How to Download and Use the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool

The Windows 11 Media Creation Tool turns a USB stick into a Windows installer. It comes free from Microsoft and weighs roughly 10 MB. You’d run it on a 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC with admin rights, and it never asks for a product key.

• Download MediaCreationToolW11.exe from Microsoft.
• Run it as administrator and pick USB flash drive or ISO file.
• Boot the target PC from the stick and install.

Any stick of 8 GB or more will do. The tool can also save the same image as an ISO file.

You download MediaCreationToolW11.exe from Microsoft’s download page and run it. Pick USB or ISO, and a while later you have bootable install media.

This year’s feature update rolled out on September 29, 2026. Since then the tool downloads version 26H2, build 26300, with recent monthly security updates folded in.

Typical jobs for these sticks vary a lot. A gaming PC with clogged storage, say. Or an old ThinkPad.

The ThinkPad takes longer, with USB 2.0 ports and a 50 Mbps DSL line in a village. Both installs normally work, with no mystery errors and no retries.

• Download it from microsoft.com/software-download/windows11, in the section “Create Windows 11 Installation Media”.
• You need a USB drive of 8 GB or more, and it gets wiped.
• The tool runs on a 64-bit PC with Windows 10 or Windows 11, with admin rights.
• The media it creates is for x64 PCs. Arm64 PCs use the separate Arm64 ISO or Windows Update.
• The tool contains no product key. A PC that was activated before usually reactivates by itself.
• Most failures come from the clock, a VPN, permissions or a bad USB stick.

What the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool does

The MCT downloads the current release and writes it to a bootable USB flash drive. Or it saves an ISO file.

It creates x64 media only, and it doesn’t include a license. That’s the whole job.

The executable is tiny. Pointed at your hard drive, it saves an ISO of 6 to 8 GB.

That’s what you want for Rufus, Ventoy or a virtual machine later.

Microsoft refreshes the image behind the tool regularly, usually in step with Patch Tuesday. The tool’s own version number barely moves.

Version 10.0.26100.7019 has been current since the end of October 2025. The build it downloads keeps moving, though.

A fresh USB today is about a month behind, not six months like it used to be.

So the hours of post-install updates that made reinstalls miserable are mostly gone.

One thing the MCT still won’t do is build media for Arm-based machines. Since the October 2025 fix, the tool runs on Arm64 PCs.

The stick it writes is still x64. For a Surface Pro X or a Snapdragon X laptop, we’d get the Arm64 ISO.

It’s on Microsoft’s “Download Windows 11 for Arm” page. Windows Update can handle the job too.

When you need the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool

You need it when there’s no working system to move up from, or when you want a clean start.

To bring a working PC to the newest version, Windows Update is simpler.

Our walkthrough on installing Windows 11 from USB covers the setup side in more depth.

Before leaving Windows 10, check the Windows 11 requirements against your hardware.

For a broken update, we’d try the in-place repair before a full clean install.

MCT, Installation Assistant or ISO

All three are free on Microsoft’s download page, and all three install the same system.

The Installation Assistant is easy mode. Files, apps and settings stay.

The downside is that it’s picky. With a CPU off Microsoft’s list or a missing TPM, it refuses.

And since it runs on the target machine, it can’t prepare anything else.

The MCT is the middle path and probably what you want. One download handles fresh PCs, recovery drives and small office rollouts.

If you’re reading this page, it’s almost certainly the right option.

The direct ISO skips the wizard. You grab the file and use Rufus or Ventoy for the USB part.

It’s more fiddly. But that’s how you stack several versions on one stick. People also use it to get around the TPM and CPU checks on older hardware.

We wouldn’t hand it to a first-timer.

What you need before you start

Copy your files off the stick first.

The target PC has its own list.

If you’re not sure, run Microsoft’s PC Health Check app.

How to use the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool

The download takes seconds, because the real image comes later. Download plus write typically takes 15 to 45 minutes.

1. Open Microsoft’s Windows 11 download page.
2. Scroll to Create Windows 11 Installation Media and click Download Now. The file lands in Downloads.
3. Double-click MediaCreationToolW11.exe and click Yes on the User Account Control prompt.
4. Accept the license terms. After a few seconds of “Getting a few things ready”, the language and edition screen appears.
5. Confirm language and edition. For another PC, untick “Use the recommended options for this PC” and choose manually.
6. Pick USB flash drive and click Next.
7. Select your stick. We’d triple-check the letter, because the tool formats with no second warning.
8. Wait while the progress bar shows each phase.
9. When it says “Your USB flash drive is ready”, click Finish and eject the stick.

