A Complete Guide to Screen Recording on Your Laptop (8 Easy Ways)

January 29, 2026Amanda Brown

For different practical and creative purposes, you need to record your device’s screen. Screen recording is a good and direct way to capture, share, or preserve digital information that might be difficult to document in other ways.

Knowing how to screen record on a laptop is an essential digital skill across learning, work, and daily life.

Whether you want to record an online meeting, capture a funny gameplay moment, or create a software tutorial, you should make high-quality recordings first. This comprehensive guide shares eight major methods to record your laptop screen, including free built-in tools, a default player with recording features, and powerful third-party software.

Part 1. Best Way to Screen Record on Laptop with Audio/Webcam

In most cases, you don’t just need to capture the laptop screen. You want to record all content displayed on your computer, which often includes the screen, audio, and even webcam.

If you are seeking a powerful, all-in-one recorder that can handle various capture tasks, dedicated third-party software like Aiseesoft Screen Recorder proves to be a great choice. It is available for Windows and Mac users who need stable and high-quality recordings.

Downloads

Aiseesoft Screen Recorder

Record laptop screen, active window, webcam, game, and audio individually or together.
Flexible region selection to capture the entire screen, a specific window, or any custom region.
Support 4K screen recordings on your Windows laptop or MacBook.
Offer various options to add text, arrows, mouse emphasis, and others while recording.
Allow you to create a task scheduler to automatically start the screen recording based on your settings.
Provide a preview window and basic editing features to edit recorded video clips immediately.
Offer iOS Recorder and Android Recorder to capture your phone’s screen through WiFi or USB.

Free DownloadFor Windows

100% Secure. No Ads.

Free DownloadFor macOS

100% Secure. No Ads.

Who Is the Laptop Screen Recorder Best For

Aiseesoft Screen Recorder is specially designed for easy and quick recording. That is ideal for most users who want to easily capture their screen with high quality and desired format, including content creators, gamers, educators, professionals, and most general users. It offers a simple solution to product tutorial videos, presentation recordings, gaming victory moments, and more.

How to Screen Record on Your HP/Dell/Lenovo/ASUS Laptop or MacBook

Step 1.

Download and install this recorder. Launch it and choose the specific tool you want to use, such as Video Recorder, Audio Recorder, Game Recorder, Webcam Recorder, or Screen Capture, based on the specific content you want to record. Select Video Recorder to screen record on your laptop with audio.

Step 2.

This recorder enables you to freely capture the whole screen or a selected area according to your needs. It can record high-definition 4K or even 8K videos, depending on your laptop’s display screen.

Step 3.

After setting the capture area, turn on or off the Webcam, System Sound, and Microphone. You can also click Settings to access and customize more options for better recording on your laptop. If you need to overlay or insert your camera feed, switch Webcam to the “ON” position.

Step 4.

Click the red REC button when you want to start the recording process. You can see a control toolbar that allows you to freely pause, stop, add annotations, and take screenshots. Once the recording is finished, view the captured video, edit it, and then export it with ease.

Part 2. Learn How to Screen Record on a Windows Laptop

If you are using a Windows laptop like HP, Dell, Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, or MSI and want to capture its screen, you can rely on its built-in, free methods.

1. Screen Record on Windows 10/11 with Xbox Game Bar

Xbox Game Bar is pre-installed on Windows 10 and 11 laptops. It is a gaming overlay with a screen recorder and other useful widgets. It is ideal for quick captures, mainly for recording gameplay clips. This built-in Windows laptop recorder requires no setup.

Best For: Game Bar is ideal for most Windows users, mainly gamers, to quickly capture gameplay clips.

Step 1.

As mentioned, this laptop screen recorder is pre-installed on your Windows PC. You can simply press Windows + G on your keyboard to open it. Also, you can click the Start menu, choose the Settings option, go to Gaming, and then open the Game Bar overlay.

Step 2.

The Game Bar is primarily used to record gaming clips. If prompted, you should tick the box that says, “Yes, this is a game.” Click the Record button to start recording.

Step 3.

When you want to stop the recording, open the overlay again by pressing Windows + G keys and click the Stop button. The captured video will be stored in your “Videos/Captures” folder automatically.

As you can see, Xbox Game Bar does not capture your voice from the microphone by default. If you need to record microphone sound, you should turn on the microphone in the Audio widget of the Game Bar before recording. What’s more, you can access the Settings panel by clicking the Gear icon. Customize various recording settings based on your specific needs.

2. Screen Record on HP/Dell/Lenovo/ASUS Laptop Using the Snipping Tool

If your laptop runs Windows 11, you can use the built-in Snipping Tool to capture your computer screen with ease. This screenshot tool is updated in Windows 11 to have basic screen recording functionality.

Best For: Recording a specific window or area on a Windows 11 laptop and exporting short clips.

Step 1.

When you want to screen record on a laptop, press Windows + Shift + S keys at the same time to locate the Snipping Tool. Click its icon to open it. Also, you can search for the recorder in the Start menu.

Step 2.

When the Snipping Tool window pops up on the screen, click the Camera icon to enable the screen recording mode. Click New and then select the necessary area you want to record. Click and drag to choose the rectangular area of your laptop screen.

Screen Record On Laptop With Snipping Tool

Step 3.

After selecting the recording area, click Start to begin. The Snipping Tool will capture your laptop screen after a 3-second countdown. When you need to end the process, hit the Stop button in the floating toolbar. A player app will be opened for you to check and save your recording file.

