Solved I cannot create an ISO

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

I have tried more than once, using Media Creation Tool for Windows 11 23H2, and every time it crashes with the notification that it does not have sufficient space. I was watching the progress as it was copying the ISO to the H drive, and around perhaps 85% (I am not certain about that,) suddenly the folder in H disappeared.

According to what I found on-line, the USB should be at least 8GB, or perhaps 16GB. The H drive has 116GB available. I am getting quite frustrated by this process; I expected to have installed a fresh copy of Windows 11 on the Dell XPS 8950 that will soon be used by my wife. Instead, I have spent the last few hours trying to create the ISO.

What is going on what can I do to finally create a bootable USB?

A short while later: I decided to use Rufus to format the H drive as non-bootable just to be sure nothing invisible might be there, whereupon Rufus said "Another program or process is accessing this drive. Do you want to . format it anyway?" I rebooted and got the same message, and now when I try to start Rufus, I get "Other instance detected X
Another Rufus application is running.
Please close the first application before running another one."

What is this about, what do I need to do? Why is this happening?

Why everything else?...

glasskuter · Dec 14, 2023

Download the iso file and use Rufus to create install usb.

Download Windows 11

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Rufus: Create bootable USB drives the easy way

rufus.ie

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

glasskuter said:
Download the iso file and use Rufus to create install usb.

Download Windows 11

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Rufus: Create bootable USB drives the easy way

rufus.ie

I thought about that, but I was following the MS instructions, which may have been a bad idea. Of course, as you can see by my edited initial post, at the moment I can not do so.

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

Bastet said:
Are you trying to move the iso to a USB drive? That wouldn’t create a bootable USB. The usb needs to be blank as well.
You would need to choose creature usb media within the media tool to do that or create an .iso file to burn to a DVD disc.

The USB certainly looks blank, but my previous posts says that as of now, I cannot use Rufus to make the USB bootable, if I could ever get the USB populated. I'm using the Create Windows 11 Installation Media section of the MS Download Windows 11 instructions, which has been trying to create the ISO in H drive and has failed twice so far today.

Mega Sigh

Megahertz · Dec 14, 2023

Why don't you let MCT build the Windows 11 USB installation drive.

Is the H drive an internal drive?

I suggest you run check disk on it.
Open a CMD window as administrator and type:
chkdsk c: /scan

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

Megahertz said:
Why don't you let MCT build the Windows 11 USB installation drive.

Is the H drive an internal drive?

I suggest you run check disk on it.
Open a CMD window as administrator and type:
chkdsk c: /scan

What is MCT?

H: is a USB.

And I just saw the lack of space message and an empty H:\ ISB/

Scott · Dec 14, 2023

Not Myself said:
What is MCT?

Media Creation Tool

hsehestedt · Dec 14, 2023

Question: Did you format the flash drive as NTFS?

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

Scott said:
Media Creation Tool

That is what I have been using, Media Creation Tool_Win11_23H2.

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

hsehestedt said:
Question: Did you format the flash drive as NTFS?

In my abject confusion, I am not sure, but I doubt it. It is now.

hsehestedt · Dec 14, 2023

Not Myself said:
In my abject confusion, I am not sure, but I doubt it. It is now.

The reason I ask: Bear in mind that the largest single file size on FAT32 is only 4 GB. You may be getting an error saying that there is not enough simply for that reason.

Try it again with the disk formatted as NTFS. If you find that it will not boot (some systems do not like to boot from NTFS formatted flash drives) then there are alternatives, but let's at least see if you can create the media now.

Megahertz · Dec 14, 2023

I have just downloaded the Windows 11 installation iso from MCT and install.wim is 6GB so the USB must have two partitions, one Fat32 and one NTFS

Download the Windows 11 installation iso from MCT to your main drive.

Lets prepare the USB drive to make it boot able.
Open a CMD window as administrator and type:

diskpart
list disk (it will list all drives. Identify the USB drive number)
select disk n (replace n by the USB drive number obtained with list disk)
clean
convert mbr
create part primary size=1000
select part 1
format fs=fat32 quick
assign
create part primary size=7000
select part 2
format fs=NTFS quick
assign
exit (to exit diskpart)

As you have a pure Sources\install.wim that is bigger than 4G and you want to make a UEFI USB boot able drive you have to split the mounted iso into the Fat32 and the NTFS partition
Right click the Win 10 iso and choose mount. From the virtual disk created, copy all files and folders to a temporary folder.

Copy all files and folders from the temporary folder to the Fat32 partition EXCEPT the /Sources folder
Copy the /Sources from the temporary folder to the NTFS partition
Create on the Fat32 partition a /Sources folder. Move the Boot.wim from the NTFS partition /Sources folder to the Fat32 partition /Sources folder.
Now you can boot the USB as UEFI

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

hsehestedt said:
The reason I ask: Bear in mind that the largest single file size on FAT32 is only 4 GB. You may be getting an error saying that there is not enough simply for that reason.

Try it again with the disk formatted as NTFS. If you find that it will not boot (some systems do not like to boot from NTFS formatted flash drives) then there are alternatives, but let's at least see if you can create the media now

hsehestedt · Dec 14, 2023

Megahertz said:
I have just downloaded the Windows 11 installation iso from MCT and install.wim is 6GB so the USB must have two partitions, one Fat32 and one NTFS

Download the Windows 11 installation iso from MCT to your main drive.

Lets prepare the USB drive to make it boot able.
Open a CMD window as administrator and type:

diskpart
list disk (it will list all drives. Identify the USB drive number)
select disk n (replace n by the USB drive number obtained with list disk)
clean
convert mbr
create part primary size=1000
select part 1
format fs=fat32 quick
assign
create part primary size=7000
select part 2
format fs=NTFS quick
assign
exit (to exit diskpart)

As you have a pure Sources\install.wim that is bigger than 4G and you want to make a UEFI USB boot able drive you have to split the mounted iso into the Fat32 and the NTFS partition
Right click the Win 10 iso and choose mount. From the virtual disk created, copy all files and folders to a temporary folder.

Copy all files and folders from the temporary folder to the Fat32 partition EXCEPT the /Sources folder
Copy the /Sources from the temporary folder to the NTFS partition
Create on the Fat32 partition a /Sources folder. Move the Boot.wim from the NTFS partition /Sources folder to the Fat32 partition /Sources folder.
Now you can boot the USB as UEFI

The method you suggest is my preferred method, in fact, it's the only method I ever use to make physical boot media, however, bear in mind that this is not necessary on many systems. For many systems you can simply create a single NTFS partition, but this won't work on every system.

A good thing about that method noted by Megahertz is that it works on everything.

EDIT: Merely for the sake of completeness, I should also note that there are other workarounds, like spitting the install.wim or install.esd into multiple parts, but that's a topic for another time.

MisterEd · Dec 14, 2023

Media Creation Tool downloads what it needs and creates a bootable flash drive. No ISO is involved. You don't have to do anything with the flash drive except it does have to be formatted. However, Media Creation Tool will reformat it FAT32 when it starts.

BTW, whether the flash drive starts with NTFS or FAT32 makes no difference. MCT will reformat it with FAT32.

2023-12-14 16_36_43-ESD-USB (F_) Properties.jpg

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

This is weird: Having formatted the USB to NTFS, I just came into the computer room to find a message to burn the ISO to a DVD! The reformatted H drive is empty.

DVDs I have, but no experience using the external DVD drive in my new Dell XPS 9860. I clicked on the open the dvd drive option, which did bring up the DVD burner, which proceeded to format a DVD, whereupon the message about the DVD disappeared.

When the DVD was formatted, it told me to drag the file to burner, but I have no idea where the ISO is, which does not exactly help. Everything cannot even find it anywhere: A search for *.iso shows nothing.

Good grief: As I was writing this, the H drive inherited "WIndows", the Disc Image File, 5,529,856KB. I opened Rufus, which found and identified the file as Windows.iso, but when I started it, it said it could not find a target (or words to that effect,) so I guessed it needed another USB. That it did, but sadly when I plugged that supposedly bootable USB into the older computer and turned it on, it ignored the USB.

Obviously closer, thanks to the important change to how I had Rufus set up, and I have to believe that the DVD notice was part of that. This still leaves me needing yet further assistance, please.

hsehestedt · Dec 14, 2023

Have you tried the suggestion provided by Megahertz?

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

MisterEd said:
Media Creation Tool downloads what it needs and creates a bootable flash drive. No ISO is involved. You don't have to do anything with the flash drive except it does have to be formatted. However, Media Creation Tool will reformat it FAT32 when it starts.

BTW, whether the flash drive starts with NTFS or FAT32 makes no difference. MCT will reformat it with FAT32.

View attachment 81267

View attachment 81268

It certainly has not worked that way for me

MisterEd said:
Media Creation Tool downloads what it needs and creates a bootable flash drive. No ISO is involved. You don't have to do anything with the flash drive except it does have to be formatted. However, Media Creation Tool will reformat it FAT32 when it starts.

BTW, whether the flash drive starts with NTFS or FAT32 makes no difference. MCT will reformat it with FAT32.

View attachment 81267

View attachment 81268

It certainly has not worked that way for me, but I shall try yet again. It may not have worked as the USB was not properly formatted to NTFS. (I am NOT arguing with you, and I may well be returning with good news, something that I can certainly use.

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

• Windows 1 1 Setup
X
There was a problem running this tool
We’re not sure what happened, but we’re unable to run this tool on your PC. If you continue experiencing problems, reference the error code when contacting customer support. Error code: Ûx8007007B - ÛxA001 B
im Microsoft Support Legal
Close

Not Myself · Dec 14, 2023

Progress: My ISO Flash Drive was created.

Lack of Progress: I moved the USB from my new computer to the old one, restarted, it, and nothing happened. I tried to find out on-line what to do now, but had no luck.

Yet another question: What do I do now (other than panic)?