Every removable drive shows up on the drive screen. If your stick is missing, click “Refresh drive list”.

By default the tool picks language and edition from the PC it runs on.

We’d download the tool fresh every time it’s needed. An old copy in Downloads may be one of the broken autumn 2025 builds. Keeping it gains nothing.

Saving an ISO file

On the media type screen, choose ISO file. Pick a folder and a file name, and click Save.

The tool downloads the system and builds a Windows.iso of 6 to 8 GB.

USB or ISO

After the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool finishes

“Your USB flash drive is ready.” Nice. Before the stick goes anywhere, Microsoft’s download page lists a few things to do with the media you just made. We’d follow them in this order.

• Drivers first. On the target PC, if it still runs, check Windows Update. Extra drivers come from the maker’s support site. Surface drivers sit on their own Microsoft page.
• Backup second. A clean install from this stick wipes the drive you pick. Save your work, copy your files off.
• Language. For an upgrade that keeps files, the language on the stick has to match the system language of the PC.
• Architecture. The tool makes x64 media only. An Arm laptop needs a different route, as covered above.

Two ways to use the stick

The second path has two snags Microsoft mentions on the same page.

The PC boots straight back into the old system? Shut it down fully from the sign-in screen or the Start menu, not with a restart, then try again.

The stick isn’t offered at all? Some PCs need Secure Boot switched off for a while to see the media. The PC maker can tell you whether yours is one of them. We’d ask before changing anything, and switch it back on after. Same with the boot order. Changed it? Put the internal drive first again once setup is done.

Keep the stick afterwards, labelled. It works for the next reinstall too, though a fresh run of the tool gets you a newer build.

The boot menu keys by maker, the setup screens and the first-run steps on a fresh machine are in our Windows 11 new PC setup guide.

Fixing common Windows 11 Media Creation Tool errors

The tool usually works without drama. When it doesn’t, the same errors show up again and again in Reddit threads and Microsoft forums.

Fix the cause, download a fresh copy from Microsoft and run it as administrator.

Error 0x80072f8f-0x20000

The tool can’t talk to Microsoft’s servers securely. In most cases the PC clock is wrong.

Check Settings, Time & language, Date & time, and turn on Set time automatically.

If the date is already right, the TLS certificates are probably out of date. Run Windows Update, install what’s pending and retry.

The tool closes immediately on Windows 10

This was a disaster in autumn 2025. MCT build 26100.6584 from late September simply closed on Windows 10.

That was on version 22H2. It failed on Arm64 PCs too, with no error message.

Lots of people thought their PCs were broken. Microsoft fixed it on October 28, 2025 with version 26100.7019.

If you still see it, you have the broken copy. Delete it and download a fresh one.

If it still crashes, we’d grab the ISO directly and use Rufus.

USB drive not detected

Try a different port. It feels dumb, but some USB 3.x controllers confuse the detection, and a 2.0 port fixes it.

Check that the stick is at least 8 GB. Reformat it as FAT32 or NTFS in Disk Management before running the tool.

If there’s still nothing, the stick might be dead. Cheap no-name drives fail more often than you’d think.

Download stuck or failing

VPNs love to kill Microsoft downloads. So do corporate firewalls and DNS filters.

Disconnect the VPN and try another network if you have one. Otherwise switch DNS to a public resolver such as 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8.

The setting sits under Settings, Network & internet, your connection, DNS server assignment.

Then clear the temp folder. Press Win+R, type %TEMP%, delete what you can and retry.

The “Something happened” error

It’s the classic uninformative Microsoft error. Usually it comes down to one of two things.

• The C: drive is low on free space, and the tool stages the whole download there.
• Antivirus is blocking it.

Free up space, pause third-party real-time protection for the run, and try again.

Error 0x80070456-0xA0019

The write-to-USB step failed. The usual fix is the same every time it shows up.

• Open Disk Management with a right-click on Start.
• Format the stick.
• Plug it back in and restart the tool.

If the same error returns on the same drive, the drive is dying. Use a different one.

Error 0x80080005-0x90016

This one is about permissions. Close the tool, right-click the file and choose Run as administrator.

On a work laptop with Group Policy, you’ll probably need IT. On your own machine, open Registry Editor and go to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade

If it’s missing, create a DWORD named AllowOSUpgrade with value 1, then retry.

How long the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool takes

Creating the USB typically takes 15 to 45 minutes. A full reinstall takes 35 to 90 minutes end to end.

Internet speed decides the download, and USB speed decides the write. A USB 3.x stick in a USB 3.x port is several times faster than USB 2.0.

Install time depends on the target drive. The timings below are typical for a 100 Mbps connection with a USB 3.0 drive.

