Fix: A media driver your computer needs is missing

As time progresses, installing a fresh copy of Windows is becoming a walk in the park. The instructions are crystal clear and what was once only a job of technicians, common people do with ease.

However, when proceeding with the installation, you might encounter the error “a media driver your computer needs is missing”. This error signifies that some of the drivers which are to be booted in the new machine are missing from the installation media (either USB, CD etc.). There are several factors which might be responsible for this error:

• The USB drive which you are using might be malfunctioning and not transfer data to the computer properly.
• The speed on which the DVD or ISO setup was burned was not balanced. It was either too fast or too slow.
• Your system hardware using IDE instead if SATA,
• The media which you downloaded and are going to install is corrupt or not complete.

There are several methods through which u can solve the error message. Start with the first solution and work your way down accordingly.

Solution 1: Replugging the USB device to another port

The simplest workaround is to remove the USB device after pressing cancel and then replugging it into another port. This seems too good to be true but it is. It seems that this error is a bug which arose particularly in the early 2017’s. Follow the steps listed below carefully and work your way down.

1. Press the button “Cancel” on the error message dialogue when it appears.

2. Once you are on the welcome screen, insert the USB into a different port than before. Now click on “Install now” to install a fresh copy of Windows. Hopefully, you will not have to go further and the error will be resolved in this very step.

Tip: You can try plugging the device into a different type of USB port. For example, if you are using a USB 3.0, you should try plugging the stick into 2.0 and see if this brings about any change. Also, try plugging it at the back of your PC.

Solution 2: Checking Hardware Requirements

Of course, you must be using a decent PC which has all the requirements already fulfilled but if you are using an older PC, you should check if Windows 10 is even supported. If the hardware requirements are not met, the operating system will bring up errors like these and consequently, prohibit you from installing the OS.

This is the official documentation from Microsoft’s official website. Make sure your hardware reaches the limits set.

Solution 3: Checking BIOS Settings

Incorrect settings in the BIOS might also be the culprit in causing the error message. There are several cases where the media you are trying to install, don’t have proper support for USB 3.0.

If there are any support settings of USB 3.0 present in the BIOS of your computer, you should change it to Auto. If there is an option to disable, you can do that too.

Another tip is to disable Legacy USB and Legacy BIOS in the BIOS settings if you are trying to install a 64-bit version of Windows. You can also make sure that you enable AHCI before you plug in the installation drive on your computer.

Furthermore, you should make sure that your machine is using IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) mode instead of SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment). You can also try checking the extracted setup. If it is in NTFS format, you should extract the ISO in FAT32 and use the setup to install Windows.

Solution 4: Checking Installation Media

If all the above methods didn’t work, there are chances that the installation media which you are installing is either corrupt or not complete. This has been the case for a number of different users. The download finished as expected but there were missing components in the media.

One way to check if you have the complete and correct package is to compare the size of the .iso file with the one mentioned. If it is different, it probably means you have a corrupt package in your midst and you should try downloading the .iso file again from Microsoft’s official website.

Tip: There were some cases where users reported that using Internet Explorer instead of Chrome fixed the problem for them. Chrome reportedly doesn’t go well with Microsoft’s downloads. If you are still having errors while downloading from Microsoft’s official website, you should try from some other source. Firefox explorer is recommended for downloading huge files.

If you have drivers for your modules such as a driver for chipsets, you can install your SATA drivers from thee. This will fix if there are any problems with the SATA drivers.

Solution 5: Using RUFUS instead of Media Creation Tool

If all the above methods don’t work, the first and foremost steps which you should try is downloading the ISO file again from a verified source and change the source USB to which you are loading the installation media.

If you are still experiencing problems, ditch the media creation tool and try using RUFUS. You check out our detailed article on how to use RUFUS to create installation media on your USB drive.