6 Ways to Overcome 0x80072f8f - 0x20000 in Windows

 If the error code 0x80072f8f – 0x20000 keeps appearing when you use the installation media, here's how to get it working again.

The Windows Media Creation Tool prepares installation media for upgrading a PC or creating a USB drive to perform a clean install of Windows. It is the perfect tool to make sure users are using the latest Windows version.

However, there are times when users may encounter errors when using the Media Creation Tool. One such error is the error code 0x80072f8f – 0x20000, which appears when the user tries to launch the MediaCreationTool.exe file. Below, you will find some effective troubleshooting methods that will help fix this problem in no time.

1. Run Media Creation Tool As Administrator

Certain programs and processes on the Windows operating system require admin privileges to perform their tasks properly. If they are not allowed to use this right, you will likely encounter an error code like this.

So, the first thing you need to do if you encounter error code 0x80072f8f – 0x20000 when trying to use the Media Creation Tool is run the file as administrator.

If insufficient permissions are causing problems, this should be easy to fix. Follow these steps to run the file as administrator:

Run Media Creation Tool As Administrator

1. Right click on the targeted file and select Run as administrator from the context menu.

2. Click Yes in the confirmation prompt and check if the file is running without issue now.

If the error persists, it indicates that there is another cause behind it. In that case, proceed with the next method.

2. Use a Different USB Port

Oftentimes, wrong ports cause problems during installation media creation. There are several ways to test if a USB port is damaged. You can start by switching to another port and checking if the USB is working fine there. You can also try using the same USB on another device and see if it works fine there.

3. Modify Windows Registry

Making some changes in the Windows Registry to allow the Media Creation Tool to run smoothly is another potential fix you can try. The Windows Registry is a powerful administrative-level utility and stores information about your operating system's programs and processes.

Information here is stored as keys and values. You can modify the relevant key/values to suit your system's processes, which is exactly what we'll be doing in this method.

However, before you proceed with this method, we highly recommend creating a Registry backup. This will help you restore your system state if something goes wrong during the process. Once you have backed up, follow these steps:

Change Windows Registry

1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.

2. Type regedit in Run and click Enter.

3. Once you are in the Registry Editor, navigate to the location “Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update“.

4. Right click in an empty area in the right pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value from the context menu.

5. Name this value as AllowOSUpgrade.

6. Double click on AllowOSUpgrade and type 1 under Value data.

7. Press OK and close Registry Editor.

You can now restart your PC and after rebooting, check if the Media Creation Tool is working properly.

4. Delete the Contents of the Software Distribution Folder

Another solution that worked for users was to delete the contents of the Software Distribution Folder folder. This folder contains temporary files that may interfere with the Media Creation Tool process. If this is the case, follow the steps below to delete the contents of the Software Distribution Folder.

Delete Software Distribution Folder Contents

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the location “C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download“.

2. Select all the contents of the Downloads folder and right-click on it. Click the trash icon in the context menu to delete it.

3. After you delete the file, type cmd in the taskbar search area and select Run as administrator.

4. Type the command “wuauclt.exe /updatenow” in the Command Prompt window and press Enter.

Wuauclt CMD

After the process is complete. Then, restart your PC and try running the Media Creation Tool again.

5. Enable Relevant Services

Programs and processes on the Windows operating system require relevant services to function properly. If any of the relevant services is disabled or corrupted, the program will fail to function.

For example, the Windows Update process requires Windows Update services to run. If these services settings are not configured properly, you will fail to install the latest updates. Similarly, the Media Creation Tool is related to the following services, and they should work properly for you to use them:

*Windows Update

* Background Intelligent Transfer Service

* Servers

* Workstations

* TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper

* IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules

In this method, we will make sure that these services are configured accurately, and we will use Windows Update services to show the steps.

Enable Relevant Services

1. Open the Run dialog by pressing Win + R keys.

2. Type services.msc in the dialog and press Enter. This should launch Windows Services.

3. In the following window, right-click on the Windows Update service and select Properties from the context menu.

4. In the Properties dialog, change the Startup type to Automatic.

5. If the service is stopped, click the Start button and select Apply > OK to save changes.

6. Repeat the same steps for the rest of the services mentioned above.

Once done, check if you can run the Media Creation Tool without any issues now.

6. Disable antivirus

If you are using a third-party antivirus on Windows, there are chances that it is blocking the Media Creation Tool process because of a false alarm. To check if this is the case, you can disable or uninstall your antivirus then run the Media Creation Tool.

If an antivirus program is the culprit, then we suggest switching to another similar service for better performance.

Conclusion

So that's how to solve 0x80072f8f – 0x20000 in Windows. The Media Creation Tool is without a doubt one of the most useful and easy-to-use tools offered by Microsoft for Windows. Hopefully you can use the troubleshooting methods listed above without any problems.