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Jan 02, 2024

How to Fix NVIDIA ShadowPlay Not Recording Windows Games

Is NVIDIA ShadowPlay not working on your Windows computer? We've got a couple of

Is NVIDIA ShadowPlay not working on your Windows computer? We've got a couple of ways that you can troubleshoot the issue.

Many players capture gaming videos with the ShadowPlay recording tool on the GeForce Experience overlay. However, that feature doesn't work for some players.

Some GeForce Experience users have reported on NVIDIA's forum that nothing happens when they click the Record button on the overlay. If you’re among those players who need to fix ShadowPlay not recording, this is how you can resolve that issue.

Reactivating the overlay is a simple potential resolution for fixing ShadowPlay not recording some GeForce Experience users have confirmed worked for them. You can reactivate the overlay in the following steps:

Then exit the GeForce Experience app, start a game, and open the overlay. Try recording a game to see if the issue is fixed. If not, proceed to apply resolution two.

Desktop Capture is a setting that needs to be enabled to record with ShadowPlay. So, check if that option is on. This is how you can enable the Desktop capture option:

If you find that the setting is already enabled, the ShadowPlay feature should work. However, note that ShadowPlay sharing also has certain system requirements specified on this GeForce page. Continue with the troubleshooting methods below if you’re sure your PC meets all requirements for ShadowPlay recording.

Note that the Desktop capture setting isn't available on Windows laptops with switchable dual GPUs (graphics processor units). So, don't be surprised if you can't find that option on a laptop with two graphics cards.

The overlay has a live broadcasting gameplay feature for Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch that can cause issues with ShadowPlay recording. So, it's recommended to disable that feature when ShadowPlay isn't working right. This is how you can turn off live broadcasting in GeForce Experience:

Now try recording a game with live broadcasting turned off. If that's not enough, you might need to disconnect a Twitch account as outlined in the next potential solution.

Twitch streaming and ShadowPlay recording don't mix well. If you’ve connected a Twitch account with ShadowPlay, disconnecting it could resolve the issue. You can disconnect a Twitch account from ShadowPlay like this:

Now it should say you’re not logged into Twitch. There's no need to uninstall Twitch on Windows. Temporarily disconnect it from GeForce Experience when you need to record games.

Conflicting apps are among the most common causes of ShadowPlay recording not working. Numerous browsers, streaming, and recording apps can restrict ShadowPlay when running at the same time.

In the case of a web browser, ShadowPlay recording can stop working when there's a streaming service tab like Netflix open in the software. These are some of the programs that can interfere with the game recording:

So, make sure that you close all windows for other software on your Windows taskbar before trying to record a game. However, that might not completely close software with processes running in the background.

Open Windows Task Manager to disable background processes for programs that could conflict with ShadowPlay. Our guide to fixing background processes running by disabling them tells you how to terminate apps and services with Task Manager.

Some background processes you need to disable could also be automatically starting with Windows. Click the Startup tab in Taskbar to see if that's the case. Select a recorder or streaming program listed there and select Disable to stop it from automatically starting.

ShadowPlay can stop working because certain NVIDIA services are disabled. So, try checking all NVIDIA services on your PC are enabled and running. This is how you can enable and start the NVIDIA Streaming Service:

Repeat those instructions for all NVIDIA services you can see listed in the Services app. Select to restart NVIDIA services that are already running and set to an automatic startup. You can do that by right-clicking a service and selecting Restart. Reboot Windows after starting or restarting the services.

Make sure your PC has the latest NVIDIA driver for its graphics card. To do so, we recommend you completely uninstall the current driver on your PC with Driver Display Uninstaller.

Then download and install the latest driver for your graphics card on the NVIDIA website. Check out our article about how to cleanly reinstall GPU drivers for details about how to apply this potential resolution.

Reinstalling GeForce Experience will probably fix app bugs affecting its recording functionality. You can uninstall GeForce Experience within Apps & Features in Settings and Control Panel's Programs and Features applet. This post about uninstalling programs in Windows 11 includes instructions for removing software with both methods.

Restart your PC when you’ve uninstalled GeForce Experience. Bring up this GeForce Experience download page.

Click Download Now there to obtain the setup wizard for the latest version of the software. Then double-click the downloaded GeForce_Experience_v3 file to open the setup wizard and reinstall the software.

There are many possible reasons for ShadowPlay recording not working, which makes it harder to fix. However, the potential solutions here will address most of the more common causes for ShadowPlay not recording.

With ShadowPlay fixed, you can then record supported games to your heart's content again.

Jack has been a freelance tech journalist for more than a decade. He has covered Windows Vista, 7, 10, and 11 topics within a multitude of guides for MakeUseOf and numerous other websites.