How to Fix Media Creation Tool error 0x8007043C – 0x90017

Several users complained encountering an error code 0x8007043C – 0x90017 when they were using the Media creation tool. This problem often accompanies an error message that reads – “There was a problem running this tool. We are not sure what happened but we’re unable to run this software on your PC“. 

If you are also facing this error code and wondering what to do next, we suggest following and applying the fixes discussed in this guide. In this post, we will discuss the probable reasons causing this error code and seven working ways that should resolve the error code 0x8007043C – 0x90017.

What causes Media Creation tool to fail on error 0x8007043C?

There are several reasons likely to erupt this error code on Windows 11/10. They include Missing or corrupt system files, outdated device drivers, presence of malware or viruses on your device. There’s an entry named “AllowOSUpgrade” insdie the registry which must be set to auto. If not, this may also interfere with installing Windows using the Media Creation tool.

SFC and Disk Cleanup are two important tools that you may try to address file corruption and delete unnecessarily stored cache on your computer. Perform a full scan of PC, Update Windows manually, and update all your device drivers also work as the diagnostic methods. Let’s explore these solutions in somewhat more detail –

Ways to Solve Media Creation Tool error 0x8007043C – 0x90017 

If you are unable to install Windows 11/10 on account of facing an error code 0x8007043C – 0x90017, we suggest trying out these solutions one after another.  

• Perform a full virus scan
• Update All Device Drivers
• Tweak Registry Editor
• Perform SFC command
• Perform Disk Cleanup
• Uninstall Recent Applications
• Clean install Windows 11/10

1] Perform a full virus scan using Windows Defender

This error mostly appears when the bootable media is corrupt on account of malware or viruses. As a result of this, you can’t use the Media Creation tool. Check for possible viruses on your device using Windows Defender. Here’s how to perform this task – 

• Jointly press Win + S to launch Windows Search.
• Type Windows Security on it followed by the Enter key. 
• When Window Security opens up, select Virus & threat protection and then Scan options.
• Succeeding after, check the Full Scan Radio button followed by Scan now option to begin this process.

• This application will now check for faulty files on your computer and resolve them (if it finds any).

Once the scanning completes, reboot your device and try installing the update again. 

2] Update all device drivers

Device Manager was earlier used to check for pending driver updates and update them directly from there. However, Microsoft has now added this feature to Windows update. So, go to Settings > Windows update > Advanced options, and click on optional updates. In fact, if there are driver updates available for your system, the same will appear under this section. 

Under optional updates, tick all the checkboxes against pending updates, and hit Download and Install. After you install all driver updates or if there isn’t any pending driver updates, restart your PC. 

Many a time, the system couldn’t connect to Microsoft servers online and thus doesn’t find any driver update for your PC.

3] Modify or Add an entry inside the Registry

The error code 0x8007043C – 0x90017 might also occur when there are some issues within your registry. Go and check if the registry is all good on your Windows 10 PC. For this, you need to follow these steps –

Note: Incorrect changes inside the registry might corrupt your entire operating system. This is why we suggest creating the registry backup and then only, applying the below steps. 

Wrongdoing inside the Registry might be risky to your system. It can even sometimes corrupt your OS and access different apps. Therefore, you must be careful while performing any changes manually under the registry.

• Press Win & R to launch the Run dialog box.
• Type Regedit on it followed by the OK button.
• When the UAC window prompts, hit Yes to authorize accessing it. 
• On the registry, navigate to the below path –

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade

• You may even copy/paste the above path inside the registry’s address bar, and hit Enter.
• Once you are there, create a new entry and name this WindowsUpdate. In case there is already an entry with a similar name, right-click on it and select New > Key.

• Rename this key as OSUpgrade. Select this newly created key and head over to the right pane.
• Right-click anywhere on the right pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. 
• Now, rename this DWORD entry to AllowOSUpgrade. 

• Double-click on this entry and change its Value data field to “1”. By default, this entry is set to “0” which means your device is not set to allow upgrades. 

Now that you have changed this configuration to always check and install pending updates, go to Settings > Windows Update, and hit Check for updates. 

Once this gets over, Restart your system and check if you can install OS without 0x8007043C – 0x90017 issue.

How do I back up the registry?

