Windows media creation tool error ‘0x80042405 – 0xa001a’ can be a headache and is relatively new. The error has occurred for a myriad of reasons, but mostly it has to do with disk settings and if you are trying to create a bootable USB drive and the device does not have enough memory to hold the files.
In this write-up, we will try to look at the causes behind the error, what you can do to fix it and what shall be your right course of action. Let us discuss all these aspects:
Contents
What Leads Error 0x80042405 – 0xa001a to Happen?
Media Creation Tool causing Error 0x80042405 – 0xa001a can be due to many reasons. You have to try some fixes and see to it whether the fixes are working or not. More often than not, the causes are related to the USB storage file system, an error or bug in your media creation tool, and not having enough storage space in the USB.
Let’s discuss this in detail:
Causes Behind Error 0x80042405 – 0xa001a
The File System is not NTFS
Although the FAT32 file system does work well too to create a Windows installation bootable media with Windows Media Creation Tool. But, when users encounter this error 0x80042405 – 0xa001a, I would recommend formatting the disk with the NTFS file system because many users have fixed this error just by doing this. Choosing NTFS has many benefits as it has higher disk utilization and disk space management is quite efficient.
So, if your USB device is FAT32 formatted, and you are having this error, it might be one of the causes.
Bug in Media Creation Tool
First of all, you must check if there are any Bugs in your Media Creation Tool(MCT)?
Bugs can hamper the creation process.
But, finding that MCT is having bugs or not may be a bit tough task so just make sure you download MCT from the official website of Microsoft.
If you have downloaded it from a third-party site, delete it, and get it from the official website of Microsoft.
Low Space Issue
Another reason that might play a factor can be your external storage device is low on space. Make sure to see through your USB and check if it has at least 8GB of free space. You require at least 8GB to store all the Windows installation files.
Antivirus Interference
Antiviruses are reactive to threats. They often catch any suspicious activity especially if they find certain file systems are getting changed. Antiviruses can flag it as an outer threat and that can lead to stopping the bootable creation process.
Fix Media Creation Tool Error 0x80042405 – 0xa001a
Now let us discuss some of the fixes that you can try:
Download MCT Directly to your USB
This shall be the best fix and it worked for many users who have tried fixing the error. What you need to do is download the MCT (Media Creation Tool) directly to your USB. By the file places itself in the downloads folder of C drive. But you can change the download location. Choose your USB as a download location and place the MCT file there. That means the ‘mediacreationtool.exe’ will be directly sent to the USB and once you try to create bootable windows installation files, source it directly from the USB. That helps in case errors like these occur.
Run MCT as an Administrator
Another trick that you can try is running your MCT as an administrator. Sometimes certain privileges of altercating files are not achieved through a normal process. These rights are only enjoyed by the administrator.
The process is simple:
- Right-click on your MCT.
- Select ‘Run as administrator’
- Now proceed with the process of media creation, and see if the error is still there or fixed.
Format File System to NTFS
NTFS and FAT32 are the two most used file systems in Windows. Although both file systems work well for creating bootable USB for Windows installation, NTFS support this much better than FAT32 as it offers better disk space usability and manages the disk more efficiently. Thus, if the USB is FAT32 labeled, make sure to format it with NTFS so that it will become NTFS.
Here’s how you can perform USB Formatting:
- Go to the drives, and right-click on your USB drive
- Select Format…
- Now, look at the file system, if it’s FAT32 and not NTFS, change it to NTFS.
- And then click Start. It will take some time to format the drive.
If it is already NTFS, you don’t need to do anything.
This fix may or may not work but it is easy to do. So, you must give. This fix worked for me when I got this error for the first time. I just tried this, and it worked in one go.
Convert Your USB Drive from GPT to MBR
GPT stands for GUID Partition Table. It is more advanced thus users may start using GPT. Most of the time MBR(Master Boot Record) is selected by default but if GPT is selected, try to convert it to MBR because for creating a bootable Windows image disk, MCT needs your disk to be MBR.
