I’m trying to record my screen on Windows 10 for a tutorial, but I’m confused by all the different options like Game Bar, third-party apps, and built-in tools. I just need a simple way to capture my screen with audio, preferably for free, without lowering video quality or causing lag. What’s the easiest reliable method, and are there any settings I should tweak for best results?
For a simple tutorial recording on Windows 10, use one of these three options.
- Built‑in Xbox Game Bar
Good for quick stuff.
• Press Win + G to open it
• If asked “Is this a game?”, click Yes
• Click the mic icon if you want your voice
• Hit the big Record button or press Win + Alt + R
• When done, press Win + Alt + R again
• Files go to
This PC > Videos > Captures
Pros
• Already installed
• Decent quality
• Handles system audio and mic
Cons
• Does not record some windows like File Explorer or fullscreen menus
• Limited settings
- Free built‑in Photos editor for trimming
For polishing the clip a bit.
• Right click your recorded video
• Open with > Photos
• Click the Edit & Create menu
• Choose Trim
• Cut the awkward start and end
• Save as new file
Good when you only need simple cuts. No text, no overlays.
- OBS Studio for more control
Use this if you want better control over what you record.
• Download from obsproject.com
• Run Auto‑Configuration Wizard
• In “Sources”, click + then
- Display Capture for whole screen
- Or Window Capture for a single app
• Add Audio Input Capture for mic
• Add Audio Output Capture for system sound
• At bottom right, click Settings - Output > Recording
• Recording format: mp4
• Encoder: x264 is fine if you have no GPU encoder - Video
• Base and Output resolution: set to your screen resolution
• FPS: 30 for tutorials is enough
• Click Start Recording
Pros
• Good control over quality
• Multiple audio sources
• Works with any window
Cons
• More steps
• Interface looks busy
Quick suggestion for you
If you want simple, use Game Bar.
If you want clean control and plan to record more tutorials later, learn OBS once and stick with it.
For decent quality with smallish files in OBS, try this as a starting point
• 1080p, 30 fps
• Bitrate around 6000 kbps
Test with a 10 second clip first to check audio sync and quality.
If Game Bar and OBS are making your eyes glaze over, you’re not alone. @himmelsjager covered those nicely, but here are some different routes that stay pretty simple.
1. Use PowerPoint (yes, seriously)
If you’ve got Office on your PC, this is way less confusing than OBS.
- Open PowerPoint
- Go to
Insert>Screen Recording - Select the area of the screen you want
- Turn audio + mic on in the little toolbar
- Hit Record
When you’re done, PowerPoint drops the recording into the slide.
Right‑click the video in the slide and choose something like “Save Media as…” to export it as an MP4.
Good for tutorials because you can stay in one app and later add annotations in the slide if you want.
2. Free web-based recorder (no install)
If you don’t want more software:
- Search for a “browser screen recorder” that runs as a web app
- They usually let you pick:
- Entire screen
- Specific window
- Specific tab
- Many now support mic + system audio together
Downside: quality and file size control is weaker, and you’re trusting some random site with your video. Fine for quick how‑to clips though.
3. Lightweight third‑party app with fewer knobs than OBS
Instead of full‑on OBS:
- Look for smaller screen recorder tools that:
- Have a simple “Record screen + mic” preset
- Let you pick MP4 output, 1080p, 30 fps
- They’re way less cluttered than OBS and usually just:
- Choose area (full screen or a window)
- Toggle mic/system audio
- Hit Record
If you only need a single monitor tutorial with your voice, that is plenty. No scenes, no weird “sources” logic.
4. Audio tip so you don’t hate your recording later
Whichever tool you use:
- Do a 10–15 second test recording
- Play it back and check:
- Your voice is loud enough compared to system sounds
- No crazy fan noise or keyboard clacking drowning you out
You fix more pain with that tiny test than by fiddling with 20 settings after recording a 30‑minute tutorial that sounds like it was done inside a jet engine.
If you want “one-button and done” and already have Office, I’d honestly start with PowerPoint screen recording before Game Bar. It behaves better with normal desktop / app tutorials and doesn’t randomly refuse to record certain windows like Game Bar sometimes does.
Use Zoom as a simple workaround.
Start a private meeting with only yourself. Share your screen, select the tutorial window, then click Record. Speak through your microphone while you work. End the meeting when finished. Zoom saves the video and audio as an MP4 on your PC.
Check your mic level first, then record a 10-second sample. This route works well if Zoom is alredy installed and you dont need editing tools.
Game Bar locks onto whatever single app was active when you started, and it won’t follow you if you alt-tab to another program. So the moment your tutorial involves jumping between, say, a browser and a settings window, the recording either freezes on the first app or stops. Worth knowing before you record ten minutes and find half of it missing. That limitation matters more than the File Explorer thing @himmelsjager mentioned, because switching apps is exactly what tutorials do.
Same trap hits the PowerPoint route from @suenodelbosque. It’s genuinely handy for a clean single-region demo, but it records a fixed rectangle you draw at the start. Move outside that box and it’s not captured. Fine for showing one app, annoying for anything broader. If your tutorial stays inside one window the whole time, either option is quick and I wouldn’t overthink it.
Here’s the part everyone glossed over though. If you plan to record more than once, the annoyance isn’t the recording, it’s the audio setup. Get your mic set as the default input and do the test clip they all suggested, but actually listen for your keyboard and mouse clicks bleeding in, not just volume. That’s the thing that makes a tutorial sound rough, and no amount of resolution fixes it. For anything with app switching, OBS with a plain Display Capture source is the one that just works, clutter and all.