(Solved) Media Creation Tool Error 0X80072F8F – 0X20000

The error may arise due to essential services not starting correctly, conflict of applications, and interference of the third-party antivirus, which prevents the installation of Windows. These are the most common contributor factors that can trigger 0X80072F8F – 0X20000.

More reasons can be included for causing this issue. We have listed some main of them below:-

• Not having Administrator Privileges- If you do not have proper administrator privileges, you may not be able to install Windows. Without administrator privileges, you cannot make significant changes to your system.
• TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 are Turned Off- TLS provides security for sending data to applications on the internet. As per the research, if the TSL1.1 and TSL 1.2 are disabled, you might face this Error Code 0X80072F8F – 0X20000 while upgrading Windows to the latest.
• Incompatible System Requirements- Having conflicting system requirements can also run users into this issue, so ensure you are not missing any requirements that can cause problems.
• Absence Of Essential Services- If the Windows services don’t start properly at the startup, many problems may occur such as this one.
• Unstable Internet Connection- If your internet is not stable, you may likely get errors like this. So if the internet causes this issue, you have to wait until the internet gets stable.

1. Check Minimum Requirements

Having incompatible system specifications can lead you to this error code. Make sure you are compatible with the minimum requirements of the operating system. You can search on Google to check the minimum requirements.

2. Make sure the Internet Connection is Stable.

The error may arise due to an unresponsive or unstable internet connection. You can check internet speed through your browser. If your internet speed is less than 2 Mbps, you are suffering from a bad network connection. If the speed is good, you can proceed to other solutions; otherwise, wait for the internet to stabilise.

3. Run as Administrator

For doing the significant changes to the computer system, it is mandatory to have proper administrator privileges because when the users don’t have administrator privileges on their accounts, they might not be able to complete major tasks.

Here are the steps to run the programs in administrator mode:-

Right-click on Media Creation Tool and select Run as Administrator from the listed options.

4. Edit Registry File

If we look into the forums, modifying the registry files will help in eliminating Error code 0X80072F8F – 0X20000. To do this, you have to enter into the Registry a database for the operating system to store low-level settings. It is best to create a registry backup before proceeding because if something goes wrong, you will atleast have a backup to restore it. Here are the steps:-

1. Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously to open a run dialog box
2. Type regedit in the box and press Enter
   

   

3.  Once the Registry is opened, navigate to the following path

   Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update

4. Now right-click on the empty space and hover the over New
5. Select DWORD (32-bit) from the listed option and name it as AllowOSUpgrade
   

   

6. Double click on the file and change its value data to 1

   

7. Once done, press OK to save the changes then check if the issue persists.

5. Perform Clean Boot

Performing a clean boot is the process that is used to eliminate software and driver conflicts. It is a way to start Windows with the essential services and minimum drivers. By performing a clean boot, you can resolve Error Code 0X80072F8F – 0X20000. Here is how you can do this:-

1. Click the Start Menu, and type Msconfig in the search bar

   

2. Open system Configuration and select the Selective Startup, then untick the option Load Startup Items
   

   

3. After that, go to the Services tab from the top and tick the option Hide All Microsoft Services
4. Then click Disable All from the right and press OK
   

   

5. Once done, restart your computer and check if the Error code 0X80072F8F – 0X20000 is resolved

6. Clear the Software Distribution Folder

A Software Distribution is a folder that stores temporary Windows files that may require installing Windows Updates. If we look from the other side, sometimes the system cannot access Windows Updates files, which can cause this Error code 0X80072F8F – 0X20000. So clearing the software distribution folder may resolve this issue. Below are the steps:-

1. Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously to launch the Run Window.
2. Type the following path and hit enter or copy and paste it into the box

   C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download

   

3. Here delete all the files by pressing Ctrl + A and then the Delete button on the keyboard

   

4. Once you deleted them, click Start Menu and type Command Prompt, then right-click command prompt and choose Run as Administrator
   

   

5. Once the command prompt loads up put the following command and hit enter

   wuauclt.exe /updatenow

   

6. Once done, restart your computer for the changes to take effect and check if the Media Creation Tool Error code 0X80072F8F – 0X20000 persists.

7. Enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2

TLS or Transport Layer Security 1.1 and 1.2 are the security protocol versions used to establish encrypted connections to send data into the applications over the network. It has been seen that the error can occur due to disabled TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2. To fix this, you must enable it by following the instructions below:-

1. Create a Registry Backup first, then open the notepad and paste the code mentioned below

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\WinHttp]
   "DefaultSecureProtocols"=dword:00000a00
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\WinHttp]
   "DefaultSecureProtocols"=dword:00000a00
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Client]
   "DisabledByDefault"=dword:00000000
   "Enabled"=dword:00000001
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client]
   "DisabledByDefault"=dword:00000000
   "Enabled"=dword:00000001

2. After copying the code, click File from the top then click Save As
   

   

3. Save the file with the .reg extension.
4. Once done, double-click on the file to apply the settings in the Registry

   

