Windows 10 Media Creation Tool Error: 0x80042405 - 0xA001A

Anonymous
2017-11-16T13:39:26+00:00

Greetings,

Recently, I have seen many people inquiring about this error regarding the Media Creation Tool. I myself got this error when I try to create a bootable USB drive (aka Create an Installable Media).

Here's what I tried:

Reformatting USB drive to FAT32

Deleting files

Tried to locate and run Setupprep.exe (I couldn't find this file in C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources or anywhere)

Change Startup Type of Update-Related Services (Startup Type: Manual -> Automatic)

Uninstalled and Reinstall Windows 10 Media Creation Tool

Made sure my USB is above 8Gb as instructed by the tool (it is 15Gb)

The Fix (for me at least):

1. Downloadthe Windows 10 Media Creation Tool directlyinto the USB drive that you want to use as a bootable device (meaning you download the Tool into the same USB you chose to use as an Installation Media). If you already downloaded the tool on your PC's Desktop, copy it into your USB.

2. Run the Tool directly from your USB, meaning you open File Explorer, locate the MediaCreationTool.exe in your USB and double-click to run it.

The installer should then create an Installation Media/Bootable USB.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Tom

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Install and upgrade

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-04-13T17:21:58+00:00

    i had to do the same, i had numerous errors so i did as tom said and ran as administrator and it worked.

    frank

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-04-09T16:46:23+00:00

    This worked for me, thanks!

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-04-07T19:18:56+00:00

    Dumbest Suggestion Ever - And THANK YOU! - Because it WORKS!

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    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2018-04-02T12:48:55+00:00

    I was trying to create an installation USB for Windows 10 for my son's PC, using my own Windows 10 pro laptop, and ran into the same problems described here. The simple fix of running the MediaCreation tool from the USB did not work. I recommend the multi-step approach described by others here, which finally worked for me.

    1. Format the USB to NTFS. Note that because of the failed prior attempts, I eventually used Disk Management to remove the partition that had turned my 64gb drive into an effective 32gb drive (https://www.howtogeek.com/215349/how-to-remove-an-efi-system-partition-or-gpt-protective-partition-from-a-drive-in-windows/), and then formatted it using the Disk Management interface. I did not use the Quick Format option.
    2. Copy the MediaCreation tool onto the USB
    3. Turn off antivirus (I had BitDefender running), and other background programs
    4. Right-click on the MediaCreation tool to "Run as administrator"
    5. I left it overnight, and did not use the PC for anything else during this time.

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  5. Anonymous
    2018-04-02T01:41:05+00:00

    Some of you are still getting the error message even after attempting this fix.  I got the same message trying to do this, but I found another workaround.

    What I did:

    Step 1 - Show Hidden Files, Folders and Drives (File Explorer > View > Options > View Tab )

    Step 2 - Open your C: drive and delete the folders $Windows.~WS and $WINDOWS.~BT

    Step 3 - Search and Run Disk Cleanup

    Step 4 - Retry the Media Creation Tool (Does not need to be downloaded onto the USB)

    Before trying this method, I've gotten the error message around 5 or 6 times.  This worked for me.

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