Windows is one of the most popular operating systems in the world. While Microsoft has put a significant amount of work into its flagship operating system to make the user experience as smooth as possible, a few bugs and glitches still appear.
The last resort to fix any Windows issue is reinstalling the operating system. Microsoft has made the Media Creation Tool to make this process easy, however, it isn’t perfect.
In this article, we’re talking about the Media Creation Tool error code 0x80072f8f – 0x20000, its causes, and how you can fix the problem.
Also read: How to fix Windows 2000 runtime error?
What causes this error code?
The error can be triggered by a number of issues. Some of the most common causes include:
- The Media Creation Tool isn’t running with administrator privileges.
- TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 are disabled.
- Internet connectivity issues.
- Media Creation Tool is incompatible with your version of Windows.
How to fix this?
Here are eight fixes you can try out.
Restart your router
Power cycling your network equipment is the fix to more issues than you can think. More often than not, connectivity issues can be caused by an underlying bug in your router and can be fixed by rebooting.
Run the Media Creation Tool with administrator privileges
Another potential fix is to run the Media Creation Tool with administrator privileges. While the tool should run with administrator privileges by default, you can manually do the same to resolve any improper access issues.
Check out our detailed guide on how to run programs with administrator privileges in Windows.
Enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2
Not having the required TLS versions enabled on your PC can also cause a bit of a problem with the Media Creation Tool. To do so, just open a notepad file and enter the following text.
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
Save the file with a .reg extension and double-click it to update the changes in the registry. Restarting your computer after this should fix the issue.
Clear corrupt data caches
Certain Windows Update components, if corrupted, can cause errors with the Media Creation Tool. You can fix this by clearing any corrupt data caches that Windows might have.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + X to open the Quick Access menu and click on Command Prompt (Admin).
Step 2: Run the following commands, one at a time and press enter after each one.
net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver
pause
Exit
Restart your PC and try to run the tool again.
Clear the SoftwareDistribution folder
As an extension to the previous solution, corrupt Windows update files can also impact the tool. Try removing them to see if that helps.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + R to open the Run prompt. Type C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution and hit enter.
Step 2: Delete the contents of this folder.
Restart your PC and you should be good to go.
Perform a Disk Cleanup
Disk Cleanup is an integral feature of Windows. It can help iron out many issues that may otherwise impact your system’s performance, including repairing any processes causing the error.
You can refer to this article for more information on Disk Cleanup
Run the Windows Memory Diagnostics tool
If your RAM is seated properly but is failing, it can trigger this error. To check if there’s an issue with your RAM, follow these steps.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for Windows Memory Diagnostics. Then, click the corresponding search result.
Step 2: Run the tool and click the Restart now button to check for problems.
If you see some issues, try running the auto-troubleshoot to resolve the error.
Perform a clean boot
To isolate the problem, perform a clean boot and then start the missing processes one at a time to find your culprit.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for System Configuration.
Step 2: Head over to the Services tab.
Step 3: Uncheck the Hide all Microsoft Services checkbox. Now click the Disable All button.
Step 4: Head to the Startup tab and click on Open Task Manager.
Step 5: Click the Startup tab again, select all the services and click the Disable button.
Now restart the computer and launch the services one at a time to find the problematic service.
Also read: Fix: Windows wslregisterdistribution failed with error: 0x80370102
