How to Create Windows Installation Media for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool

If you want to create Windows 8.1 and 10 installation media using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool, this article will show you how.

Table of Contents

1. Before You Begin
2. Creating Windows 8.1 Media
3. Creating Windows 10 Media

1. Before You Begin

You can download the Media Creation Tool directly from Microsoft (Relevant links are below depending on Version). This tool will work on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10.  It is not necessary to enter your Windows product key when creating the Install Media or ISO File.

Before you start here is what you may need:

• You will need a computer with a stable internet connection. The download is roughly 4 GB and the time it will take to download will vary based on your connection speed and other factors.
• You will need a USB flash drive with at least 4 GB of space. Microsoft recommend using an empty drive as any existing content will be deleted.

• A blank DVD with a DVD writer. This requires a DVD writer on the system you're using to create the media, and a DVD player on the system that you want to install on.

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2. Creating Windows 8.1 Media

These steps as an example, will create a USB flash drive for installing Windows 8.1 media. Please follow these steps:

1. Download the Windows 8.1 Media-Creation-Tool  directly from Microsoft.

2. Right click on the mediacreationtool.exe file that has downloaded and select "Run as administrator"

3. Choose the language, edition and architecture for the media you wish to create:

Figure 1: Windows Installation Media Creation Tool settings selection screen

4. In the next Window, choose the type of installation media:

Figure 2: Windows Installation Media Creation Tool save location screen

5. Choose the USB flash drive which you want to use as installation media. Confirm the pop-up message.

Figure 3: Windows Installation Media Creation Tool USB formatting warning

6. In the next step, the download for the setup file starts and a USB flash drive will be created:

Figure 4: Windows Installation Media Creation Tool USB download screen

With the created USB flash drive you are now able to clean install your Windows 8.1. You can find a step-by-step guide for a clean installation of Windows 8.1 in this article.

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3. Creating Windows 10 Media

If you need to install or reinstall Windows 10, you can use the Windows 10 media creation tool to create your own installation media using either a USB flash drive or a DVD.

1. Download the relevant version from www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10 

2. Select the appropriate version for the system you will be running the tool on, either a 32-bit or 64-bit system.

Note: Either version of the tool will allow you create a 32-bit or 64-bit image

3. Locate the downloaded file, Right click on the .exe file and select "Run as administrator"

4. If you are upgrading your system, select Upgrade this PC now, and follow the instructions to complete the upgrade.

5. If you wish to create media for a different system, select Create installation media for another PC, and click Next

6. Select the Language, Edition (Pro, Home etc) and Architecture (32 or 64-bit) and click Next

7. Select either USB flash drive or ISO file (This would need to be burned to a DVD after the ISO file is created)

Note:
If a USB flash drive is selected, ALL data will be wiped, and the drive should be at least 4Gb in size.

If an ISO is created then this will either be mounted, or burned onto a DVD.

8. After the image is downloaded and the media is created, select Finish.

9. The tool will clean up any temporary files and exit

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