I got a new laptop for Christmas, but when I press the PrtScn button nothering happens and my clipboard remains empty. How can I take a screenshot?
Most notebooks double up keys to save space and, as it is not used that often, the Print Screen button is often a prime candidate. For example, on my laptop, an HP Compaq nx8220, the PrtScn doubles up as the Insert button and you need to press the Function key to actually use the PrtScn. Once you realise that the blue function button actually invokes the Blue functions on the buttons that have 2 means, it starts to make sense.
If you still can’t get to the bottom of it, hold on before you get out your Mizuno drivers and whack the innards out of your computer. There’s a free utility called PrintDeskTop that can help you address the issue. Once you install it, you can designate any hotkey you like which can then be used to capture the screen. Alternatively, if you’re using Vista, you can use the Snipping tool that ships with it. This lets you capture any part of the screen you like.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to take a screen shot on my laptop and haven’t been able to figure it out. I’m at work right now but I’m going to try this when I get home!
For my Compaq laptop, I have to hit prt sc (which is the insert key) and the fn key which is between the ctrl and Windows key. Took me a while to figure it out!
I just want to tell you that I’m an idiot. I had never even seen the function key before… Who would have guessed that the blue key on the bottom left that says “Fn” would have gone with the rest of the blue keys on the laptop… lol I feel like a moron now. Thank you for teaching me something new!!
For me it’s also the fn key, which is snugly situated between my ctrl and Windows Start menu key. 🙂