Media Creation Tool error 0x80042405 blocks Windows 10 v1903 install

Vlad Turiceanu
by Vlad Turiceanu
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Passionate about technology, Windows, and everything that has a power button, he spent most of his time developing new skills and learning more about the tech world. Coming from a solid background in PC... Read more
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solve Media Creation Tool error 0x80042405 - 0xA001B

If you’ve ever upgraded your Windows PC or made a bootable USB drive to install Windows 10 v1903 on another PC, then you know what Media Creation Tool is and what it does.

Although this is a very useful tool and can help you a lot in certain situations, in some cases it causes more problems than it solves.

That’s the case with the 0x80042405 – 0xA001B error which appears when you want to create a bootable USB drive with Windows 10 v1903 update.

Here’s how one user describes it:

I download the tool to the desktop. I’m on an Admin account. I insert a 16GB thumb drive. I format it. I start the tool. I point it to the thumb drive. During the phase where the files are copied to the USB, I get some [..] error like this:

And this is the OP’s screenshot: Media Creation Tool error 0x80042405 - 0xA001B

This is a pretty common error and many Windows 10 users are getting frustrated by it.

Can I solve the 0x80042405 – 0xA001B error easily?

There are a few solutions to get past the 0x80042405 – 0xA001B error, but first you should check out this quick guide where we covered a similar error with Media Creation tool.

Try those solutions and see if any of them work. If the issue is still present, there are a couple of other things that you could try.

Run the Media Creation tool in Elevated mode

You can do this by simply right-clicking  on the executable file and selecting Run as administrator.When the UAC prompt appears, click OK and let the tool do its job.

Nothing happens when you click on Run as administrator? Don’t worry, we’ve got the solution right here.

Use Diskpart

  1. In the Windows search box type cmd, right-click the first result, and select Run as administrator.
  2. Run Diskpart then type list disk. Write down or remember the number of your USB drive.(for example, we’ll use Disk 1)
  3. Now type these commands one by one:
    • select disk 2 <enter>
    • clean<enter>
    • convert mbr <enter>
    • create partition primary <enter>
    • format fs=fat32 quick <enter>
    • active<enter>
    • assign<enter>

After doing this, your USB drive with the Windows 10 v1903 should work just fine and the 0x80042405 – 0xA001B error in Media Creation tool should be gone.

If you have any other questions or maybe an alternative solution, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section below.

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