5. Click Yes if asked for confirmation and restart Windows, then check if the issue gets resolved.
6. For Windows 7 users, download the KB3140245 package from Microsoft that comes with TLS 1.1 and 1.2

8. Restart Relevant Windows Services

Another solution for this is restarting the Windows update service. If the Windows Update service gets stopped due to a conflict of services, this error may appear on the screen. Below are the steps to restart the Windows update:-

1. Press Windows + R keys to open the Run Dialog Box
2. Type services.msc and press Enter
   

   

3. Once the service page opened, please scroll down to Windows Update service and right-click on it to select Properties
   

   

4. Now change the startup type from Manual to Automatic
5. If the service is stopped, click on the Start button, then click Apply and press OK
   

   

6. Now repeat the same process for the mentioned services below

   Background Intelligent Transfer Service
   Server
   Workstation
   TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
   IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules

9. Reset Windows Update Component Services

If none of the methods worked, you could try resetting the Windows Update Component, which is used to update the operating system. Follow the steps to reset Windows component services:-

1. Click Start Menu, and type Command Prompt
2. Right-click on the command prompt and choose Run as Administrator
   

   

3. Now insert the following commands to reset Windows services

   net stop bits
   net stop wuauserv
   net stop appidsvc
   net stop cryptsvc

   

10. Run Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a utility introduced to counter any corruption in Windows that may lead to errors. It is also used to free up the space by removing the unnecessary files, cache files and the files you rejected, which end up in the recycle bin. Below are the steps to run the Disk Cleanup utility.

1. Open File Explorer and right-click on C Drive
2. Select Properties from the options menu

   

3. Click Disk Cleanup and wait for the page to load up
4. Check mark all the files and press OK to delete

   

5. Once done, check if the issue persists.

11. Download Windows ISO File

Another solution for this issue is downloading the ISO file from the official website. Downloading the Windows IS0 file will fix this issue. below are the steps that will help you in this:-

1. Download the IOS file of the operating system from the Windows Media Creation Tool
2. Once the download is finished, right-click on it and select Mount
   

   

3. Now run the Windows setup as an administrator, and this will start upgrading Windows to the latest.

12. Install Windows Using External Device

You can install Windows from an external device such as a mobile, laptop or computer. We have mentioned the steps for both devices, that may help you to install Windows through external devices.

12.1. Install Windows Using Mobile Phone

1. Download Windows Media Creation Tool
2. Once the downloading is finished, run the media creation tool
3. Accept the notices and license terms, then select the radio option named Create Installation Media for Another PC and press Next
   

   

4. On the next screen, make sure the option Use the recommended options for this PC is checked, then click Next
   

   

5. Select the option named IOS File and click Next
   

   

6. Choose the destination where you want to install Windows ISO File

   

7. Once done, click Save, and it will start creating Windows ISO.
8. Now it’s time to transfer the Windows ISO file to your mobile phone. Use the USB cable to transfer the file to an easily remembered folder.
9. Once you transfer it, download DriveDroid

   

10. Open the DriveDroid, and it will request the root access that you will grant

    

11. Now tap on CONFIGURE IMAGE DIRECTORY and select the folder where you copied the Windows ISO file

    

12. Now connect your mobile phone to your computer and choose the Standard Android Kernel
    

    

13. On the next screen, select Android Shows Up On OS and click Next
    

    

    Note: If the device does not appear on your computer, then select Choose a Different USB System and try again

14. Select Booted Successfully using DriveDroid then click Next. Again click Next to finish the process
15. Now go back to the homepage where Windows 10 ISO might already feature. If not, then tap the Gear Icon from the top right corner and select Image Directories
    

    

16. Select the last directory and tap the red circle icon from the bottom right corner then browse the folder which contains the ISO file. Select ISO file.

    

17. Go back to the DriveDroid homepage
18. Then, select the Windows ISO file and choose Host Image Using CD-ROM
    

    

19. After that, connect your device to the computer with the USB cable and shut down your computer
20. Now turn on the computer and enter a boot menu by pressing the shortcut keys. Usually, F10, F11, F12, and Delete keys are used to access the boot menu
21. Note: If you cannot find it, you may need to visit the manufacturer’s website.
22. When the boot menu opens, select the boot device named similar to Linux File-CD Gadget, or it can be named as your mobile name
23. After that, Windows will boot normally, and you can install a clean version of your Windows.

    

12.2. Install Windows from the other Computer

1. Download Windows Media Creation Tool and run it on your computer
2. Accept the terms and conditions and select Create Create Installation Media for Another PC and press Next
   

   

3. Make sure the option named Use the recommended options for this PC is checked
4. Leave the USB Flash Drive is selected and press Next
   

   

5. It should Start downloading Windows OS. Once done, unplug the USB flash drive from the computer and plug it into the problematic computer
6. Shutdown, the computer, then turn it on
7. Once the loading screen appears, press the Boot Menu keys on the keyboard, such as F12 and Delete. If you are not sure, you can go to your manufacturer’s website
8. Once the boot menu loads up, select the USB pen driver

   

9. Then Window will boot, and you can install a clean version of the Windows OS.