December 2015 – DSI Tech Services LLC Staging

There are a lot of posts on this error message, but not many relating to a Windows 10 clean installation. This computer was all new hardware, and most importantly a new hard drive.

Windows cannot install required files. The files does not exist. Make sure all files required for installation are available, and restart the installation. Error code: 0x80070002

The message gives you an idea that it could be related to a drive that went offline or maybe scratched DVD. Here’s the problem, I wasn’t installing from DVD…

So, it seemed as though the media shouldn’t be the problem. I tried disconnecting any hardware that wasn’t essential, and I still got that crash at random points in the early part of Windows 10 installation. I read several different KB articles and Microsoft community posts and they mostly referred to Windows 10 upgrades.

I ended up downloading Windows 10 and making my own installation media. I used my own USB flash drive, not the Microsoft one.

Here’s a link to the tool: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/home

I would guess that the official Micorosft USB flash drive wasn’t defective as much as an old build of Windows 10. I’m guessing it’s close to the RTM version, not where we are a few months down the road.