Media Creation Tool Error 0x80042405 0xA001B

Anonymous
2019-05-22T02:24:49+00:00

I must be doing something wrong because I always have the update fail with some BS error like this. What are the proper steps to run this tool?

I download the tool to the desktop. I'm on an Admin account. I insert a 16GB thumb drive. I format it. I start the tool. I point it to the thumb drive. During the phase where the files are copied to the USB, I get some stupid error like this:

Why are my steps not good enough? Where is the hole in my logic? Or is this tool just written poorly. I'd like to use stronger language here as I used to have to start it all over again and burn bandwidth trying this failed endeavor over and over.

I've heard people make it work by running the tool FROM the USB. Why would that matter? I've tried to write files to the thumb drive just after the format and before running the tool to make sure I have successful writes. Doesn't help. 

As a workaround today, I left the error up for a bit. Tried to access the thumb drive and it said it needed to be formatted AGAIN! So I did. Then I just opened the C:$Windows.~WS\Sources\Windows and copied the files to the drive by hand. Made the dang thing myself! WHO WRITES THIS STUFF??

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Install and upgrade

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Kapil Arya 38,446 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2019-10-23T10:23:40+00:00

Hello,

I would suggest you to create latest media. Download the Media Creation Tool using this link:

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=691209

Hope this helps!

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-07-25T21:42:32+00:00

    Thanks, I do see OS build 18362.239 in Windows specs after installation. This USB stick is just getting started. One laptop down, 22 to go. 

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-07-25T04:30:43+00:00

    Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. It used to be an upgrade-install took just one hour to complete for me, whether I took it through Windows Update or Installation media. But the last two (both 1903) were 2 hours & 3 hours apiece.

    It's a Dell Inspiron 3542 with 4 logical processors. Seems generally quick to me. It has a 1 TB Seagate HDD, no SSD.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-07-25T03:45:16+00:00

    "When the download became 18362.175, it improved to just 2 tries to make USB Installation media. But this one did do an upgrade/over-install (1903>1903) - albeit it took 3 hours."

    Hi PCR, 

    What is your machine configuration that takes 3 hours to do the upgrade ?

    I have done it on 5 different machines and it takes me just around 30 minutes.

    4 of my machines are pretty old too, but all machines are 64bit with I7 Intel processors , one is pretty recent just a year old. 

    Is your drive C: on HDD or SSD ?

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-07-25T03:16:27+00:00

    You can see the OS Build of the Installation media this way too...

    (a) Plug in the USB drive that holds it (or mount the .ISO), & note its drive letter.

    (b) At an Administrator Command Prompt, enter the following (using your letter not mine)...

    DISM  /Get-WimInfo  /WimFile:E:\Sources\Install.esd  /Index:1

    "Created" seems to be the date MSFT made the .esd. "Modified" is the date I made the installation media. For the ...30 (I posted on page 5), those were...

    Size : 13,998,570,900 bytes

    Created : 4/1/2019 - 7:09:02 PM

    Modified : 6/1/2019 - 1:50:24 AM

    After the install is done , the actual OS Build will be the most current because quality updates are read in as part of the process. So mine ended up, at "START, Settings, System, About"...

    However, I think it makes a difference that it begins ...175 (instead of ...30). The quality updates for one thing won't update the onboard Recovery Environment (the partition that Shift+Restart will boot to). And look at that size difference.

    Edit: To clarify, MediaCreationTool1903.exe is not what I meant by "the download". The download I meant is the Windows installation files that MCT puts onto the Installation media.

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