ShadowPlay Not Working? Fixes That Actually Work
Hit the record hotkey and nothing happened? You're not alone. When NVIDIA's ShadowPlay (now part of the NVIDIA app / GeForce Experience overlay) refuses to capture, it's almost always one of a handful of fixable causes. Work through this checklist top to bottom.
1. Make sure the in-game overlay is enabled
This is the most common culprit. Recording, Instant Replay, and screenshots all depend on the in-game overlay being turned on. Open the NVIDIA app (or GeForce Experience) and confirm the in-game overlay toggle is enabled. Then try Alt+Z by default to open it in a game — if the overlay won't appear, nothing else will work.
2. Update or cleanly reinstall your drivers
A broken or outdated driver breaks the overlay more often than you'd think. First, update to the latest GeForce driver. If updating doesn't fix it, do a clean install: in the driver installer, choose the custom/advanced option and select "perform a clean installation." This wipes corrupted settings that a normal update leaves behind.
3. Check the privacy / desktop capture setting
If you can record some games but not your desktop or certain windowed apps, look for the desktop capture (sometimes "share your desktop" or a privacy-control) toggle in the overlay's privacy settings. With it off, the overlay deliberately won't capture the desktop. Turn it on if you need desktop or borderless-window capture.
4. Try fullscreen vs borderless
Capture behavior can differ between display modes. If recording fails in one mode, switch your game between exclusive fullscreen and borderless windowed and test again. Some titles play nicer with one mode than the other for overlay capture.
5. Confirm you have free disk space
Recordings and the Instant Replay buffer need room to write. If your drive is nearly full, saves will silently fail. Free up space, or point the recording location to a drive with plenty of headroom in the overlay's recording settings.
6. Close conflicting overlays
Multiple overlays fighting over the same capture hooks can break recording. Common offenders include other capture/overlay tools and some chat or launcher overlays. Temporarily disable other in-game overlays and test ShadowPlay on its own to isolate the conflict.
7. Verify your hotkeys
If recording "doesn't work," the hotkey may simply be rebound or clashing with a game control. Check the overlay's keybind settings. The defaults are:
| Action | Default hotkey |
|---|---|
| Open overlay | Alt+Z |
| Start/stop manual recording | Alt+F9 |
| Toggle Instant Replay | Alt+Shift+F10 |
| Save Instant Replay | Alt+F10 |
| Screenshot | Alt+F1 |
Remember these are defaults and can be changed — so verify what yours are actually set to.
8. Restart the overlay and the app
When all else looks correct, a plain restart clears stuck states. Fully close the NVIDIA app / GeForce Experience (including background processes), reopen it, then relaunch your game.
Quick checklist
- In-game overlay enabled
- Drivers updated (or clean-installed)
- Desktop/privacy capture setting on (if recording desktop)
- Tested fullscreen vs borderless
- Enough free disk space
- Conflicting overlays disabled
- Hotkeys confirmed
- Overlay and app restarted
Back to capturing
Most ShadowPlay problems come down to the overlay being off, a stale driver, or a capture-permission setting — and the checklist above clears the vast majority of them. Once you're recording again, put those clips to good use: head to the upload page on FragClips to share them, browse the Explore feed for inspiration, and check the game pages for clips from your favorite titles.
Get back to clipping
Run through the checklist, get ShadowPlay recording again, then bring your next great moment to the upload page and show the FragClips community what you captured.
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