Microsoft quietly fixed a nagging compatibility problem that left some Windows users unable to run the Media Creation Tool on Arm64 hosts, pushing the remedy into the October/November preview update KB5067036 while also bundling a raft of visible Windows 11 feature changes — including the redesigned Start menu, updated battery indicator, and additional Copilot/Voice features — as part of a staged rollout.
Microsoft ships the Media Creation Tool (MCT) as a convenient, single‑file utility for downloading Windows 11 images and creating bootable installation media. In late September 2025 Microsoft released an updated MCT binary identified in community reporting as version 26100.6584, and shortly after users began reporting that the tool would start, show a brief Windows splash, then exit silently on certain hosts — notably Windows 10 22H2 and some Arm64 devices. Microsoft acknowledged the problem in the Windows 11 update history / release‑health documentation and documented the symptom and short‑term workarounds.
Why this mattered at the time: the regression landed just as many users were preparing upgrades or recovery media around the Windows 10 end‑of‑support window. For home users, refurbishers, OEM technicians and imaging teams that relied on on‑device creation workflows, the inability to run the official tool increased friction and forced fallback to manual ISO downloads or third‑party utilities. Community testing and Microsoft’s advisory made clear the issue was real and that a fix would arrive in a subsequent update.
Note: because KB5067036 uses staged rollouts for many features, installing it is only the first step — you may still not see the redesigned Start menu or other gated features until Microsoft flips the associated server‑side feature flags. If you need the new UI immediately there are community workarounds and tools that can force features on (not recommended for enterprise machines), but those are unofficial and can carry risk. Exercise caution.
For administrators and power users the pragmatic approach is simple: validate KB5067036 in a pilot ring and adopt conservative rollout policies for production devices, keep canonical ISO images and validated media creation hosts available, and prefer official ISOs plus trusted tools if the Media Creation Tool behaves unexpectedly. For home users, the simplest path remains downloading the official Windows 11 ISO and using a trusted USB tool or the Windows 11 Installation Assistant until the MCT update is visible through your normal Windows Update channel.
Microsoft’s public documentation and preview notes (and independent reporting) confirm the MCT fix is included in KB5067036 and that additional feature changes are rolling out gradually. If anything changes — or if Microsoft publishes further details about affected builds, telemetry, or KIR artifacts — review those updates before broad deployment to avoid surprises.
Source: Neowin Microsoft fixed broken Media Creation Tool on certain PCs with Windows 11 25H2
Background
Microsoft ships the Media Creation Tool (MCT) as a convenient, single‑file utility for downloading Windows 11 images and creating bootable installation media. In late September 2025 Microsoft released an updated MCT binary identified in community reporting as version 26100.6584, and shortly after users began reporting that the tool would start, show a brief Windows splash, then exit silently on certain hosts — notably Windows 10 22H2 and some Arm64 devices. Microsoft acknowledged the problem in the Windows 11 update history / release‑health documentation and documented the symptom and short‑term workarounds. Why this mattered at the time: the regression landed just as many users were preparing upgrades or recovery media around the Windows 10 end‑of‑support window. For home users, refurbishers, OEM technicians and imaging teams that relied on on‑device creation workflows, the inability to run the official tool increased friction and forced fallback to manual ISO downloads or third‑party utilities. Community testing and Microsoft’s advisory made clear the issue was real and that a fix would arrive in a subsequent update.
What Microsoft changed in KB5067036
The fix for the Media Creation Tool problem
- The October/November 2025 preview cumulative update KB5067036 contains a fix that addresses the Media Creation Tool failure experienced on Arm64 hosts and related host‑OS compatibility problems with the MCT build. Microsoft’s release notes explicitly list the correction for the MCT (version 26100.6584) failing to run as a known‑issue fix.
- Practically: installing KB5067036 (preview, optional) or receiving its changes via future Patch Tuesday updates should remove the “We’re not sure what happened, but we’re unable to run this tool on your PC” failure mode for affected scenarios. Microsoft also updated the Media Creation Tool binary on October 28, 2025 as part of the remediation.
