How to Fix Xbox Game Bar Capture Greyed Out (Not Working)

This article is specifically about the issue where the Xbox Game Bar capture is not working because the buttons are greyed out.

This is a long-time issue that affects both Windows 10 and Windows 11 users, and while Microsoft still didn’t identify what causes it, you can quickly fix it by enabling the Xbox Game Bar in the Registry editor as shown below:

1. Type Registry Editor in Windows Search and open it:
   
2. Click yes to allow Windows to make changes to your device.
3. On the Registry Editor, navigate to the following path:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
4. Go to the GameDVR key (folder), double-click on AllowGameDVR, and modify its value to 1.
   
   (If you don’t see a GAME DVR key, right-click on Windows, then click on new -> Key. After that, right-click on the Game DVR key you just created, click on New -> DWORD (32-bit) value, and name it to AllowGameDVR. Then modify its value to 1.)
5. Now, navigate to the following path:
   Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\System\GameConfigStore
6. Double-click on GameDVR_Enabled and modify its value to 1:
   
7. Finally, go to the path:
   Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR
8. Double-click on AppCaptureEnabled and modify its value to 1:
   
   (If there is no AppCapture Enabled, just create a new DWORD (32-bit) value, and name it to AppCapture Enabled, then modify its value to 1.)
9. Reboot your PC.

This should fix your Xbox Game Bar. If it didn’t, you could try to remove your Xbox Game Bar via Windows PowerShell and reinstall it again.

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Windows 10/11 N users can try to install the Media Feature Pack for N versions of Windows, as explained in the last section of this article.

How to Fix Xbox Game Bar Capture Not Working via PowerShell

If changing the registry didn’t work, try uninstalling the Xbox game bar completely via PowerShell and then reinstalling it through Microsoft Store. Here is how to do it:

1. Type Windows PowerShell in Windows Search, then click on Run as Administrator:
   
2. Run the following command on PowerShell:
   Get-AppxPackage *Xbox* | Remove-AppxPackage
   
3. Click on the Start button and open Microsoft Store.
4. Install the Xbox Game Bar.

(If your Game Pass is unusable because you cannot install Gaming Services in the Xbox App, I’ve written an article on how to fix Gaming Services install errors 0x80073D27 and 0x80073D26.)

How to Fix Xbox Game Bar Capture Greyed Out on Windows 10/11 N versions

If you are a Windows 10/11 N user and changing the registry didn’t fix the issue, try installing the Media Feature Pack, an optional feature for N versions of Windows.

This is how to install it:

On Windows 11

1. Click on the Start button, then click on Settings.
2. Expand on the hamburger icon in the upper-left corner, and click on Apps.
3. In the Apps window, click on Optional Features.
4. Click on View Features next to Add an optional feature.
5. Check the Media Feature Pack and click next to install it.

On Windows 10

1. Click on the Start button, then click on Settings.
2. In the Settings window, click on Apps.
3. In the Apps window, click on Apps & Features.
4. Click on Optional features, and then Add a feature.
5. Check the Media Feature Pack and install it.

You can also directly download it from here on the Microsoft Official Website. While it is made for Windows 10, it is also supposed to work for Windows 11 users.

Conclusion

The primary way to fix the Xbox Game Bar Capture greyed out is to modify the AppCaptureEnabled value to 1 under the GameDVRValue key on Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR in the Registry Editor.

You should also try to modify the value of the other two registry entries, as explained at the beginning of this article. If they don’t exist, you will need to create them.

You can also try uninstalling Xbox Game Bar on PowerShell and reinstalling it. If you are a Windows N user, try to install the Media Feature Pack.

If you want to free up the RAM usage and have multiple instances of Microsoft Teams in task manager, I’ve written an article on why there are multiple instances of Microsoft Teams in task manager?