Windows 10 Media Creation Tool

What the Media Creation Tool does

The Media Creation Tool downloads the latest Windows 10 files directly from Microsoft's servers, then either upgrades the current PC in place or writes a bootable USB drive or ISO file you can burn to DVD. It always retrieves a current, digitally signed build, which is why Microsoft recommends it over downloading ISOs from unofficial mirrors.

Downloading the tool

Get the utility only from the official Microsoft software download page. It is a small executable (MediaCreationTool.exe) that requires internet access to fetch the actual Windows files during the run.

1. 1Go to microsoft.com/software-download/windows10.
2. 2Click Download tool now and run the executable.
3. 3Accept the license terms.
4. 4Choose 'Upgrade this PC now' or 'Create installation media for another PC'.
5. 5For media creation, pick language, edition, and architecture (or leave recommended options checked).
6. 6Select USB flash drive (16 GB or larger) or ISO file, then let the tool download and write the files.

Windows 10 vs Windows 11 tooling

Microsoft ships separate tools for each OS version. The Windows 10 Media Creation Tool builds Windows 10 media only. For Windows 11 you need either the Windows 11 Installation Assistant (in-place upgrade) or the Windows 11 'Create Windows 11 Installation Media' tool, which produces bootable USB/ISO similarly but enforces Windows 11 hardware requirements such as TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot during setup.

Downloading an ISO directly

Both tools also expose a direct 'Download Windows 10/11 Disk Image (ISO)' page on microsoft.com if you'd rather mount or burn the ISO yourself, or feed it into a third-party USB writer like Rufus.

Common errors

• 'This PC can't run Windows 11' — hardware doesn't meet minimum requirements.
• Download stuck or failing — check firewall/proxy and free disk space; retry.
• USB not booting — the drive may need to be reformatted as FAT32/GPT for UEFI; see the bootable USB guide below.

After creating media

If Windows won't start afterward, boot from the same media and use Repair your computer to reach the WinRE recovery environment, or run System File Checker and CHKDSK once you're back in Windows to check for corruption.