The Print Screen key on your Windows keyboard is a handy way to grab quick screenshots on your PC while you’re working. While there are more sophisticated ways to do this, hitting your Print Screen key is definitely the fastest one.
But as it usually happens with most things tech, your Print screen key can sometimes fail to do the things it was designed to do. And, that’s the exact topic we’ll discuss in this article. Let’s look at the different ways you can try to fix your print screen issues.
1. Give your PC a quick restart
You’d be surprised to know about the different kinds of problems a quick PC reset can get rid of. Think of random performance issues, internet connection problems, drivers going off, etc. So give your PC a reboot and see if the problem with your print screen persists.
2. Update your keyboard driver
A driver is a special software that makes your steel and plastic hardware tick. Something that puts the soul in the metal, you could say. Each piece of hardware of your PC—from the keyboard and mouse to the speaker, etc.—needs a driver to perform its function. So, if the keyboard driver of your Windows PC is out of date, then issues
To update your keyboard driver, launch the Device Manager. Head to the Start menu search bar, type in ‘device manager,’ and select the best match.
From there, expand the Keyboards icon, right-click on your keyboard and select Update driver. Then select Search automatically for drivers—if a new update is available, the Device Manager will install it automatically.
3. Run the Troubleshooter
As user-friendly as it is, the Windows operating system isn’t unknown to fall for random bugs and errors. Microsoft owns this fact and packs many troubleshooting tools to tackle this problem.
One such tool is the Windows troubleshooter, a free app that can look for and then fix all the problems it finds in minutes. To start the Windows keyboard troubleshooting, head to Settings by pressing the Windows key + I button.
From there, select System > Troubleshoot.
Then select Other troubleshooters and click on the Run button the Keyboard hardware.
4. Visit the repair shop
If your keyboard has been used for a while now, then the usual rug-and-tug that takes place over the years can make your laptop act weirdly. Unfortunately, losing the functionality of some keys is a part of that process.
My local tech repair guy has rescued me enough times that I feel compelled to recommend this method. Just take your laptop to the nearest IT repair shop, and ask them to replace your Print screen key with a new one; if the issue was due to the specific key, then getting a new key should resolve the problem.
However, if none of the methods have worked so far, then it is perhaps time to order a new keyboard. With the massive variety of choices today, they come in cheap and plenty too.
Fixing problems with the Print screen
So, that’s all about fixing your print screen key problems on your Windows laptop, folks. Usually, one of the methods does the job for me and many others I know. It will hopefully work in your case as well. Losing the functionality of your laptop’s key is not uncommon—in fact, sometimes the whole keyboard can stop working on Windows.
