Lance Whitney / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways The Windows 11 media creation tool is no longer working. And today marks the last day of support for Windows 10. There are other methods to upgrade your Windows 10 PC to 11. Talk about bad timing. Just as today marks the final day of Microsoft support for Windows 10, a popular Microsoft tool that upgrades your PC to Windows 11 isn't working right. So now what do you do if you want to move on from Windows 10? In the latest update to its page on known issues in Windows 10 22H2, Microsoft broke the news that the Windows 11 media creation tool is, well, broken. The folks in Redmond report that version 26100.6584 of this tool, released September 29, 2025, might not work as expected when used in Windows 10. The program may shut down unexpectedly with no error message to indicate what happened. Also: Don't want to upgrade to Windows 11? You don't have to, but here's what you should know Microsoft said it's working to fix the issue. Once the glitch is resolved, the company will release an update to the media creation tool that you can then run. But by then, Windows 10 may no longer be supported. Why is this a problem, and why now? The Windows 11 media creation tool is used to create a bootable USB drive or DVD with the installation files for the OS. You typically turn to this tool to run a clean install or reinstall of Windows 11 on a new or existing computer. It's an ideal way to upgrade any Windows 10 PC to the latest supported version of Windows, not just your current PC. Also: Windows 10 support officially ends today - but the chaos will continue for years After today, Microsoft will no longer support Windows 10. That means no more security patches, bug fixes, or other updates to protect your computer and keep it safe from the latest threats and vulnerabilities. And it means that anyone who waited until today to upgrade their Windows 10 PC will have to find another method to perform that process. Running the media creation tool is usually simple enough. Just browse to Microsoft's Download Windows 11 web page. In the section for "Create Windows 11 Installation Media," click the Download Now button. Run the downloaded MediaCreationTool.exe file. Make sure you've inserted a blank USB drive or recordable DVD, and the program will do the rest. All of that is supposed to happen. When I tried to install the downloaded file this time, the program just flashed the Windows logo and then disappeared without running and without a trace. OK, don't panic Fortunately, there are other ways to upgrade your Windows 10 PC to Windows 11. The easiest method is to head to Windows Update under Settings and see if Windows 11 is offered to you. If so, just click the button to install it. But let's assume you're not presented with that option. Also: How to clear your Windows 11 PC cache (and what happens if you don't) Also available from the Download Windows 11 page, the Windows 11 Installation Assistant is another method. This will upgrade your current PC directly to Windows 11. This is an easier method than the Windows 11 media creation tool. The only drawback is that it works only with your current PC on which you run the assistant, so you can't use it to upgrade a different computer. Otherwise, the option that Microsoft is recommending is to download an ISO file for Windows 11. On the same page, scroll down to the section for "Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices." Select and confirm the download. Choose your language and region. Click the download button to grab the Win11 25H2 ISO file. The advantage of getting the ISO file is that you can use it to upgrade your current computer or a different one. On your current Windows 10 PC, just double-click the ISO file to mount it and then run the setup.exe file to install Windows 11. For a different PC, just transfer the ISO file to a USB drive (the file is around 7GB), plug the drive into the other PC, and then run the file from there. Don't delay too long Today also marks the last major Patch Tuesday update for Windows 10. Also: Can't upgrade your Windows 10 PC? Support has ended, so you need to act now Starting tomorrow, you'll either need to be on Windows 11 to receive future patches from Microsoft, or you'll have to sign up for the Extended Security Updates (ESU) to keep your Windows 10 PC protected for another year. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.