As you may already know, Microsoft added a new feature in Windows Xbox app called Game bar, and it comes packaged with the Xbox app. The Xbox Game bar pops up whenever a game is launched, and it’s designed for users to take videos and snapshots of the game. It’s similar to what folks can do on the Xbox One, and you know what? It works. Not to mention, if the Game bar doesn’t automatically launch for a particular game, users can add that game via the settings area.
Xbox Game bar is not working
Now, we can see why some folks enjoy using the Game bar, so when reports began popping up about the software’s inability to start, we had to find a way to come up with a few fixes here and there.
If the Xbox Game bar overlay is not working in Windows 11/10, do the following:
- Take a look in the Settings area
- Switch on the Game bar via the Registry Editor
- Repair or Reset Xbox Game Bar
- Xbox app’s Hotkey Settings
- Reset the Xbox app
- Reinstall the Xbox app
To learn more about them in detail, continue reading.
1] Take a look in the Settings area
Find the Xbox app by searching for it in Cortana, then launch it from the results. Select the Settings option from the menu pane on the left, then click on Game DVR via the menu tabs above.
You’ll now see something that says “Visit Windows Settings to adjust Game DVR settings.” Click on it and wait for the Settings app to launch. Choose Game bar and make sure the ability to record game clips and take screenshots is set to On.
Also, be sure to tick the box that says “Open Game bar using this button on a controller.” When you’re done, press the Windows Key + G to launch the Game bar.
2] Switch on the Game bar via the Registry Editor
It is possible to switch to the Game bar via Registry Editor in Windows 11/10. For that, do the following:
Fire up the Run dialog by pressing the Windows Key + R, then type regedit and hit Enter. Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR
Now right-click on AppCaptureEnabled DWORD and choose Modify. Here’s the thing, if the DWORD value is 0, set it to 1 and save it.
The next step then is to venture off to the following key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\System\GameConfigStore
and be sure to right-click on GameDVR_Enabled DWORD and select Modify. Here, you need to enter 1 in the text box if it’s set to 0.
Finally, save and restart Windows 11/10.
3] Repair or Reset Xbox Game Bar
To Repair or Reset Xbox Game Bar on Windows 11/10:
- Open Windows Settings > Apps > Apps & Features
- Search for Xbox Search Bar in the Apps list
- Click on Advanced Options
- Here you can Reset or Repair the Xbox Game Bar.
4] Xbox app’s Hotkey Settings
Are you certain the Game bar’s hotkeys have not been reconfigured? We can know this by firing up the Xbox app again, navigate to Settings, and once more select Game DVR. Click on the Windows Settings option, then select Game bar and make sure all the hotkeys are set.
If they are not, just do it yourself and move along from there.
5] Reset the Xbox app
If the Xbox Game bar is not working, then you may want to reset the App and see. You will be able to do it via Settings > Apps> Xbox > Advanced settings > Reset.
6] Reinstall the Xbox app
Click on Windows Key + S, then type Powershell into the search box. Right-click on the program once it appears, and open it as an Administrator. Execute the following command:
Xbox app: Get-AppxPackage *xboxapp* | Remove-AppxPackage
This should remove the Xbox app from your Windows 10 computer.
To get it back, launch the Microsoft Store, search for it, then download and install.
How do I fix my Xbox game bar won’t work?
If the Xbox Game bar is not working on your Windows 11/10 computer, you need to check the Settings to find the issue. Following that, you can enable the Game bar via Registry Editor, check the Xbox app’s hotkey setting, etc. At last, you can reset or reinstall the Xbox app to get it working again.
How do I enable the Xbox game bar on Windows 11/10?
You can enable the Xbox game bar on Windows 11/10 using Settings. Alternatively, you can use the Registry Editor to get the same thing done. Depending upon the method, you need to find the Game bar settings or create GameDVR_Enabled in GameConfigStore in HKCU.
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