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Change Game DVR Capture Folder Location in Windows

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Change Game DVR Capture Folder Location in Windows

Yes, you can change the default folder where Windows Game DVR saves your game clips and screenshots. The setting is buried in the Windows Settings app, not in the Xbox app, and it applies to captures made with the Win + Alt + G shortcut or the Game Bar. This guide walks you through the exact steps, explains why the option sometimes appears grayed out, and shows you how to move existing captures to the new folder.

Where Game DVR Saves Captures by Default

Game DVR (part of the Xbox Game Bar) saves videos and screenshots to a fixed folder on your system drive:

  • Videos: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Videos\Captures
  • Screenshots: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Videos\Captures (same folder, but with a Screenshots subfolder if you have that option enabled)

The folder is a standard Windows library, so you can also find it by opening File Explorer and typing shell:captures in the address bar. That shortcut works on current Windows 10 and Windows 11 versions.

How to Change the Capture Folder

Microsoft does not provide a direct “browse� button in the Game Bar itself. Instead, you change the location through the Windows Settings app. The steps are nearly identical in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

  1. Open Settings (Win + I).
  2. Go to Gaming (Windows 10) or Gaming > Captures (Windows 11).
  3. Under Captures, look for the section that says “Save captures to� or “Capture location�.
  4. Click Change folder (or Browse).
  5. Pick a new folder on any drive that is formatted as NTFS. The folder does not have to be inside your user profile.
  6. Click Select Folder (or OK).

After that, all new captures go to the new location. The old folder is left untouched, so you can move any existing clips manually if you want them in the same place.

Why the Option May Be Grayed Out or Missing

If the Change folder button is grayed out or the entire Captures section is missing, one of these is usually the cause:

  • Game Bar is disabled. In Windows 10, go to Settings > Gaming > Game Bar and make sure “Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game Bar� is turned on.
  • You are on Windows 10 N edition. The N editions lack media features; you may need to install the Media Feature Pack from Microsoft.
  • You are using a laptop with a dedicated GPU. Some older drivers or hybrid graphics setups can hide the option until you update the graphics driver.
  • Your system drive is full. Windows sometimes disables capture features when the drive has too little free space.

If the button is grayed out but the Game Bar works, try restarting your PC. If that fails, check for Windows updates or graphics driver updates.

How to Move Existing Captures to the New Folder

Changing the default folder does not move your old videos or screenshots. To keep everything in one place, you can move them manually:

  1. Open File Explorer and go to the old capture folder (shell:captures).
  2. Select all files (Ctrl + A).
  3. Cut (Ctrl + X) or copy (Ctrl + C) them.
  4. Paste them into the new folder you chose in Settings.

If you want to avoid moving files every time, you could also point the Windows Videos library to the new folder. Right-click the Videos folder in File Explorer, choose Properties, go to the Location tab, and enter the new path. That will make the Captures subfolder appear in the new location automatically, and Game DVR will follow it.

Common Problems and Fixes

Users often hit a few specific issues when changing the capture folder. Here are the most frequent ones and what to do:

  • “We couldn’t find a compatible graphics driver.� This error appears when the GPU driver is too old or does not support hardware encoding. Update your graphics driver from the manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel).
  • Captures still save to the old folder. Make sure you actually clicked Change folder and selected a new path. Sometimes the setting only applies after you restart the Game Bar (close it and reopen it).
  • The new folder is on a network drive or a USB stick. Game DVR does not support network locations or removable drives. Use an internal drive or a drive that is always connected.
  • The folder is on a drive formatted as FAT32. FAT32 has a 4 GB file size limit, which is too small for long recordings. Use NTFS or exFAT.

If none of these solve the problem, you can reset the Game Bar settings: go to Settings > Gaming > Game Bar and click Reset (Windows 10) or Reset under the Game Bar section (Windows 11). This restores defaults but does not delete your captures.

Alternative: Change the Videos Library Location

Instead of changing the capture folder directly, you can redirect the entire Videos library to another drive. This is a broader change but also affects other apps that save to Videos (like some screen recorders). To do this:

  1. Open File Explorer and right-click Videos in the left sidebar.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Go to the Location tab.
  4. Type a new path (e.g., D:\Videos) or click Move to browse.
  5. Click Apply and choose Yes when asked if you want to move all files.

This method is useful if you want to keep your captures on a large secondary drive without changing the Game DVR setting separately. However, it moves all your video files, not just captures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the capture folder to an external drive?

Technically yes, but only if the drive is always connected and formatted as NTFS. Game DVR does not support removable drives like USB flash drives or SD cards because the system may not have constant access. If you use an external HDD or SSD that is permanently plugged in, it should work, but performance may be slower than an internal drive.

Why is the “Change folder� button missing on my PC?

The most common reason is that Game Bar is disabled. Go to Settings > Gaming > Game Bar and ensure the toggle for “Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game Bar� is on. If it is already on, check for Windows updates or graphics driver updates. On Windows 10 N editions, you may need to install the Media Feature Pack.

Does changing the folder affect the quality of my recordings?

No. The folder location only determines where the files are stored. Quality depends on the resolution, frame rate, and bitrate settings in the Game Bar capture settings, not on the storage path.

Can I change the capture folder via the registry?

Yes, but it is not recommended. The setting is stored in the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR as AppCaptureEnabled and CaptureFolder. Editing the registry incorrectly can break Game DVR, so the Settings method is safer.

What happens to my old captures if I change the folder?

Nothing. The old files stay in the original folder. You have to move them manually if you want them in the new location. The setting only affects new captures.

Can I set different folders for videos and screenshots?

No. Windows uses a single capture folder for both. If you want to separate them, you can create subfolders inside the chosen location (e.g., D:\Captures\Videos and D:\Captures\Screenshots) and move files manually, but Game DVR will always save both types to the root of the selected folder.

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