Also in the update: visible UI and AI changes
KB5067036 is more than a bug fix — it’s a feature preview containing visible user‑facing updates that are rolling out gradually:- Redesigned Start menu — a single, vertically scrollable surface with a new “All” section and multiple view modes (Category, Grid, List), improved discoverability and Phone Link integration for mobile content.
- Taskbar and lock screen battery indicator — color‑coded battery states and an optional percentage toggle in Settings > Power & battery.
- Click to Do / Copilot enhancements — typed prompt box for Copilot, on‑screen text translation, unit conversions, table detection with “Convert to table with Excel” on Copilot+ devices, and additional Copilot vision tasking from the taskbar UI. Some features are hardware‑ and license‑gated to Copilot+ PCs.
- Voice Access — Fluid Dictation — on‑device small language models (SLMs) to correct grammar and punctuation and remove filler words in real time; enabled by default on Copilot+ PCs in supported locales.
- File Explorer Home — Recommended files for personal/local accounts, hover commands like “Open file location” and “Ask Copilot”, and StorageProvider APIs for cloud suggestions.
How to get the fix and new features (step‑by‑step)
KB5067036 was released as an optional, non‑security preview update. For most users who simply want the MCT fix and the collection of reliability improvements, the safest path is to install the optional package directly or wait for the upcoming cumulative Patch Tuesday delivery that folds these changes into standard servicing.- Open Settings > Windows Update.
- Click Check for updates.
- If KB5067036 appears under “Optional updates available,” click Download and install.
- Reboot when prompted.
Note: because KB5067036 uses staged rollouts for many features, installing it is only the first step — you may still not see the redesigned Start menu or other gated features until Microsoft flips the associated server‑side feature flags. If you need the new UI immediately there are community workarounds and tools that can force features on (not recommended for enterprise machines), but those are unofficial and can carry risk. Exercise caution.
If your Media Creation Tool still fails — practical, safe alternatives
The MCT fix in KB5067036 should address the Arm64/host compatibility problem, but while updates roll out or if policies prevent installing preview patches, use these official and safe alternatives.- Download the official Windows 11 ISO and create a USB manually:
- Visit the official Windows 11 Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices page and download the ISO.
- Use File Explorer to mount the ISO and run setup.exe for an in‑place upgrade, or use a trusted USB tool such as Rufus to write a bootable USB. Always verify checksums where provided.
- Use the Windows 11 Installation Assistant on eligible devices to perform an in‑place upgrade without using MCT.
- If you must create Arm64 media and your Arm host fails, use an x64 (Intel/AMD) host to build the Arm64 USB or use the downloaded Arm64 ISO on a workstation that supports media creation. Microsoft noted that the Media Creation Tool historically didn’t support creating Arm64 media from Arm64 hosts and that was the narrow workflow affected — using an x64 creator host is the practical workaround.
- Avoid downloading untrusted ISOs from third parties; use Microsoft’s official image or reputable utilities (Rufus, Ventoy) with verified ISOs.
What this tells us about Microsoft’s delivery model (analysis)
Strengths
- Microsoft’s staged preview approach allows the company to bundle multiple visible feature improvements and reliability fixes in a single preview package and validate them with Release Preview insiders before broad distribution. That reduces the chance of a global disruption from a single change. The KB also shows Microsoft addressing cross‑component regressions (MCT + EVR + HTTP.sys) in a single cumulative rollout.
- Fixing the MCT regression quickly — and documenting it in the Windows 11 update history / release health pages — is the correct triage response for a utility many users depend on; it prevents escalation to more invasive fixes or retractions.
Risks and recurring problem areas
- Timing matters. The MCT regression arrived during a high‑pressure migration window and exposed a reliability risk: when a single convenience tool is assumed to be the canonical path for many users, its failure magnifies friction. Microsoft’s feature and update cadence can create tight windows where regressions have outsized impact. Community reporting consistently highlighted this timing problem.
