Trying to put windows creation tool onto flash drive without access to PC

[ShawnR665]

So nobody I know has a laptop with the required 8gb of space to put the tool onto my flash drive. Ive got a new SSD in my laptop but no way for me to get windows onto my flash... My mothers HP Stream had 5g available and I was only able to free up 1.5gb. (Its using 23gb with nothing else to clean or delete!)

 So I'm wondering if there was a place I could go to get the creation tool? Or do I need to make an ad to borrow som

[CherylG]

I assume you never made Recovery Media on your laptop? Usually you will get a prompt at some point to make backup media-are you sure you didn't make it and put it away. Has happened before. 😊If not you have a few options.

1-Call HP to order Recovery Media.It may even be on your Support page to order online. Without your Model/Product number no way for me to check.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00033108

2-Check on Ebay for installation media..can be found rather inexpensive without a license key. 

3-Ask at your local library if you can make it on one of their computers.

4-Check with all friends/coworkers for use of their computer.

[ShawnR665]

I just bought a new SSD and thumb drive. I was told I need to put the windows creation onto the thumb drive then plug into my laptop with new SSD already in. I was told I have a windows key already so I wouldnt to to buy it again.

[CherylG]

You don't have to buy another key-which would be about $120. However if you don't have a way to make the flash drive one suggestion is to buy Recovery Media which is about $40. OR, look for installation  media on Ebay which can be found for about $10 without a key.

Or-go through my other suggestions.

[kyle_b]

Instead of using the Media Creation Tool, you can just download the Windows 10 ISO file and burn it to a USB drive.  Here is a link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

[ShawnR665]

Are you sure? Its saying I need the tool anyway...

[kyle_b]

Yes, I was using Linux Mint to download it, if you use Windows, a work around is needed to emulate a non-Windows system since Microsoft wants to enforce the use of the Media Creation Tool on Windows systems.  Here is one site describing the procedure.

[ShawnR665]

:update: I found somebody with a laptop I could use so I made the windows flash and put it on my new SSD. Yay. BUT... My last hard drive was 1tb this SSD is 250gb 😞   that's actually way too small for me. Im a gamer. Can i wipe this drive and return it do you think? I need a 1tb SSD. Recommendations?

[WAWood]

@ShawnR665

Just have a few comments ... as this thread is getting confusing ...

First off, you don't put the MCT onto a flash drive -- as that is a utility that is used to DOWNLOAD the files needed to either update the PC in-place or create install media.  What you do is USE the MCT to create the install media.

Second, the media itself, presuming it is a USB stick, only needs to be 8GB as it only contains Windows installation files.

Third, you say you have a new SSD in your PC, to install Windows to it, all you need to do is boot from the USB stick and go through the installation process.  When you get the screen prompting for a product key, choose the option to skip that -- as once the OS is installed and the PC is online, it will contact the MS servers and reactivate Win10 automatically.

Fourth, if you are only going to have one physical drive in your PC, then it certainly needs to be large enough to handle the partitions currently on the hard drive up to the amount of space used.  If your 1TB drive has less than 250GB of space used, there is a way to "migrate" your current partitions and OS to that size SSD, and that's what I would do -- as 1TB SSDs are still very expensive.

So, let us know what it is you really want to do.

[ShawnR665]

What I was saying about not being able to get windows on my flash drive is I only had access to my mothers hp stream laptop. It only had 6gb of free space. You need 8gb just to be able to use the creation tool. I got that all figured out now though. Nnow my issue is I put 2 games on my laptop and half the SSD space is gone already. It boots fast but thats about it. The games perform pretty poorly.