3. Using PowerPoint to Record Your Laptop Screen

If you use a relatively newer version of Microsoft PowerPoint (like PowerPoint 2016 or later), you can use its built-in screen recording feature to capture your computer screen and then insert recordings directly into your slides. This recorder tool is integrated seamlessly into PowerPoint for making a presentation.

Best For: Creating instructional videos or adding personal narration. It is ideal to capture the screen and directly embed the recorded clips into a PowerPoint presentation.

Step 1.

While creating or editing a presentation in PowerPoint, go to the Insert tab of the ribbon and choose Screen Recording.

Step 2.

Click Select Area on the Control Dock and then select the region you want to record by dragging the cross-haired cursor. You can choose to screen record on your laptop with sound and webcam. After that, click the Record button. Like the Snipping Tool above, there is a 3-2-1 countdown before the recording begins.

Step 3.

Click Stop when you are done. The recording file will be added to the slide automatically. If you want to export it as a separate file, right-click the video and choose Save Media As.

Powerpoint Save Screen Recording Media AS

4. How to Record a Laptop Screen via the Built-in Camera App

To quickly capture your webcam feed, you can use the Camera app in Windows. The built-in tool is mainly designed for photos and videos. It can help you make pure webcam recordings without screen capture.

Best For: Recording a webcam video or making a vlog-style clip directly on your laptop.

Step 1.

Display the Start menu and search for the Camera app. When the app appears in the search results, click its icon to open it. Click the video camera icon to enter its video mode.

Step 2.

When you are ready to capture your face from the webcam, click the Record button to start. When you need to stop, click the button again. You can find the recorded video in the “Pictures/Camera Roll” folder in File Explorer.

Screen Record On Laptop With The Camera App

Part 3. How to Record Laptop Screen on Mac

As a Mac user, when you need to capture the screen, you can rely on both its built-in screen recording tools and third-party recorders.

1. Capture Mac Screen Using the Screenshot Toolbar

MacOS has a built-in Screenshot Toolbar for users to quickly start screen recordings via a keyboard shortcut. It offers several options for quick screenshots and video recordings.

Best For: Using the Screenshot Toolbar to screen record is the recommended way for most Mac users. It can be the easiest way to record the full Mac screen or a selected region without opening any apps.

Step 1.

Press Shift + Command + 5 together to open the Screenshot Toolbar. By default, the control toolbar will appear at the bottom screen.

Step 2.

You can select Record Entire Screen, Record Selected Portion, or Record Selected Window based on your needs. It also allows you to take screenshots of any part of the Mac screen.

Step 3.

Click Options to configure various recording settings. As you can see, it lets you customize “Save To”, “Timer”, “Microphone”, and other options.

Step 4.

Hit the Record button to start recording on your MacBook. You can also press the Shift + Command + 5 keys to directly screen record on the laptop. Click Stop or press Command + Control + Esc to stop recording. The recorded clip will automatically save to the Desktop or your chosen location as a .mov file.

2. Screen Record on MacBook Using QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is pre-installed on every Mac to handle various media file playing tasks. It also has excellent screen recording capabilities.

Best For: Best For: Stable screen recordings on Mac, especially for users who need microphone narration.

Step 1.

Click the App on the Dock and search for QuickTime Player from your Applications folder. Open it and then go to the top File menu to select New Screen Recording.

Open Quicktime Player Choose New Screen Recording

Step 2.

The same recording window will appear. You can take similar steps to capture your Mac screen.

3. Learn to Screen Record on a Mac Laptop with Loom

Loom is a popular cloud-based recorder that lets you record your computer screen, voice, system audio, and webcam in high-quality up to 4K. It carries basic editing features to trim and combine your recordings.

Best For: Recording screen and voice to create shareable tutorials and give feedback.

Step 1.

Open a web browser and search for Loom or Loom screen recorder. When you locate it, enter its official website. Click the Signup for Free button and sign in with your Google account.

Step 2.

After signing into your account, click the Record a Loom button and then select the Full Screen option. Click the Start Recording button and then allow your browser, such as Google Chrome, to record your Mac screen and audio. After that, you need to restart the browser and use Loom to capture the entire Mac screen.

Besides Loom, there are many other similar recorders available for you to record your Mac screen, such as ScreenRec, ScreenPal, and Cap. These screen recorders offer a straightforward way to quickly start recording on your Mac or Windows laptop. However, they also come with various limitations that require you to upgrade.

Part 4. FAQs on How to Screen Record on Laptop

Question 1. Does Windows 10 allow screen recording with sound?

Yes, Windows 10 has built-in screen recording tools and functions that can capture sound. As mentioned above, you can directly record your screen with audio using Xbox Game Bar.

Question 2. What is the best free screen recorder for Windows 11?

You should select the best recorder based on your specific needs. Start with the built-in Game Bar and test if it can fit your screen recording needs. Also, the built-in Snipping Tool in Windows provides a fast, straightforward way to capture a clip. If you often capture your computer screen and want to create serious content, OBS Studio is a good choice.

Question 3. Does Mac allow system audio recording?

The built-in screen recording tools in macOS don’t allow system audio recording. They can only capture sound from the microphone. To capture internal audio, you must rely on a third-party recording app like Aiseesoft Screen Recorder.

Conclusion

With this guide, you can learn all the necessary information to screen record on a laptop. Whether you want to capture a screen on a Windows PC or a MacBook, you can easily find suitable recorders and instructions to do that. All the recommended screen recording tools are available to use for free. Start with your preferred one to record with ease.