Media Creation Tool Error 0x80042405 0xA001B

Anonymous

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??

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Kapil Arya 38,446 Volunteer Moderator

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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227 additional answers

Anonymous

2019-07-14T04:53:08+00:00

Neither of us have the process of an upgrade-install exactly right. But I think you are right there is no reformat of C:\ during it, & 3rd-party apps likely are not reinstalled into the new Windows folder - but maybe they are "migrated" over to it.

As you know, in that other thread we both occupy, I just did an upgrade-install for whatever 175 will do. (Thanks again for that heads-up.) As in my last few upgrade-install's, Windows.old appeared to be bare-bones. It didn't have my files or much of anything in it. (Too bad I've deleted it already.) I do trust Microsoft had a different way to recover files & stuff in the event I wanted to revert the install (within the 10 day period).

But clearly Windows.old was not just a renamed Windows folder. I think it stopped being that in 1809.
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Anonymous

2019-07-14T05:26:15+00:00

PCR,

The applications and files are migrated to the new system.

WindowsOld, contains all the folders needed to go back.

If you look inside windowsold you will see another folder named windows that has all the previous version and another bunch of folders for the old system.

I do upgrades quite often with new builds, because I'm also on the insider program with one of my machines.

When I do a disk cleanup for the old system files, which deletes windowsold , I recover 18GB or more of space on the C: volume.

Next time you do an upgrade look inside the folder windowsold and you will see all the stuff that is saved in there.
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Anonymous

2019-07-14T05:51:33+00:00

Too bad I was hasty to delete it. But I did look inside, & it could be as you say regarding system files. But personal files were absent, & it certainly didn't have the GB's to restore everything I've got on C:...

I think there was a couple GB's in Windows.old at most. It wasn't even enough for just my Windows folder...
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Anonymous

2019-07-14T06:03:43+00:00

Just a little trick?

If you have not cleaned it out copy the Download folder to another drive or to a USB flash drive and use it to install the downloaded programs rather than wandering all over the Internet to find those programs.
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