WIndows 10 Media Creation Tool failed to run (error code 0x80072f8f - 0x20000)

[JohnJSal]

Hi all. I'm finally getting around to installing Windows 10, so I started by downloading the Media Creation Tool. When I try to run it, I get the message in the attached image.

Can anyone help me figure out what to do so I can create the bootable USB drive?

Thanks!

 

[JohnJSal]

UPDATE

I just wanted to share the solution that I found for this problem! There are lots of suggestions, like run the program as administrator, clear out the files in the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder, etc., but none seem to work for anyone who has tried them. (Nor for me as far as what I tried.)

But this solution seems to explain the real cause of the problem and how to fix it! It's definitely worth trying if you have this issue. It worked for me, and I now have the USB drive created!

Markus Kuhn

Some server that the MediaCreationTool21H2.exe tries to talk to apparently no longer speaks the old TLS 1.0 security protocol, but Windows 7 SP1 still has the newer TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 disabled by default, resulting in this error code right at the start. So I had to first run the “Easy fix 51044” MSI to make a few registry changes to enable the more recent TLS versions, and then Media Creation Tool - error code 0X80072F8F - 0X20000 no longer appeared.

The newer operating system booted from the installation ISO image won't have that TLS-version limitation, so using that should be another solution to the same problem.

Details:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...4bd73d2-31d7-761e-0178-11268bb10392#bkmk_easy

source link

 

[johnb35]

Good to know. Would be nice if we could somehow create a thread with errors like this and the way to fix them. That way it would be easy to refer back to them with ease. Problem is, not a lot of machines still run windows 7 and they dwindle daily.

 

[Okedokey]

Good to know. Would be nice if we could somehow create a thread with errors like this and the way to fix them. That way it would be easy to refer back to them with ease. Problem is, not a lot of machines still run windows 7 and they dwindle daily.

No user intervention is required if Windows updates are installed John. Making sure SP1 and all WUs are installed would've sorted this.

Update to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows - Microsoft Support

Describes an update that adds TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 to default security protocols in Windows Server 2012, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

support.microsoft.com

To the OP, download the Windows 10 / 11 ISO to your desktop with the MS Media Creation tool BUT, download the ISO.



Then use Rufus to install it to your USB. Much faster as it uses direct machine level access to the disk, unlike the Windows tool. It also provides an option to remove TMP requirements for Win 11.

 

[JohnJSal]

No user intervention is required if Windows updates are installed John. Making sure SP1 and all WUs are installed would've sorted this.

I had SP1 installed. I tried other suggestions like this as well, but nothing worked but the above. Hopefully it helps someone else if they run into the same issue.

 

[Okedokey]

That's interesting. Glad you're sorted.