Before making any changes to the registry, make sure to create a manual registry backup. Here’s how to do this –

• Launch Registry editor first.
• Go to File > Export next and browse to a folder where you would like to create the registry backup. 
• Click on the Save button and wait for the system to successfully generate a registry backup. 

Make sure to save the file name as a .reg file and check the Selected branch radio button under Export Range (Lower section of the same page).

4] Use the System File Checker utility

Due to the presence of corrupt files or folders, Windows often fails to update when using a Media creation tool. To overcome this issue, you must use the SFC utility program. This tool will check for corrupt system files and repair them. Here’s how to try out this tool on Windows 11/10 –

• Go to Windows Search (Win + S) and type Command Prompt on it. 
• Right-click on the well-matching result, and select Run as Administrator.
• If the UAC window prompts, hit Yes to grant permission.
• On the elevated console, type the following and press Enter – 

sfc /scannow

• This whole scanning/repairing process will take approximately 10-15 minutes, so wait patiently. In quite a few scenarios, this might even take more time. Well, once started, we don’t recommend hindering the ongoing process.

After this scanning/repairing process is over, restart your PC, and check if you can update Windows 11/10 using the Media creation tool. 

5] Use Disk Cleanup to clear temp files

To install Windows 11 or 10 on a computer using the Media creation tool, you need to have sufficient storage space. In case there isn’t enough disk space on your PC, you may use the Disk Cleanup tool and purge the temp files from your system. 

Follow the below instruction on how to use the Disk Cleanup tool and purge unnecessarily stored cache and junk files on your Windows PC. 

• Right-click on the Windows icon and select the Run dialog box.
• When the popup window appears, type cleanmgr in the text box.
• Click OK to confirm opening the Disk Cleanup tool.
• Select the drive (C:) using the drop-down menu, and hit OK.

• If the root drive differs in your case, select your drive letter using the drop-down menu, and hit OK. 
• The tool will analyze and present the disk spaces that it can free up. 
• Check all the boxes, and hit Clean up system files. Doing so will force the system to check for system files that are either residual or leftover files of uninstalled apps, already installed Windows Updates, and others. 

• The disk cleanup tool will appear again, pick the C: drive, and hit OK. 
• The system will check again for temp or junk files that it can free up.
• Tick all the checkboxes on the upcoming screen and hit OK. 
• When a confirmation message appears, click yes to confirm the deletion of marked boxes. 

After this cleaning process completes, restart your PC, and check if you can update Windows using the regular way. 

Note: Make a habit of regularly cleaning the disk spaces to avoid such errors in the near future. 

6] Uninstall recently installed apps

Media Creation Tool might fail to install Windows OS if you have recently installed a buggy application and that app is preventing the update from ever happening. If you do remember installing a new application on your computer, make sure to uninstall that first. Here’s the complete process for this –

• Press Win & S hotkey together to open the Search window.
• Type Control Panel and press Enter. 
• Use the drop-down menu available in the top-right corner and change this to Large icons instead of Category. 
• Locate the recently installed application, right-click on that and choose the Uninstall button. 

• If a confirmation message appears afterward, hit the Uninstall button again. 
• Wait for the application to uninstall successfully, and restart your PC. 

When Windows reloads, check if you can use the Media creation tool and install Windows OS without getting into an error code 0x8007043C – 0x90017. 

7] Clean installation of Windows 10

If none of the above workarounds help to resolve the error code 0x8007043C – 0x90017, we recommend downloading Windows 10 ISO from its official site and making it bootable via Rufus. 

Once you have the bootable media, insert it in one of your device’s ports, and clean install Windows 11/10. 

How do I Check for pending Windows updates?

Microsoft allows installing the pending updates directly from the Settings (Win + I) page. As long as you don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11, you may update your Windows 10 directly from the Windows update section. Follow the below instructions on how to perform this task –

• Press Win & I hotkey to launch the Settings app.
• Select Update & Security thereafter Windows Update from the left column.
• Switch to the right-hand side and make click on Check for Updates button.

• Doing so will check for pending updates for your computer. 
• In case the system does find any updates available for your Windows PC, the same will be downloaded and installed automatically on your computer. 

Fix: Check For Updates doesn’t work in Windows 10

I hope the Media Creation Tool error 0x8007043C – 0x90017 resolves after applying the above fixes. If you do face any difficulty following the above sections, let us know in the comment section.