How to Recover a Screenshot You Overwrote

If you copied something else after taking a screenshot, the screenshot is gone from the clipboard, but there's a good chance it still exists. Snipping Tool saves every snip to Pictures > Screenshots by default, so look there first. Then check clipboard history (Win+V) if it's on, any app you already pasted into, and, if a saved file was overwritten, the Recycle Bin, File History and OneDrive version history.

Step 1: Look in the Screenshots folder

On Windows 11, Snipping Tool automatically saves each capture to your Screenshots folder unless that has been turned off. That covers Win+Shift+S, captures started from Snipping Tool, and (on most Windows 11 PCs) the Print Screen key, which opens the same capture overlay.

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Type %USERPROFILE%\Pictures\Screenshots in the address bar and press Enter.
3. Sort by Date modified, newest first.
4. If OneDrive backs up your Pictures folder, also check %USERPROFILE%\OneDrive\Pictures\Screenshots.
5. Still nothing? Search This PC for Screenshot and sort by date.

Windows logo key + PrtScn always saves a full-screen capture to the same Screenshots folder, so those are there too.

To check or change auto-save, open Snipping Tool and select See more (...) > Settings.

Step 2: Check clipboard history

1. Press Windows logo key + V.
2. If you see a prompt to turn history on, it was off, and older copies weren't kept. Turn it on now for next time; why screenshots skip Win+V while history is off explains the two separate switches.
3. If history is on, scroll for the screenshot and click it to paste it into an app.

Clipboard history won't have the screenshot if:

• it was larger than 4 MB, the per-item limit;
• 25 or more newer items pushed it out;
• the PC has restarted since, unless you pinned it.

Why your huge screenshot never appears in Win+V explains the size limit, and clipboard history cleared after restart explains the restart behaviour.

Step 3: Check apps you already pasted into

If you pasted the screenshot anywhere before it was overwritten, that copy still exists:

• Word, PowerPoint or Outlook: right-click the picture and choose Save as Picture.
• Paint, Photoshop or another editor: if the window is still open, save the document now.
• Slack, Teams, Discord or email: open the message and download the image.
• A browser editor such as Canva or Photopea: check the project's uploads or the open document before closing the tab.

Step 4: If you saved over the file

If the screenshot was a file and you replaced it with another one of the same name, look for an older version:

1. Recycle Bin: sort by Date deleted and restore it if it's there.
2. File History or previous versions: in File Explorer, go to the folder that held the file, right-click the folder name and select Restore previous versions. Pick a version from before the overwrite, then use Restore to... so you don't replace the current file. This only works if File History was already set up with a drive or network location before the overwrite.
3. OneDrive version history: if the folder syncs to OneDrive, right-click the file in File Explorer and select Version history, or sign in at onedrive.com, right-click the file and select Version history. Microsoft keeps version history for 30 days, and personal accounts can restore the last 25 versions.

What can't be recovered

• A screenshot that was only on the clipboard, with history off, after something else was copied.
• An unpinned clipboard history item after a restart.
• A capture that was never saved, never pasted anywhere, and was too large for clipboard history.

Windows has no built-in tool to retrieve an overwritten clipboard item. Be wary of software that claims it can.

How to avoid losing the next one

1. Keep Snipping Tool auto-save on (See more (...) > Settings) and know where the folder is.
2. Turn on clipboard history with Win+V > Turn on, so the last 25 copies are available until you restart.
3. Use Win+PrtScn when you want a full-screen file saved immediately.
4. Rename keepers right away. checkout-error-step3.png is easy to find later; a default timestamped name isn't.
5. Back up Pictures with File History or OneDrive if screenshots matter for your work.

Win+Shift+S isn't saving what you think it saves compares what each screenshot shortcut saves, and Print Screen vs Win+Shift+S vs Snipping Tool covers the shortcuts in detail.

A longer history for screenshots

Clipboard history stops at 25 items and clears on restart. Edge Drop](/), the free clipboard manager made by the team behind this site, keeps copied images across restarts (unless you turn on Clear unpinned on restart), with room for 250 unpinned items by default and no per-image size limit. Each image is stored as a PNG file (under %APPDATA%\Edge-Drop\images in the GitHub build), and you can drag any image card into File Explorer to get a file back. It only captures what you copy while it's running, so it helps with the next lost screenshot, not one from before you installed it. See [where Edge Drop stores data on disk.

FAQ

Is there an undo for the clipboard?

No. Each copy replaces the previous one. Clipboard history keeps earlier copies only if it was turned on before you copied.

Where does Win+Shift+S save screenshots?

To Pictures > Screenshots when Snipping Tool's automatic saving is on, which is the default. The snip is also copied to the clipboard.

I turned on clipboard history now. Will my old screenshot appear?

No. History only records copies made after it's turned on. Check the Screenshots folder instead.

Related reading

• Where Do Win+Shift+S Screenshots Go? Why They Don't Save
• Screenshots Folder vs Clipboard History on Windows
• How to Keep Your Last Ten Screenshots Handy on Windows
• Can Clipboard History Recover Deleted Text? Try Undo First

Sources

• Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots (Microsoft Support) — snips saved automatically to the Screenshots folder, and the Settings location.
• Keyboard shortcuts in Windows (Microsoft Support) — Print Screen opens region capture on Windows 11; Win+PrtScn saves to Pictures > Screenshots.
• Using the clipboard (Microsoft Support) — 25 items, 4 MB per item, cleared on restart except pinned items.
• Backup and restore with File History (Microsoft Support) — Restore previous versions and Restore to.
• Restore a previous version of a file stored in OneDrive (Microsoft Support) — Version history, 30-day retention and 25 versions for personal accounts.

Copy. Stack. Drop.

Transform your clipboard into an interactive edge shelf. Stack, pin, and drag assets into any app with zero friction.

Download for Windows Get from Microsoft Store

How to Install Guide · First 10 Minutes Guide · Drag & Drop Guide · Edge Drop vs Win+V · Support