How to Screen Record on Windows with Audio?

Windows still don’t have a built-in Screen recording tool that lets you record the screen on your PC or laptop without any caveats. While it seems like a big red flag, there are a few workarounds and third-party tools you can use to record screens on your Windows PC/Laptop with audio.

Whether you are using the latest Windows 11 or Windows 10 or older versions like Windows 7 or older, you can use this list to find the best screen recorder tools/apps for your use case. All the screen recorders mentioned in this list are free, don’t leave any watermark, and have no recording limitation.

With that out of the way, let’s see all the methods that you can record the screen of your Windows PC or Laptop.

How to record Screen on Windows 11?

Record Screen on Windows 10 and 11 using Xbox Game Bar

Microsoft introduced Game Bar in Windows 10 as a tool for gamers/streamers to monitor, record, or broadcast/stream their gameplays. But you don’t have to be a gamer/streamer to use Game Bar. It’s free, and anyone can use it for recording screen (or window?) on Windows 10 and 11.

The caveat? Since its intended use is for recording games, you can’t use it to record desktop or file manager. Or record a specific part of your screen. You are bound to record the whole app/game window when you use Game Bar for the recording screen.

Now let’s see how to use the Xbox game bar to screen record on Windows.

1. Open the app window you wish to record, then press the hotkey “Win + G” to access Game Bar on your computer screen.
2. On Game Bar, press the “Capture” button. (If the Capture button isn’t available, you can access it by pressing the “Widget” button on the far right.)
3. Inside the floating Capture windows, you’ll see four circular buttons. Press the “Start Recording” button to record the focused app window. (You can also use the “Win + Alt + R” hotkey combination to start recording quickly.)
4. While recording, you’ll see a floating bar on your screen showing the recording timer, with a stop and mute button. To stop and save your recording, press the “Stop” button.

After you finish recording, you can find all your recorded screen footage inside.

C:\Users\*username*\Videos\Captures

Record Screen on Windows using OBS Studios

OBS studios is a free, open-source screen recording and streaming software professional’s use. It’s feature-rich and gives the user plenty of options to control how the output of their recorded videos will look. So if you want something advanced to record your Windows screen, OBS Studio is the way to go. The setup may look overwhelming, but once everything is in place, recording the screen using OBS is a buttery experience.

Here is how to setup OBS Studios to record/capture the screen of your Windows PC or Laptop.

1. Download the OBS Studio Setup file and install it on your computer. (Windows 10 and 11, users can also install it directly from Microsoft Store)
2. During initial setup, OBS Studio will prompt you to configure setting as per your use. Since we are explicitly using it for the recording screen, choose the “Optimise just for recording, I will not be streaming” option from the Auto-configuration wizard while keeping the rest of the settings to defaults and completing the installation.
3. Open the OBS Studio app on your computer. Under “Sources,” click on “+” and select “Display Capture” from the list of options.
4. A “Create/Open Source” window will pop up, give it a name, and press “OK.” Then press “OK” again on the source properties window to save source properties.

OBS Studio is now ready for recording/capturing your screen. Click on the “Start Recording” option under “Controls” to start recording your computer screen with audio.

And to stop recording, open the OBS Studio again, and click on “Stop Recording” under “Controls.” You can pause your recording by pressing the pause button next to the “Stop Recording” option.

If you want to record a particular app window, select “Window Capture” option instead of “Display Capture” and then on the next screen choose the app windows you’d like to record.

You can find your recorded files inside.

C:\Users\*username*\Videos

Record Screen on Windows using ShareX

ShareX is a popular open-source screenshot app that happens to have a screen recording feature in it. If you are already using ShareX to take screenshots on your windows computer, you might as well consider using it for the recording screen on your laptop or PC. 

Here is how to screen record on Windows using ShareX;

1. Download and Install ShareX from here on your PC.
2. After installing, open the ShareX app from the Start Menu. It will go straight to your Windows taskbar alongside system icons.
3. Right-click the ShareX icon on your Taskbar, then select Capture ❱ Screen Recording.
4. An area selection overlay will cover your entire screen. Click & drag to select the area you want to record to start recording.
5. While recording, the recorded area will be highlighted from the rest of your screen, showing “Stop,” “Abort,” and “Recording time.”
6. Once you finish recording your screen, press the “Stop” button.

And that’s how you use ShareX to record screens on Windows. The process, however, is a bit lengthy. But you can always speed it up by assigning hotkeys to start/stop the recording screen.

• Right-click on the ShareX icon on your Taskbar, then select Hotkey Settings.
• In the Hotkey Settings window, press the “Add” button.
• Click on the Task list and select Screen Record ❱ Start/Stop Screen Recording.
• Give it a name and close the Task setting window.
• Again, inside the Hotkey Settings windows, click on none and then press the Hotkey Combination, which will trigger this action. (Something like, “Win + Shift + PrtSc“)

After assigning the Hotkeys, you need to press the key combination whenever you want to record something on your computer screen. The same key combination will also stop recording and save it on your computer.

Tip: Turn off online uploads, and change your default saving destination, before you use ShareX to record the screen on your computer.

Record Screen on Windows using CamStudio

CamStudio is another free, lightweight open-source tool that you can use to record your computer screen. Unlike other tools mentioned in this list, CamStudio has a simple old-school UI that anyone can easily navigate around, just like that old portable audio recorder. One button for each; play/stop, pause, and record, with the option to change the output video format. It also lets you select the recording area; you can go full screen, windowed, or select your region.

To record screen using Cam Studio.

1. Download the CamStudio setup file and install it on your computer.
2. Open CamStudio, click “Region” on the menu bar, and choose an option.
3. Now head over to “Options” and choose between “Record audio from microphone” or “Record audio from speaker” to record audio while recording screen.
4. After enabling audio, press the “Red Circle” button to start recording.
5. To finish your screen recording, open CamStudio from the taskbar, press the “Black Square” button, give your recorded file a name, and “Save” to save it on your computer.

It might take a few seconds before you can play your screen recording. Also, I suggest you set the video format to MP for better compatibility by tapping on the “Star” button.

Record Screen on Windows using PowerPoint

You heard it right! Yes, you can use PowerPoint to record screens on your Windows PC or Laptop. Since PowerPoint works on all the versions of Windows. Using the latest Windows 11/10 or something as old as Windows 7/XP, you can use PowerPoint to record your laptop’s records.

Here is how to use PowerPoint to record screen on your laptop.

1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint on your Windows PC or Laptop.
2. Now create a new “Blank Presentation.”
3. Inside your new Blank Presentation, click on the “Record” tab and select “Screen Recording.”
4. A new overlay will pop up, asking you to select the area you want to record on your screen. Click and drag to select that area.
5. After this, check if the “Audio” button is on. (By default, it should be on, along with “Record Pointer,” to record mouse movement in the screen recording.)
6. Now click the “Record” button to start recording, and press “Win+ Shift + Q” when you want to stop recording.
7. The recorded video will be automatically saved on your PowerPoint slide, Right-click on it and select the “Save Media as” option from the menu.
8. A Save as dialog box will open, give your screen recording a name, then choose your preferred location and save it by clicking on the “Save” button.

And that is how you can use the record option inside Microsoft PowerPoint to record the screen on your windows Laptop or PC.

Wrapping up – Record screen on Windows 10 and 11 with Audio.

Recording screen on Windows is a straightforward task with the right software tools. You can use the built-in screen recording tool to record the screen of your PC or Laptop. Or you have to use one of the free screen recorder software like OBS Studio or ShareX. Both are free to use and do the job very well.