How to Capture Screenshots on Windows 10 Login Screen

A lot of us are already used to Windows 10 and ways of making screenshots while actively using the device. Examples of such tools are Greenshot and Windows inbuilt snipping tool etc. Windows 10 has two screens to navigate through before getting to the desktop (logged in). In this article, we shall learn how to make a screenshot of Windows 10 Screen / Login Screen. Please see How to create a capture image on Windows Deployment Services, 5 ways to take screenshots on Windows 11, and how to create a Windows Server reference image using WDS.

The first is the locked screen and the second is the login screen. Taking a screenshot of the lock screen is relatively easy. Here is the step in taking a screenshot on a locked screen.

Print Screen (PrtScr) key

After successfully logging in, use the Ctrl + V on your keyboard to paste it in Paint or app of your choice.

But Making a screenshot of the login screen is relatively not very straightforward. When I encountered this issue, trying to take a screenshot of the login screen, here are the steps I followed to ensure I am able to use the snipping tool on the locked and login screen.

Click on Run, and enter regedit and press enter to open the Register Editor

			
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Options

Create a new Key and rename it

Rename the new key created to utilman.exe

Create a new String value called Debugger at the right panel. Then set the path of the snipping tool (see below) as the value of the string

Enter the following value below “C:WindowsSystem32SnippingTool.exe”

Screenshot of the Windows Registry Editor showing a list of executable files, with an edit dialog box for the 'Debugger' value, displaying a path to the Snipping Tool.

This completes the tweak to get screen capturing to work on the login screenshot on Windows 10.

Please see How to make a screenshot on a macOS device, What are the differences between Capture image, Discover image, Install and Boot images (Windows PE), and How to Hide or Show User Accounts from Login Screen on Windows 10 and 11.

To test this, perform the following steps below. Navigate to the Login Screen. Click the Ease of Access button, the snipping tool will pop up.

Take the screenshot of the Login Screen and click on the copy button to copy it to the clipboard.

Note: At this time, you will not be able to save the screenshot yet, until you are logged on to the desktop.

			
Now launch any of your favourite editing tools such as the Paint app and paste it.

I hope you found this blog post helpful on how to make a screenshot of Windows 10 Screen / Login Screene. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.