How to Fix: Windows 10 Media Creation Tool Won't Work

Infopackets Reader Jan P. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I'm trying to download Windows 10 onto my machine using the Media Creation Tool. I intend to download the .ISO image files so that I can make a Windows 10 DVD, so that I can keep an archived copy for later use if needed. The problem is that the Media Creation Tool doesn't work; every time I run it, the Media Creation Tool won't open. A friend of mine tried running it on his machine and the Media Creation Tool won't start for him, either. Any idea how I can get this to work? "

My response:

Based on my experience, the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool works for some people and doesn't work for others.

In the latter case it may be a bug in the program, or it may be because the system is corrupt (such as a bad registry value somewhere). Some users I've spoken with have gone as far as to reinstall their current copy of Windows just to get the Media Creation Tool to work. My suggestion is that you try and run the Media Creation Tool on another PC (if you have access to one), or to ask a friend to try and download the ISO for you.

Download Windows 10 ISO without Media Creation Tool

Alternatively, you can download Windows 10 ISOs directly from Microsoft's website without the use of the Media Creation Tool.

Microsoft has a web page set up for something called the Windows 10 Tech Bench Upgrade Program, which links directly to Windows 10 ISO files that you can download direct from Microsoft's Servers. It's my understanding that the ISOs downloaded from this site contain both Home and Pro versions of Windows 10. Depending on the file size of the download, you may need to burn the ISO to using a dual layer DVD disc (9.4GB). If you don't have a dual layer DVD then you can write it to a USB flash drive using Rufus (8GB should work).

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/techbench

NOTE: as of 20161026 the above link does not appear to be working. It may be rectified at a later time. Please don't email me asking for the link. Another option is if you can't run the Media Creation Tool on your current system, try running it on another PC.

It's worth noting that (providing the tech bench link works) - the link to download the Windows 10 ISO will only be valid for 24 hours once you click through all the options on the page, so make sure you download it straight away. Once the Windows 10 ISO has been downloaded to your hard drive, you can then use CD Burner XP (or similar programs) to burn the ISO file to DVD. Also note that some programs will flag CD Burner XP as containing adware and may refuse to download it; you can safely ignore this warning by disabling your antivirus, so long as you don't install any third party offers during the CD Burner XP program installation.

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About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.