How to Fix Lightshot Issues on Windows 11
Honestly, troubleshooting Lightshot on Windows 11 is kinda hit-or-miss. Sometimes it just stops working, and you’re left scratching your head. I ran into this myself and found out it’s often related to permissions, background apps, or misconfigured settings. If Lightshot refuses to open, capture, or save, don’t worry—there are a few things worth trying. Some of these steps took me a couple tries, so hang in there.
Run Lightshot with Administrator Rights
This one finally made a difference for me. If Lightshot isn’t acting right, it might be because Windows is blocking certain actions it needs to do, especially around screen capturing. So, the first thing to try is running it as admin. On my setup, it took some digging to figure out, but here’s what finally worked:
Open Task Manager (Control + Shift + Escape). Find Lightshot in the list—probably under Apps or Background processes. Right-click it and pick End Task. Then, press the Windows key, type Lightshot. Instead of clicking it directly, right-click on the search result and choose Run as administrator. There might be a UAC prompt—click Yes. This elevation often unlocks the permissions needed for Lightshot to do its thing, like capturing the screen or uploading files.
Oh, and if you want it to always run as admin in the future, right-click the shortcut, go to Properties, then Compatibility. Check the box for Run this program as administrator. It’s a bit of a hassle, but it avoids the extra steps every time.
The Print Screen Key: Is It Working?
My next hurdle was that even after running Lightshot as admin, pressing Print Screen didn’t do anything. Sometimes the key itself gets fiddled with—disabling or reassigning to other functions—especially with gaming or keyboard software cluttering things up. When I tested it, nothing happened, and I thought maybe Lightshot was broken.
Toggle the Print Screen Function in Windows Settings
Turns out, Windows 11 has some settings that might interfere. Head to Settings (Windows + I), then go to Accessibility on the sidebar. Scroll down to Interaction, and click on Keyboard. There, look for Use the Print Screen key to open Screen Snipping. If it’s enabled, try toggling it off for a minute, then back on. This sometimes resets how Windows handles the key, especially if it’s linked to the new Snipping Tool or other shortcut remapping apps.
If your keyboard or third-party software like Razer Synapse, Logitech G Hub, or similar is remapping or hijacking the Print Screen key, you might need to disable those overlays temporarily. For some reason, they like to mess with the default behavior, and that wrecks Lightshot’s ability to open its capture window.
Other Troubleshooting Tips
Sometimes, even after all this, Lightshot still doesn’t cooperate. When that happens, it’s worth rebooting—sounds trivial, but background conflicts often stick around in a strange way. Also, check for Windows updates—go to Settings > Windows Update and install any pending patches. Microsoft patches bugs that could affect hardware or software compatibility, especially with screen capturing tools.
I also found that updating your BIOS can sometimes help, particularly if your device has been stubborn about hardware interfaces. Not everyone’s BIOS gets updates often, but if yours does, it’s a good idea to check. Same goes for firmware and driver updates for your video card, since some GPU overlays or drivers can interfere with Hotkey-based tools like Lightshot.
If nothing works, reinstalling Lightshot might be the way to go. Nuke it, restart your PC, then grab the latest version from their official site and set it up again. Sometimes configs get corrupted or permissions get scrambled, and a clean install fixes a lot.
And seriously, consider whether other screenshot tools are running—ShareX, Greenshot, even Windows’ own Snipping Tool. Having multiple overlay tools mixed up can cause conflicts. Disabling or uninstalling the extras for a bit might isolate the problem.
Hope this helps — it took me way too long to figure out the permission stuff, and figuring out the Print Screen angle was a pain. But once I got everything set right, Lightshot finally behaved. Good luck, and don’t give up too soon!