Windows ยท overlay
Xbox Game Bar hitching the game? Disable Captures, not Windows
Xbox Game Bar and background capture (Game DVR) hook frames. Windows: Settings > Gaming > Game Bar and Captures - turn Record what happened off. Win+G does not need to work during a match. SmoothWizard writes the same Game DVR keys in Optimize System, and that page is PRO. The power plan stays in Basic.
This is Microsoft's Settings path, not a registry hack as step one.
- 1
Game Bar in Settings
Win+I > Gaming > Game Bar. Turn off controller / shortcut launch if you are not recording. Newer builds may label it Game Bar, not Xbox Game Bar.
- 2
Captures off
Settings > Gaming > Captures. Record what happened off. Background recording eats GPU and disk even with no on-screen overlay.
- 3
Check other overlays
Steam, Discord, NVIDIA App. Game Bar is often one layer of several.
- 4
Optimize System (PRO)
In SmoothWizard, Game DVR (GameDVR_Enabled / AppCaptureEnabled) lives in Optimize System. That screen is PRO, not Free.
- 5
Power plan
Basic switches the power plan while optimization is on. Do not run two boosters at once.
FAQ
Click a question to show the answer. The first one is open.
Do I uninstall Xbox?
No. Game Bar and Captures off is enough. Uninstalling the package is optional and not in the app checklist.
Win+G still pops.
Disable shortcuts under Gaming > Game Bar and check nothing else bound the same hotkey.
Does Free turn Game DVR off?
No. In the app that toggle is Optimize System (PRO). You can still do it by hand in Windows Settings.