- Gradual feature rollouts increase user confusion. Delivering the KB while gating features server‑side leaves many users who “installed the update” asking why they don’t see new UI changes. This creates support noise and encourages unsafe forcing of feature flags by power users. Documentation and clear messaging from Microsoft must remain crisp to minimize guesswork.
- Narrow, architecture‑specific workflows remain fragile. Arm64 and mixed‑architecture imaging workflows are not mainstream, but they are critical for OEMs, developers, and some IT shops. The MCT problem underscores that niche workflows can still be production‑critical; testing matrices need to cover them more consistently. Community threads show imaging teams and device builders were affected and had to adjust processes.
Recommendations for home users, power users and IT admins
Home users and enthusiasts
- If you see the MCT error and you don’t want to install preview updates, download the official ISO and use Rufus or File Explorer mounting for upgrades. Verify the ISO checksum if available and keep backups before performing clean installs.
- If you’re comfortable with preview updates and want to try the new Start menu and Copilot improvements, install KB5067036 from Settings > Windows Update, but expect a phased activation of features.
Power users and device builders
- Maintain a validated x64 staging host for media creation. Even if you use Arm64 devices for everyday testing, keep an Intel/AMD host in your toolkit for image builds as a workaround until tools are fully resilient.
- When building images for distribution, prefer controlled, internal ISO repositories and WSUS/Intune deployment pipelines rather than ad‑hoc MCT runs from diverse hosts.
IT administrators
- Pilot KB5067036 in a controlled ring first; validate your imaging and playback workflows (especially if you support HTPCs, capture devices, or EVR‑based players).
- Maintain a canonical ISO collection, verify hashes, and prepare a fallback media creation process that does not rely on on‑device MCT runs.
- If you rely on network .msu installs or WUSA from shares, follow the documented Microsoft workarounds (copy locally or use DISM) until you’ve validated the servicing pipeline.
What remains uncertain and what to watch
- Microsoft’s public telemetry on how many users were affected by the MCT regression is not available; community reproductions are plentiful, but exact scope remains unpublished. Treat any specific numbers reported by third parties as unverified unless Microsoft publishes telemetry.
- Feature activation timing for the Start redesign, Click to Do improvements and some Copilot experiences is server‑side and region‑gated. Expect staggered availability, and track Microsoft’s release notes and insider channels for activation windows.
- Watch for the formal Patch Tuesday packaging of these fixes and features. KB5067036 was released as a preview; Microsoft indicated the fixes and improvements will be folded into the broader cumulative update cadence (the next scheduled Patch Tuesday) once validated. That is when the MCT fix will reach mainstream update pipelines for most users.
Closing assessment
KB5067036 resolves a narrow but disruptive problem: the Media Creation Tool’s failure on Arm64 and some Windows 10 hosts. Microsoft’s response — an optional preview update that bundles the MCT fix alongside a group of visible UI and on‑device AI improvements — reflects the company’s modern servicing model: feature drops and fixes arrive together in preview channels and are rolled out gradually. That model gives Microsoft flexibility and reduces the blast radius of changes, but it also raises friction when a single user‑facing utility used by millions breaks at an inopportune time.For administrators and power users the pragmatic approach is simple: validate KB5067036 in a pilot ring and adopt conservative rollout policies for production devices, keep canonical ISO images and validated media creation hosts available, and prefer official ISOs plus trusted tools if the Media Creation Tool behaves unexpectedly. For home users, the simplest path remains downloading the official Windows 11 ISO and using a trusted USB tool or the Windows 11 Installation Assistant until the MCT update is visible through your normal Windows Update channel.
Microsoft’s public documentation and preview notes (and independent reporting) confirm the MCT fix is included in KB5067036 and that additional feature changes are rolling out gradually. If anything changes — or if Microsoft publishes further details about affected builds, telemetry, or KIR artifacts — review those updates before broad deployment to avoid surprises.
Source: Neowin Microsoft fixed broken Media Creation Tool on certain PCs with Windows 11 25H2