A fast setup can finish in about 38 minutes in total. Think gigabit fibre with a USB 3.2 stick, installing to an NVMe SSD.

With DSL and a random USB 2.0 stick from a drawer, the same job can push past 90 minutes.

Either way, have a drink ready.

The MCT or Rufus

Use the MCT when the PC meets the requirements and you want Microsoft’s own simplest path.

Use Rufus with an ISO when you need its extra options.

The MCT’s big advantage is that it’s dead simple. It follows Microsoft’s own workflow with the current image and nothing else to install.

You click through a wizard, and a USB comes out.

Rufus asks more of you and gives more back. Hand it an ISO, from the MCT or the direct download.

It writes the stick with optional tweaks the MCT won’t do. That’s why many power users switched.

Keep in mind that Microsoft doesn’t back Windows 11 on hardware below the requirements. Such PCs may not get every update.

What changed in 2026

The program version stayed at 10.0.26100.7019 through 2026. Microsoft refreshed the image behind it with monthly security updates.

Regular image refreshes made the biggest practical difference. The MCT used to ship a months-old build at times.

That meant hours of cumulative updates after every clean install. Now you’re roughly a month behind after setup.

Windows Update catches up in minutes.

The 26H2 switch didn’t alter the workflow at all. It’s the same download page, the same screens and the same 8 GB stick.

The MCT only offers the current release. So it won’t give you 25H2 or 24H2 for compatibility testing.

Product key and activation

No product key is needed to download or run the tool. It never asks for one.

The system itself needs a license to activate.

An unactivated system runs, but with two annoyances. There’s a watermark in the bottom-right corner, and Personalization settings are greyed out.

So there’s no wallpaper and no accent color.

The watermark is what really drives people crazy. Our page on removing the Activate Windows watermark covers the legitimate fixes.

If the PC had an activated system before, click “I don’t have a product key” during setup. Pick the same edition.

Once online, the system checks in with Microsoft and matches the hardware. It activates itself, typically within a minute or two.

Need a key? Our Windows 11 Home key and Windows 11 Pro key come as genuine licenses. Delivery: instant to email. You’d enter the key under Settings, System, Activation.

Tips for a smooth run

• Use USB 3.x everywhere. A USB 3.x drive in a USB 3.x port finishes the write in roughly 10 minutes.
• On USB 2.0 the same write takes close to an hour. USB 3.x ports are often blue, or carry an SS mark.
• Run as administrator. Many silent failures trace back to a plain double-click.
• Quit everything heavy, such as a browser with 40 tabs. Every app fighting for the disk slows the write.
• Keep an ISO. Next time, Rufus turns it into a stick in minutes, and you skip the big download.
• Check the build. After installing, press Win+R and type winver.

A recent MCT gives version 26H2, build 26300 or later. Anything older points to an outdated download.

Each of these saves time on a reinstall, and more so when you do several.

Common Windows 11 Media Creation Tool mistakes

• Leaving files on the stick. The tool erases everything.
• Picking the wrong drive letter on the drive screen.
• Running an old copy of the tool from Downloads.
• Starting the download over a VPN.
• Expecting the stick to work on an Arm64 PC.
• Expecting the tool to come with a license.
• Choosing an edition in setup that doesn’t match the license.
• Deleting partitions on the wrong drive.
• Plugging a USB 3.x stick into a USB 2.0 port and wondering about the hour-long write.
• Reusing a stick that already failed once with a write error.

Related guides

• The Windows 10 Media Creation Tool

Terms used on this page

Typical Media Creation Tool problems

The clock that was wrong

The tool stops with 0x80072f8f on an old desktop. Its clock is years off. With the time set automatically, the download starts.

The tool that vanished

On a Windows 10 PC the tool closes right after the logo. The copy dates from autumn 2025. A fresh download runs normally.

The wiped photo stick

Someone picks a stick that still holds family photos. The tool formats it without a second question. So we’d say it twice: copy the files off first.

The Arm laptop

A Snapdragon X laptop won’t boot from a stick made on a desktop. The stick is x64. The Arm64 ISO from Microsoft does the job.

The edition mismatch

After a clean install the system won’t activate. Setup was run as Pro on a PC with a Home license. A reinstall as Home activates within minutes.

The dying stick

Error 0x80070456 comes back after a format. A different stick finishes the write on the first try.

Tool versions and systems this guide covers

There isn’t much left to say about the MCT. It’s boring software that does one job reliably.

That’s what you want from an installer. Our Windows 11 new PC installation guide picks up at the moment you boot off the USB.

It goes through OOBE, drivers and first-day setup.