Windows Media Creation Tool from Microsoft is widely known as the de facto utility when creating bootable media from a Windows ISO file. On a Windows computer, the URL for the Windows program automatically directs you to the download page for the tool; on a Mac or Linux, you can bypass this and get to the ISO download page straight away. Although it’s a neat tool for creating bootable media for a Windows installation, diagnosis or repair, the truth is that it’s not a highly reliable one.
Common Issues with Windows Media Creation Tool
One of the most common problems users face when running this tool is that it is unable to download the ISO file. Often, the tool will remain dormant, and at times it will throw up a 0x80080005 – 0x90016 error, which basically indicates that the folder containing the installation files isn’t complete or may be corrupted during the download process.
Another common error is 0x80042405 – 0xA001A, which can occur if you’re running the program from your desktop and trying to create bootable media on a USB flash drive. In certain cases, it can be fixed if you download the media tool directly onto the USB drive that you’re using to create the installer. In other cases, it works if you first format the drive to NTFS, which is better for a Windows 10 installation. However, none of these fixes are guaranteed to work so you’ll have to try a couple of things before you can get it up and running.
Other problems may occur because of registry issues, privileges on the user account, storage space on your USB drive, antivirus settings, critical updates missing, and so on. Here are a list of fixes that you can try, and also an alternative software tool that can do the job of creating bootable Windows media quickly and painlessly.
Possible Fixes for Windows Media Creation Tool Errors
Fix #1: Disable your antivirus program.
In certain instances, the antivirus program gives a false positive signal and prevent the ISO file from properly downloading all the content required to install Windows 10. To see if this is the problem, go into your antivirus program settings and temporarily disable the application. You can turn it on again once the bootable media has been successfully created. Once it’s off, try running the media creation tool again and see if the problem goes away.
Fix #2: Admin Rights
If your current user account doesn’t have admin privileges, it may disallow downloads of any kind. This is a security feature to protect your system from accidentally downloading malicious content such as viruses or other malware programs. To bypass this, just login using an admin account. If you don’t have access to one, you can enable it from the login screen. Here are the steps:
Step 1: At the login screen, press Windows + R to access the run dialog.
Step 2: Type the following into the box and hit Enter:
lusrmgr.msc
Step 3: Go to Users > Administrator and check the box to enable the account. Hit OK to confirm.
You can now login as an administrator and run the Media Creation Tool. If privileges were the problem, it should work fine now.
Fix #3: Use a Different USB Drive
If you’re using a corrupted USB drive to create the bootable media, it could throw up an error during the download or media creation stages. There will also be issues if your drive doesn’t have enough space on it. Until Windows 8, a 4GB drive would have been sufficient. Windows 10 ISO files can be larger than that depending on the version. If this is the issue, you can easily fix it by using a larger capacity USB drive.
Fix #4: Check if USB Drive is Corrupted
Second, make sure that the drive is working properly prior to creating the bootable media. You can check that by inserting the flash drive into your computer, then going to This PC and clicking to go into the drive. If corrupted, you’ll see an error message saying the drive is not accessible. Alternatively, you can scan the drive using the antivirus program on your computer. Here’s how to do it using the Windows Defender antivirus program in Windows 10:
Step 1: Insert your USB flash drive into the computer.
Step 2: Go to Settings > Windows Defender and open the program.
Step 3: Below Quick and Full (scan types), you’ll see an option called Custom. Select it.
Step 4: In the popup window, select your USB drive by checking the box next to it. Make sure to uncheck any other boxes so you can speed it up. You can now scan your drive to check if it’s corrupted. If it is, use a different one.
Reliable Alternative to the Windows Media Creation Tool
If you’re exhausted all your options and the Media Creation Tool is still giving you problems, you can consider a third-party ISO burning utility like UUByte ISO Editor. It’s easy to use, it has an intuitive interface, and you can use it for a lot of other things like editing ISO files, creating them from files and folders or a physical disk, rename them, add or remove files, and much more. To create bootable Windows media from an ISO file, you can first download the ISO file for the chosen version of Windows and then follow the steps shown below:
Step 1: Download UUbyte ISO Editor from UUByte.com and install the program. Launch it.
Step 2: Insert your USB drive and click on the Burn option in the software window.
Step 3: In the second page, make sure your drive is selected, and click on the Burn button to create the bootable drive.
In a matter of minutes, you’ll be done. The tool is extremely versatile and user-friendly, so don’t worry if you don’t have any experience doing this sort of thing before. Just follow the steps and you’ll never have to worry about Windows Media Creation Tool problems again..