This is how you can convert GPT to MBR:
- Click on ‘windows key + R’, and type in ‘diskpart’
- You will see the CMD window opening and now type in a command, ‘list disk’. Hit Enter.
- Then type in ‘select disk x’, Here ‘x’ means the storage device that you want to turn into a bootable device. For instance, if there is 1 device write the command, ‘select disk 1’
- Now you need to clean the drive, to perform cleaning, type in ‘clean drive’ and hit Enter.
- Then you need to type in ‘convert mbr’, this command will necessarily transition the storage medium to the MBR system.
Convert GPT disk to MBR from Disk Management of Windows.
- First of all go to Disk Management. Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools. Click Computer Management.
- Now under Storage, click “Disk management“.
- For converting GPT to MBR, you have to delete all the volumes of the Disk. When you click Disk Management, you will see there, the internal HDD, and external USB that you have attached. So, you just click on your USB drive, and if there are volumes in that, delete them by right-clicking and clicking on Delete.
- Now, you can right-click on the USB and click on “Convert to MBR”
For some reason, if converting to MBR doesn’t work with Disk Management, you can do it with Command Prompt as discussed earlier.
Disable Your Antivirus
So, here is the thing: this method is not recommended at all because disabling your antivirus puts you at risk of malware or virus attacks.
But if it is so important for you, then you can try it.
Some people have said that this fix worked for them. It’s a situation of “something better than nothing”. When you disable your antivirus, you are susceptible to many potential threats and you can be facing data loss. A backup should be kept or you can create a restore point to get back all the files, functions, and settings.
You can turn off the antivirus for some time and then go with the process of Windows media creation.
Considering you have Windows Defender Antivirus on your system, follow the process to disable it.
- Go to Start menu on Windows PC.
- Type Windows Security.
- Press Enter button.
- Click on Virus & threat protection from the left sidebar.
- Now, find Virus & threat protection settings and click on Manage settings
- Click the toggle button under Real-time protection. It will turn off the Windows Defender.
- Now, restart your PC and run MCT.
- Check if the error persists.
As compared to other methods this one is a little bit risky. Perform this fix only when you don’t hold any sensitive data. Changes can happen to cause many issues and you might not even know it. So, don’t perform on a computer where there is a chance of data leakage or information, and have abundant private details, especially monetary details. Disabling Antivirus means you are losing your guard. Thus, be careful before disabling it.
Disable the USB Selective Suspend Settings
Another function that can work as a fix is to stop the suspension of your USB.
Here is the process:
- Open Control Panel, you can search it on the windows search bar
- Then select “Power Options” from the list of options.
- On the left-hand side, you will see an option called, ‘Change when the computer sleeps’, click on it
- Then click on ‘change advanced power settings’
- Now click on ‘USB selective suspend settings’
- You will find a list box, select Disabled
- Now try running the MCT tool and check if it worked.
FAQs
Q. How do you fix the media creation tool error “there was a problem running this tool on Windows”?
To fix the error you need to perform some important steps. You have to right-click on the ‘mediacreationtool.exe’ file. The setup files so to speak. Once you right-click on it, you will see ‘properties’ click on it. In the properties window, you need to open the general option, here you will have to select unblock located at the bottom of the dialog box. Press ok.
Q. Does MCT still work in Windows 10?
MCT works fine in Windows 10. You need to have a digital windows license activation to run it. Paid license keys might cause issues when you try to run MCT.
Q. How do I install Windows 10 without a USB?
First, download Winrar and open your ISO file in winrar. Run the Windows setup and then perform the installation. In case you want to clone it through Virtual Cloning. What you can do is click on the ISO file and click on ‘mount’. Once the mounting continues to happen you can choose which drive you want to mount your ISO in.
Conclusion
Windows Error 0x80042405 – 0xa001a while trying to create a bootable USB drive to install Windows occurs for a variety of reasons as mentioned in this article. Since the causes are many, fixes are many too which I have explained in the article. You may not be 100% sure which fix will work. Thus, you should try each of the fixes, and see which one works for you. Sometimes, a third-party tool may help as well if nothing works.