothing at all?
Clipboard History is usually off, so the snip is captured but never confirmed visually. Turning it on with Win + V resolves most of these cases immediately.
Does resetting Snipping Tool delete my past screenshots?
No. Reset only clears the app’s settings and cache, not screenshots already saved to your Pictures folder or elsewhere on disk.
Is a clean reinstall safe?
Yes. Removing the app package with PowerShell and reinstalling it from the Microsoft Store doesn’t affect any other files or apps on your system.
Will a clean boot delete my apps or files?
No. A clean boot only stops non-Microsoft services and startup programs from running temporarily. Nothing is uninstalled or deleted, and everything returns to normal once you switch back to Normal startup in msconfig.
Do I need admin rights to fix Snipping Tool?
Some fixes do. Running sfc /scannow, DISM, and the PowerShell reinstall command all require an elevated Command Prompt or PowerShell window opened with Run as administrator. Repairing, resetting, or adjusting settings through the Settings app doesn’t need elevated access.
