Which is better - Media Creation Tool or Update Assistant?

NeedUpgradeHelp said:

What I am trying to do is update a Dell Optiplex 9020 AIO computer with Win 10 Pro 64-bit 1909 to 20H2. Anyone had success doing this?

Run a disk check (chkdsk c: /f) and make a backup of your data. Then just download the iso file to a folder, mount it and run setup.exe.

Why don't you wait one more month and update to 2104?

Megahertz said:

Run a disk check (chkdsk c: /f) and make a backup of your data. Then just download the iso file to a folder, mount it and run setup.exe.

Why don't you wait one more month and update to 2104?

hmmm. never thought of that. when does 2104 become available?

NeedUpgradeHelp said:

hmmm. never thought of that. when does 2104 become available?

Expected to be on April or May.

The good thing is that you jump a update, The bad thing is that a new release always has some bugs.

NeedUpgradeHelp said:

Routine steps? Like what?

These are routine troubleshooting steps (before troubleshooting log files)

Code:

UPGRADE CHECK LIST:
Run through this check list before the next upgrade attempt:

1) remove nonessential hardware
docks
USB devices
printers
headset
speakers
joysticks
projectors
scanners
plotters
portable optical drives (CD, DVD)
microphones
cameras
webcams
smartphones
bluetooth devices
USB drives (other than a windows 10 iso if used for the upgrade)
USB Wireless Mouse or Keyboard Receiver, USB Wireless Network Card
secondary monitors


2) These should be the only attached devices:
wired mouse
wired keyboard
monitor

Any of these that have been done in the past week are not necessary to repeat:


3) open administrative command prompt and type or copy and paste: (repair file system)
chkdsk /r /v 
This may take many hours so plan to run overnight
Find the chkdsk report in the event viewer using the information in this link and post into the thread:
Read Chkdsk Log in Event Viewer in Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/40822-read-chkdsk-log-event-viewer-windows-10-a.html 

4) open administrative command prompt and copy and paste: (repair operating system)
sfc /scannow 
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth 
When these have completed > right click on the top bar or title bar of the administrative command prompt box > left click on edit then select all > right click on the top bar again > left click on edit then copy > paste into the thread

5) update windows (have all recommended updates installed) and reboot after updates

6) List and uninstall all non-Microsoft antivirus software
(This includes always on and manual software.)
(This includes running the applicable antivirus uninstall tools for any AV that could have been incompletely uninstalled)
https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2625/

7) List and uninstall all non-Microsoft firewall software

8) List all Microsoft and non-Microsoft drive encryption software. 
Uninstall all non-Microsoft disk encryption software

9) Run disk cleanup to clean temporary and system files

10) Verify that the drive has > 30 GB free space (At least 25 GB is needed for maintaing memory dumps)

11) Place the computer in clean boot:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
How to perform a Clean Boot in Windows 10 - TechNet Articles - United States (English) - TechNet Wiki
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/29876.how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows-10.aspx
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/41804-perform-clean-boot-windows-10-troubleshoot-software-conflicts.html


12) Detach all SATA devices other than the disk drive that has the Windows operating system
(Make sure that the only disk drive that is attached to the computer at the time of the upgrade attempt is the disk drive containing Windows)
(Other disk drives may be able to be detached by disconnecting cables or if necessary to remove the drive from the computer)

13) Make sure that there is no metered connection:  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17452/windows-metered-internet-connections-faq

Thanks, everybody! I really appreciate all your help!

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Matthew Wai said:

Option one: Media Creation Tool

Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10

Option 1 says:

"Uncheck the Use the recommended options for this PC box. (see screenshot below)

Leaving the Use the recommended options for this PC box checked will have the Media Creation Tool create a USB flash drive that's the same language, edition, and architecture as the current PC."

Why would I not want the flash drive that's the same language, edition and architecture as the current PC? the current PC is the one I am updating Win 10 to 20h2 on.

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And at the end, it says "When finished, your USB flash drive will be ready. Click/tap on Finish." But then what do I do? What I want is to update Win 10 1909 to 20h2 on the current computer, an older Dell Optiplex 9020 AIO.

NeedUpgradeHelp said:

Why would I not want the flash drive that's the same language, edition and architecture as the current PC? the current PC is the one I am updating Win 10 to 20h2 on.

Well, I for one have several PCs to update. They are all the same language, but some are running 64-bit Windows while others are 32-bit. If I untick the box I can choose both architectures and make one ISO or USB that can upgrade all my machines.

NeedUpgradeHelp said:

And at the end, it says "When finished, your USB flash drive will be ready. Click/tap on Finish." But then what do I do? What I want is to update Win 10 1909 to 20h2 on the current computer, an older Dell Optiplex 9020 AIO.

Look on the USB, there will be a Setup.exe on it. Run that from within your existing Windows to start the in-place upgrade. The process is described in this tutorial...

Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade

Bree said:

Look on the USB, there will be a Setup.exe on it. Run that from within your existing Windows to start the in-place upgrade. The process is described in this tutorial...

Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade

It says "To Do a Repair Install of Windows 10 with USB Installation Media". But at this point, I am not attempting to repair anything. this is my first attempt at upgrading from 1909 to 20h2.