Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool: How to Download and How to Use (a Complete Guide)

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What Is Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool
How to Download Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool
How to Use Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool to Create a Bootable USB
How to Use Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool to Upgrade Windows 10
How to Upgrade System Disk Without Downloading Windows 10

What Is Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool

Microsoft offers a Windows 10 Media Creation Tool that allows users to upgrade a PC, perform a clean install, create a bootable installation USB drive, DVD, or ISO file to install Windows 10 on another PC.

The Windows 10 Media Creation Tool is free and simple to use, allowing users to download the operating system and create installation media, such as a USB drive or CD/DVD, for a clean installation of Windows 10.

How to Download Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool

You can download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's official website.

Free download Windows 10 Media Creation Tool

The download file is less than 20M, allowing for quick downloads. Additionally, the file is a standalone application, so no installation is required after downloading, and it can be started or transferred directly.

You can now use the Media Creation Tool to create a Windows 10 bootable USB or upgrade your current PC to the latest version using the tool.

How to Use Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool to Create a Bootable USB

The Windows 10 Media Creation Tool allows users to create bootable installation media, such as a USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file, to install Windows 10 on another PC.

Requirements:

A PC with a stable internet connection for the download.
A USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of space or a blank DVD is required for the task. This is to ensure that there is sufficient storage capacity to hold the necessary files and data for the task.
When burning a DVD from an ISO file, a large disc image file may not fit on a standard single-layer DVD, so you'll need to use dual-layer (DL) DVD media to accommodate it.

To create a USB installation media, follow these steps: download the Windows 10 ISO file from Microsoft's official website, verify the download using the SHA-1 or SHA-256 hash values, and then use a tool like Rufus or Etcher to create a bootable USB drive from the ISO file. Alternatively, you can use the Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB drive, which is a more user-friendly option.

Step 1.Run the MediaCreationTool exe file and click "Accept" to agree to the license terms.

Step 2.On the Windows 10 Setup screen, select the option to create installation media for another PC, then click Next.

Step 3.To create a customized version of Windows 10, choose a language, edition, and architecture, and then select the desired options from the dropdown menus. If you want to use different specifications than the ones currently on your computer, uncheck the "Use the recommended options for this PC" box and make your selections. Click "Next" to proceed.

Step 4. I can do that. You can choose to either write the installation media to a USB flash drive or burn it to a CD/DVD.

USB flash driveConnect a blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space to your computer.
ISO fileAfter downloading an ISO file, you can save it to your PC and use it to create a DVD. To do this, go to the location where the file is saved and use the Windows Disk Image Burner to create an installation DVD with simple steps.

Step 5.Create a Windows 10 installation USB drive by downloading the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's website, running the tool, selecting the language, architecture, and file type, and then clicking "Next" > "Finish" to create the USB installation drive. Wait for the process to complete, then follow the guide to install Windows 10 from the bootable USB on a new PC.

How to Use Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool to Upgrade Windows 10

You can use this Media Creation Tool to upgrade your Windows 10 to the latest version or upgrade Windows 7/Windows 8 to Windows 10.

Step 1.Run the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool on your PC and accept the license terms.

Step 2. Select "Upgrade this PC now" and click "Next". The Media Creation Tool will download Windows 10 to your PC, which may take a long time. Be patient.

Step 3.When the download is complete, you can start installing Windows 10. At the "Ready to install" screen, you can choose to "Change what you want to keep" to customize your installation.

Step 4.During the upgrade, you'll need to choose what to keep: "Keep personal files and apps", "Keep personal files only", or "Nothing". Once you've made your selection, click "Next" to proceed.

Step 5.The Windows 10 installation process will begin after clicking Install.

How to Upgrade System Disk Without Downloading Windows 11/10

To upgrade or replace your system disk, you'll need to download and install Windows 10, in addition to upgrading your system and creating an installation disk. This is especially important if you're upgrading from a traditional HDD to a faster SSD.

To upgrade your system disk more efficiently, consider migrating your OS to a faster SSD or a larger HDD using Qiling Partition Master, a powerful disk management tool that offers full-around partition solutions.

- Qiling Partition Master -

Your Smart Windows 11 Update Disk Manager

MBR to GPT Converter, Make Disk Ready for Windows 11.
Migrate Windows 11 to New SSD in 1-Click.
Handy to Extend orCombine Partitions in Windows 11.
Clone and Upgrade Disks without Data Loss.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Qiling Partition Master offers a range of features, including creating, resizing/moving, merging, wiping, and formatting partitions. In addition to these basic hard drive management functions, it also provides advanced capabilities.

Migrate OS: Copy OS to HDD or SSD without reinstalling Windows.
Clone disk: Clone an entire disk to another in the same disk layout without any data loss, including cloning a larger HDD to a smaller SSD.
Disk/Partition convert: You can convert a logical partition to primary or primary partition to logical, FAT to NTFS partition, MBR disk to GPT, or GPT disk to MBR using the appropriate commands in a command prompt or disk management tool. For example, to convert a logical partition to primary, you can use the `convert` command in a command prompt: `convert logicaldrive: primary`.

To migrate Windows 10 to a new drive, download a partition management program and follow the step-by-step guides to transfer the operating system to the desired partition.

Note:When migrating your OS to an SSD or HDD, be aware that the process will delete and remove existing partitions and data on the target disk if there's not enough unallocated space. This means any saved data on the target disk will be lost, so it's crucial to back up important files to an external hard drive beforehand.

Step 1.Select "System clone" from the tools page, then click "Next" to proceed.

Step 2.Select the SSD or HDD as the destination disk and click "Next" to proceed with the installation.

Step 3. The system will delete all data and partitions on the target disk, so please make sure to back up any important data before proceeding. If you haven't already, do so now. Then, click "Continue" to proceed with the disk deletion.

Step 4. To prepare your target disk for OS migration, preview its layout and customize it as desired. Once satisfied, click "Proceed" to initiate the migration process.

Summary

Here are the complete guides to Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool in one paragraph: The Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool is a free tool that allows users to create a bootable USB drive or CD/DVD to install Windows 11/10. It can be downloaded from Microsoft's official website and used to create a bootable media, which can then be used to install Windows 11/10 on a PC. The tool is a convenient way to install Windows 11/10 on a new PC or to repair an existing one, and it's a great alternative to using a physical installation media. To use the tool, simply download it, run it, and follow the prompts to create the bootable media.

The Windows 11/10 Media Creation Tool can be used to upgrade Windows 11/10, do a clean install, or create a bootable installation USB drive or ISO file to install Windows 11/10 on another PC.

If Windows 10 downloading is taking too long, you can use a disk management software to quickly transfer Windows 11/10 to your system disk, upgrading your system.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure