Download Windows 10 Version 1809 Using the Media Creation Tool

This Version of Windows 10 is obsolete. Windows 10 Version 2004 is now available, I have made an updated guide here including instructions on how too download older versions:

The rest of this guide is obsolete.

Product Key

Windows 10 Installation Media is compatible with Windows 10 OEM, Windows 8.x OEM and Windows 7 OEM Licenses. The installation media created in this guide is multi-edition and will cover all these licenses. Moreover you do not require a Product Key to Download a Windows 10 iso so it will be discussed in more detail whhen I go through Windows Installation.

Downloading the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool

The Windows 10 Media Creation Tool is available to download from here:

If you are not running Windows 7, 8.1 or 10, you will be redirected to a page which offers direct Download Links see Downloading Windows 10 Using Direct Download Links. One can also use the Developer Tools in their browser to force direct download links on Windows 7, 8.1 or 10 which is useful if one experiences an error with the Media Creation Tool. See Downloading Windows 10 Using Direct Download Links.

Double click the Media Creation Tool and select Run As Administrator:

Accept the User Account Control Prompt:

The Windows splash screen will display:

It will say Getting a few things ready:

You'll be shown the License Agreement Screen which you'll need to Accept:

It'll get a few things ready again:

Select Create Installation Media – I always recommend creating installation media even if you plan to Upgrade this PC as it means you have installation media handy in the rare event the upgrade install fails. Select next:

By default Microsoft should automatically select your Language, Edition and Architecture using your underlying Operating System. However when run on a Windows 7 English (UK) installation, it will incorrectly select English (US) opposed to English (UK). To avoid installation of improper English (US), you will need to manually select English (UK).

To change these options, uncheck use recommended options for this PC:

Select your Language:

In this case I will select English (United Kingdom):

Note there are no options under "Edition" because the Windows 10 Version 1809 Installation .iso is multiple Edition:

The Windows 10 Version 1809 Installation ISO from the Media Creation Tool shows these Editions during Installation (without a Product Key Input). This covers most OEM and Retail licenses however the Windows 10 ISO from direct download links has the additional Pro Education (not to be confused with Pro or Education) and Pro Workstation Edition:

Select your desired architecture, in the vast majority of cases this will be 64 Bit:

Now select next:

I prefer to have the installation ISO saved and also find Rufus more reliable to make the Bootable USB. Therefore I recommend selecting ISO file and then pressing next:

Microsoft just call the .iso Windows by default, however I recommend renaming it, so it includes the version and architecture in it's file name:

Select save:

The Media Creation Tool will Download the Windows 10 Setup Files:

It'll then verify the files it's Downloaded:

Now it will create the installation ISO from the setup files. This means the installation ISO is created on your computer and has a unique checksum:

On the next screen it'll give you obsolete instructions on burning the ISO file to a DVD. DVDs should never be used for Windows 10 Installation Media. Select Finish:

The Media Creation Tool will not clean up some files and then close:

Now that you have the installation .iso you can make a Bootable USB (recommended) or alternatively mount it via Windows Explorer (Windows 8 or Later) and launch the setup to perform an in place upgrade.

For more details see Creating a Windows 10 Bootable USB for a UEFI BIOS.

Upgrading to a Solid State Drive (SSD)

If you have an older Mechanical Hard Drive (HDD) in your PC you may get a substantially low performance when running Windows 10 due to the slow speed of the HDD (100 % Disc Usage). It is recommended to replace the HDD with a Solid State Drive (SSD) and 250 GB Models are now affordable. For SSD and Memory Upgrades the best Vendor is Crucial, I have been recommending them for years and just recently joined their affiliate program. If purchasing an upgrade please click the link below as affiliate purchases will help cover my website costs.

2 thoughts on “Download Windows 10 Version 1809 Using the Media Creation Tool

  1. Thank you for this in-depth tutorial, this saved me hours of frustration! I was able to use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool directly to the USB memory stick and install Windows 10 that way, the media that came with the computer was useless, I spent hours messing around with the BIOS trying different settings, but nothing would work, by downloading and choosing to install to the USB memory stick (I skipped the optional [rufus] method), I was then able to install Windows 10 Pro back onto a OptiPlex 3050 and it was activated immediately. I will certainly be leaving a tip$$$ 😉
    Thank you so much!!

  2. Thanks for the kind feedback and donation. I'm glad you found my guides useful. 🙂

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