How To Fix Media Creation Tool Error 0X80072F8F – 0X20000 on Windows 7/8/10/11

If you get the error message “Media Creation Tool Error 0X80072F8F – 0X20000” when installing or opening the Media Creation Tool on your Windows 7, 8, 10 & 11 computer, read the solution carefully given in this article and apply each method step by step. This error may also come when upgrading the Windows OS.

Error Message:
There was a problem running this tool.
Error code: 0X80072F8F - 0X20000

What is Media Creation Tool

Media Creation Tool is a tiny tool that is developed by Microsoft itself. This tool is used for creating bootable Windows USB/DVD drives. By using this tool, you can make a bootable pen drive, and using that pen drive, you can upgrade or install Windows OS.

Generally, this tool runs flawlessly and doesn’t give any errors, but if there is some problem with the OS, you may get Media Creation Tool Error 0X80072F8F – 0X20000.

How to Fix Media Creation Tool Error?

The error code 0X80072F8F – 0X20000 doesn’t give proper details to understand it. It just says “We’re not sure what happened, but we’re unable to run this tool on your PC”.

After researching a lot on this error, we arrived at the conclusion that this error occurs due to missing dll files, corrupted system files, malfunctioning in the Software Distribution folder, bugs in the registry files, etc. Viruses and malware also cause the above error.

Method 1: Fix using the Outbyte PC Repair Tool

Windows is made with huge number of dll files, exe files, sys files, various types of services, databases, etc so, it is not possible to keep monitoring all the files always. A brilliant PC Optimizer tool repairs damages, fix errors, update windows and drivers, and eliminate various types of errors silently.

Outbyte PC Repair Tool does all the above task easily and provides you an errorfree and smooth Windows environment to work so that you can focus on your business only.

3 Steps to Fix this Error
Step 1. Download Outbyte PC Repair Tool [File Size: 16.4 MB]
Step 2. SCAN your Windows PC
Step 3. Click Fix button to Repair Error
System Requirements       Features      Awards      Windows 11/10/8/7 Comaptible

Method 2: Reset Software Distribution Folder

The software distribution folder contains the temporary windows updates files, which may interfere with the Media creation tool. Clean this folder before using the media creation tool. You can do that as follows:

https://www.how2fixerror.com/software-distribution-folder-reset-rename-empty-boss/

Method 3: Update to enable TLS 1.1, TLS 1.2, or TLS 1.3

If you are using the old TLS 1.0 version, then you may receive the error code 0X80072F8F – 0X20000. This is because most of the servers don’t communicate over TLS 1.0, and it requires a more secure protocol than TLS 1.1 and higher.

To rectify this issue, upgrade your TLS version and then try to run the media creation tool. You can upgrade your TLS version as follows:

Step 1: If you are running an older version of an operating system like Windows 7 or Windows Vista, download and install service pack 1. It will install the latest version of TLS on your computer.
Step 2: Go to the Run window by pressing the Win + R and type inetcpl.cpl to open the Internet properties.

open_internet_properties

Step 3: Go to the Advanced tab and scroll down to locate TLS version. Select TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3.

select_tls_version

Step 4: Press Ok to save settings.
Step 5: Reboot the computer and attempt to run Media Creation Tool again.

Method 4: Enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2

This method requires registry file editing which may be risky if anything goes wrong. It is strongly suggested that create and store a backup of the registry file in a safe place before proceeding next.
Step 1: Make a .reg file that will contain manual instructions. Open Notepad and Paste the following command.
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
Step 2: Save the File with the .reg extension. Select All files (*.*) in Save as type box and give any name to the file name with the .reg extension. Here, I am saving it as changeregistry.reg.

save_reg_file

Step 3: Close the Notepad. Go to the .reg file location, double-click on it, and open it. It will ask for administrative permission, click Ok or Yes to proceed. It will automatically add the above entry to the registry file.
Step 4: Reboot your computer to apply the changes.

Method 5: Add AllowOSUpgrade entry to the Registry file.

If the media creation tool is unable to upgrade your PC and shows you the Error code: 0X80072F8F – 0X20000, you must add the “AllowOSUpgrade” entry to the registry file.

Note: Editing the Registry file manually is a bit risky and causes severe computer malfunction. You must keep a backup of the registry file and store it in a safe place.
Step 1: Open Registry Editor. Press Windows key + R to open the Run window. Type regedit and press Ok to open the registry editor.

open registry editor in windows 10 & 11

Step 2: Navigate to the following location:

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

Step 3: Right-click on the empty space ➜ New ➜ DWORD (32-bit) Value.

add_new_dword_value

Step 4: Give the name “AllowOSUpgrade“. Double-click on it and set value 1 and save it.

make_new_key_allowosupgrade

Step 5: Reboot your computer.

It will start the OS upgrade without raising the error 0X80072F8F – 0X20000.

Method 6: Restart Windows Update Service

Restarting the Windows update service might fix the problem as well. You can restart the windows update service either using the Service window or using the command prompt.

Step 1: Open Command as Administrator.

open command prompt as administrator in Windows 8, 10 & 11

Step 2: Run the following commands one by one.
net stop wuauserv
regsvr32 %windir%\system32\wups2.dll
net start wuauserv
Step 3: Close the command window and try to Upgrade OS using the Media creation tool.

Method 7: Start Windows in Clean Boot Mode

If all the above solutions didn’t work for you, then start Windows 8/10/11 in clean boot mode. Sometimes, third-party apps and drivers create problems in Windows updates and upgrades and can cause the Media Creation Tool Error code: 0X80072F8F – 0X20000.

https://www.how2fixerror.com/clean-boot-startup-windows-7-8-10-step-step/

Summary

If you are getting the Media Creation Tool Error code: 0X80072F8F – 0X20000 when creating a bootable USB drive or, upgrading your computer, then read the instructions given in this article to fix this problem.