Windows 10 Media Creation Tool is especially used when Windows OS runs into a problem and facing difficulty at the time of booting. This tool is mainly used for Windows 10 fresh install and upgrades your OS to a new Windows 10 version or fixing some boot issues.

Sometimes, while using the Media creation tool, you may experience a few errors, which may prevent your system from the booting process. One of the most commonly found issues is Windows 10 Media Creation Tool error: 0x80042405 - 0xa001a, which stops your OS from creating a bootable USB drive with this tool. You need to opt for some troubleshooting methods to resolve the issue.

Common Causes for Windows 10 Media Creation Tool error 0x80042405 - 0xa001a

There could be multiple reasons for Windows 10 Media Creation Tool Error 0x80042405 - 0xa001a. Given below are some of the possible causes for the error code 0x80042405-0xa001a.

· There is no need to run the Media Creation Tool from that USB drive that you have to use to create an installation media.

· Your USB drive might not have enough space, which may cause problems while creating installation media.

How To Fix Windows 10 Media Creation Tool Error: 0x80042405 - 0xa001a?

· The USB might not be formatted as an NTFS file system.

· Some third-party programs such as antivirus are running on your system while running the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.

Windows 10 Media Creation Tool Error “There was a problem running this tool” can be caused because of any of the above reasons. Before choosing any troubleshooting methods to resolve the issue, it is recommended to disable all antivirus software and use a USB drive with a minimum of 8 GB of storage space because Windows 10 ISO file sizes grow every version.

Quick fixes for Media Creation Tool Error 0x80042405-0xa001a

This error is displayed as “There was a problem running this tool” on your computer screen. Whenever this message appears on your screen, it means the process of Windows Update will keep crashing, in which you need to create a bootable USB drive.

There are many other errors that you may face, depending on the culprit of the problem. But in most cases, the methods to resolve the issue are the same. Some commonly used troubleshooting techniques to fix Media Creation Tool Error 0x80042405-0xa001a are given below:

Method 1. Convert USB Drive from GPT to MBR

Your USB drive should be in the format of MBR (Master Boot Record) for using Windows Media Creation Tool. You can change the format of your USB drive from the GUID Partition Table, i.e., GPT to MBR by using Disk management of your system.

MBR is very important as it acts as a first boot sector and allows you to ‘boot’ from the USB. You have to follow the below-given steps to convert your USB drive from GPT to MBR by following the steps given below:

· Press Windows + R keys to open the Run prompt in your system.

· Type “diskpart” in the search box and click the OK button.

· Enter the following command: list disk.

· Now enter the command: select disk x, where ‘x’ is the number of the disk that you need to create to a bootable media. Here is select disk 0.

· Type the following commands in order to clean the drive properly:

o clean

o convert mbr

· Once the above commands are successfully executed, run Media Creation Tool again and check if it is fixed.

Method 2. Disable USB Selective Suspend Setting in Power Options

You need to disable your USB settings with the help of the control panel. For which, you need to follow the steps given below:

· Type Control Panel in the search box of your desktop and open it.

· Once the control panel window pops-up, search Power Options in the search box located at the top right corner of the Control Panel window.

· From the left navigation pane, choose the Change when the computer sleeps option.

· Click on the link displaying “Change advanced power settings.”

· Expand USB settings and then click on USB selective suspend setting.

· Select Disabled from the drop-down menu. Click on the OK button to close the Power Options screen.

The above method will prevent the suspension of your USB drive when the Media Creation Tool is making the Windows 10 installation and resolving the error code 0x80042405 0xa001a.

Method 3: Download MCT in Hard Drive

In some cases, copying the files to the USB Drive after downloading can help you in fixing error code 0x80042405 - 0xA001a. For that, follow the steps given below:

· Download the MCT files to Local Drive C.

· Launch the application download the file in the “C” drive.

· Mount the “.iso” file, which was download by the media creation tool.

· Copy all the files from the Virtual DVD to USB Drive that you need to set up as a Bootable USB except the “Autorun.inf” file.

· Rename the “Autorun.inf” file by right-clicking on it.

· Change the file name to “Autorun.txt” and click on the OK button.

· Now, copy this file to the USB drive and rename it again to “Autorun.inf.”

Method 4: Formatting USB as NTFS

You can also format the target USB as NTFS file system and then use the media creation tool without any issue. You can use the Windows inbuilt disk formatting and after formatting the disk, check if the MCT error is resolved:

· Press Windows + E keys combination and then click on This-PC from left navigation bar.

· Here from the list of drivers, select your target USB device. Right-click on it and choose Format from the pop-up menu.

· Now, you need to fill some additional details and check that the format is set as NTFS before proceeding further.

· Once the disk is successfully formatted, run Media Creation Tool and check if the issue is resolved.

Method 5: Use Rufus to create Installation Media

You can also use Rufus, which is a utility tool for formatting and creating bootable USB flash drives. This tool is a best Windows Media Creation Tool alternative. It is very fast in speed and fixes other issues such as flashing BIOS or working on a system without any OS. To use Rufus, you need to run your device as an administrator.