Microsoft has broken its own Windows 11 media creation tool just as millions of users face a deadline to abandon Windows 10 - and with less than 24 hours until support officially ends.
The company acknowledged on October 10 that version 26100.6584 of the tool, released September 29, "might not work as expected when used on Windows 10 devices." In reality, it simply doesn't work - a particularly inconvenient failure given Microsoft's months-long campaign of pop-ups and notifications urging Windows 10 users to upgrade.
The media creation tool creates a bootable USB or DVD, for clean Windows 11 installations. Without it functioning, Windows 10 users hoping to make a last-minute jump face an unexpected roadblock.
The affected platform is Windows 10 22H2, which will no longer receive fixes for known issues or security updates after October 14.
As a workaround, Microsoft directed users to download bootable media directly from its website. Users can also install Windows 11 through Windows Update, or turn to third-party tools that bypass Microsoft's increasingly stringent requirements - like the mandatory Microsoft Account that it now insists upon during installation.
The timing compounds the irony. After months of pestering Windows 10 users to upgrade, Microsoft has fumbled the ball at the goal line. Windows 10 version 22H2, the final release, receives its last free security update tomorrow, October 14. After that, users face a choice: pay for Extended Security Updates, switch to an education or enterprise version that Microsoft will continue supporting, accept the security risks of an unpatched system or look elsewhere entirely.
By now, anyone eager to upgrade has likely done so. Those remaining on Windows 10 have made their choice, whether due to hardware incompatibility with Windows 11's strict requirements, software dependencies, or simple preference.
Microsoft offered no timeline for fixing the media creation tool, stating only, "We are working on a resolution for this issue, and it will be released in a future update to the Windows 11 media creation tool." ®
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