Windows 11 media creation tool keeps failing to make a USB

don't run the tool from the same usb stick you're trying to write to. copy it to the desktop and run it from there, that one causes a failure every time. and if the stick ever had linux or a mac partition on it, windows may not be able to wipe it properly. diskpart > list disk > select disk N (check the number twice) > clean, then let the tool format it.

What's the error? It fails for a lot of different reasons but the usual fixes, in roughly the order they work: - use another stick. Cheap or old ones fail halfway through all the time, and it needs 8GB or more - plug it into a USB port directly on the PC, not a hub or a front panel port - right-click the tool and Run as administrator - turn antivirus off while it runs If it still won't finish, choose the ISO option instead and write the ISO to the stick with Rufus. That route works for me when the tool flat out refuses.