Media Creation Tool Error 0x80042405 0xA001B

Format your usb disk   

fat32 -> NTFS

I solved this problem after formatting the disk.

This whole thing began when a Windows 10 update screwed up my ASUS G73JH laptop Friday night. It was so messed up (multiple restarts and erors restarting) that I had to reset the PC and lose all of my installed applications (but thankfully not my data).

Then I had issues downloading the update and spent about 3 hours figuring that out (including time for 2 very slow downloads).

After finally getting the USB for 1903 made, I try to use the USB to reinstall Windows and I'm told that the 1903 update (the one that screwed up the laptop to begin with) cannot be used to do a clean re-install of Windows.

Here is a link to the explanation that Microsoft gives for this particular error - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4500988/windows-update-hold-for-windows-10 

I think I'll install Ubuntu until Microsoft figures this sht out.

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??

Not working here either. Tried it on 2 different PCs and I get the same error.

Maybe so, but none of this explains why the tool bombs about half way through the transfer of working, downloaded files to the thumb drive.