Complete Guide to Windows 10 Media Creation Tool

Did your PC come with an installation DVD for Windows 10? No, my computer didn’t either. Installation discs for Windows 10 are now only ever obtained if you specifically purchase a retail copy of the OS in a store. If you purchase a new PC with Windows 10 preinstalled, you won’t get a disc, if you took advantage of the free upgrade offer from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you won’t get a disc either.

If something really goes wrong with Windows 10, however, and you haven’t created a USB Recovery Drive (which you did, right!?), Windows 10 needs to be completely reinstalled. If you don’t have access to a Windows 10 installer download from the volume licensing program or Microsoft’s MSDN web site, or if the A-Team isn’t available (though they probably wouldn’t be able to help much either if I’m honest), you can create your own installer, either on a DVD or on a USB Flash Drive, at any time.

This can come in handy even if you do have an installation DVD for Windows 10. For one thing, this is because the DVD might contain the wrong version of Windows (Pro when you need Home, for example) but a DVD might also not be much use if you need to reinstall Windows on a tablet or Ultrabook that doesn’t come with an optical drive. For another, a download from Microsoft will always be of the most recent version of Windows 10, whereas the one on your DVD might require several years of additional patches and updates.

NOTE: If you need to reinstall Windows on a tablet that does not have a full-size USB port compatible with your Flash Drive, you can purchase what’s called an “on-the-go” (OTG) adapter cable from good retailers.

How to Download Windows 10 Media Creation Tool?

You can download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool free and at any time from official website. This tool will ask you if you want to upgrade the current PC or create installation media for another (which includes the current) PC.

This tool will ask you if you want to upgrade the current PC or create installation media for another (which includes the current) PC.

You will be asked what language you want Windows 10 to be, what edition of Windows you want (note if it just says Windows 10 it will create media that includes both the Home and Pro versions), and if you want the 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) version.

You will then be asked if you want to create a USB Flash Drive (which must be at least 3GB in size, preferably 4GB or slightly more) or download an ISO (disc image) file. Once you have selected an option, you will either be promoted to insert a USB Flash Drive, which will be formatted by the utility, so make sure there’s nothing on it you want to keep, or an ISO file will be downloaded.

Note: If you need to perform a format
and clean reinstall of Windows 10, and Windows 10 has previously been installed
and activated on the PC, you will not need to enter your product key during the
installation process as the OS will recognize the PC and activate automatically
when it next goes online. At the product key request page of the installation
process, simply click the skip button, and continue the installation normally.

If you want to then create a bootable DVD from the ISO file, right-click it in File Explorer and you will see Burn disc image appear in the context list of options, see Figure  2-15 . You will be prompted to choose the DVD or Blu-ray drive in your PC and to insert a blank disc.