It was disabled by a script, an office policy or a well-meaning tweak - and now you need a screenshot for real work. Good news: nothing about this block is permanent. The tool was never uninstalled by the policy route; Windows was simply told not to run it. Remove that instruction and the tool returns, usually inside a minute.
Undoing this fix is not one single trick - it depends on how the block was applied in the first place. The script has its own restore option, the registry value can be cleared by hand, and a Group Policy block has to be lifted where it was set. Match your situation to the right card below. And one situation gets its own honest card at the end: a company PC where the block keeps returning. That is not a fault, and fighting it locally is the wrong battle.
Blocked and uninstalled are different problems with different fixes. A blocked tool still appears in search but refuses to open; an uninstalled one is simply not there.
If the tool was disabled with the one click script from the video, the restore is built into the same file. Right-click it, choose Run as administrator, and this time press 2 and Enter. The script removes the policy value it set, and the Snipping Tool opens normally again. This is the route the video itself demonstrates, and it is the fastest when it applies.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\TabletPCDisableSnippingTool and set its data to 0 - or right-click the value and choose DeleteThe one-line version, in an administrator terminal: reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\TabletPC" /v DisableSnippingTool /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f. Also check the same path under HKEY_CURRENT_USER if the block only ever applied to one account.
If the block came from the Group Policy Editor, open gpedit.msc, return to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Tablet PC > Accessories, open Do not allow Snipping Tool to run and select Not Configured. Run gpupdate /force or sign out and back in. On a domain PC, this change belongs in the GPO on the server - a local edit will be overwritten at the next policy refresh, which leads directly to the last card.
Sometimes the tool was not blocked at all - it was removed. The distinction matters, because no registry undo will restore an app that is not installed:
DisableSnippingTool value is still set - otherwise the freshly installed app still will not runYou clear the value, the tool works, and tomorrow it is blocked again. On a domain-joined PC that is the system working exactly as designed: the company policy re-applies at every refresh and every sign-in. Your local undo was never going to survive, and stronger local tricks will not change that. The honest route is a request to IT - tell them the work the screenshot is for. If the block was an exam-room or client-data rule, they may offer an approved alternative instead, which is usually the outcome you actually needed.
The video shows both directions - press 1 to disable, press 2 to bring it straight back.
▶️ Watch Full VideoSign out and back in, or restart, so the policy reloads. If it still refuses, check both the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_CURRENT_USER policy keys, and on a work PC check whether a domain policy is re-applying the block.
The block never touched your files. Your saved snips stay in your Pictures or Screenshots folder exactly as they were.
A blocked tool usually still appears in search but refuses to open. If it is missing completely, it was uninstalled - reinstall it from the Microsoft Store on Windows 11 or from Optional Features on Windows 10.