Fix 0XC00D0FC7 in Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player throws this when it can't add songs or videos to your library. Usually a permissions or file path issue. These steps fix it in under 30 minutes.

Why you're seeing error 0XC00D0FC7

This error pops up when Windows Media Player (WMP) tries to add a file to your library and something blocks it. The most common triggers are:

Your music or video files are on a drive you don't have full access to (like an external drive that's been disconnected).
The file itself is corrupted or has weird permissions.
Your WMP library database got banged up after a Windows update or crash.

I've seen this on Windows 10 and 11 after the big 22H2 update. Don't bother reinstalling WMP — it's baked into Windows. Let's run through the fixes in order.

Quick fix (30 seconds): Check file permissions

Half the time, this error is just a permissions hiccup. Here's what to do:

Right-click the file or folder you're trying to add. Pick Properties.
Go to the Security tab.
Under Group or user names, look for your user account. If it's not there, click Edit.
Click Add, type your username (or 'Everyone' if you want to be quick), then click Check Names and OK.
Under Permissions, tick Full control.
Click Apply and OK. After clicking Apply you should see the permissions update instantly.

Now try adding the file to WMP again. If the error's gone, you're done. If not, move to the moderate fix.

Moderate fix (5 minutes): Rebuild the WMP library database

This clears out any corrupted entries in WMP's library. It doesn't delete your files, just the list WMP keeps.

Close Windows Media Player completely. Check your system tray to make sure it's not minimized.
Press Windows key + R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Media Player, and hit Enter. This opens the folder where WMP stores its database.
You'll see a bunch of files like CurrentDatabase_372.wmdb. Don't delete them yet — just rename them. Right-click each .wmdb file, pick Rename, and add .old to the end. So CurrentDatabase_372.wmdb becomes CurrentDatabase_372.wmdb.old. Do this for every .wmdb file in the folder.
Now open Windows Media Player again. It will say 'Welcome to Windows Media Player' and start rebuilding the library. This can take a minute or two depending on how many files you have.
Once it's done, try adding the problem file. If it works, great. If not, don't worry — the next fix is more thorough.

Note: Renaming the files instead of deleting gives you a safety net. If something goes wrong, just remove the .old from the filenames.

Advanced fix (15+ minutes): Reset WMP settings and scan for corrupted files

This combines a full WMP reset with a system file check. You'll need admin rights for this one.

Step 1: Reset WMP via Control Panel

Press Windows key + R, type appwiz.cpl, and hit Enter.
In the left sidebar, click Turn Windows features on or off.
Scroll down to Media Features. Uncheck Windows Media Player. Click OK. You'll get a warning — click Yes. After clicking OK you should see a progress bar as Windows removes the feature.
Restart your computer.
After the restart, go back to the same window and re-check Windows Media Player. Click OK. Windows will reinstall it.

Step 2: Run System File Checker (SFC)

Sometimes the error is caused by a corrupted system file. Let's fix that.

Right-click the Start button and pick Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. This scans all protected system files and replaces bad ones. It takes about 15 minutes. You'll see a progress bar — let it finish.
When it's done, it'll say one of three things:
- 'Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.' — all good.
- 'Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.' — run the scan again to make sure nothing else is broken.
- 'Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.' — try running DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth first, then sfc /scannow again.

Step 3: Re-add your files

Open Windows Media Player. You'll see a blank library again — that's normal after the reset.
Go to Organize > Manage libraries > Music (or whatever library type you're working with). Make sure your folders are listed.
Click Add, browse to the folder with your files, and click Include folder.
WMP will scan and add the files. If you still get error 0XC00D0FC7 at this point, the file itself is likely corrupted. Try playing it in VLC — if VLC can't play it either, the file's toast. You'll need a backup.

Real-world example: One of my users got this error after copying music from an old NTFS external drive to a new FAT32 USB stick. The file permissions got scrambled. The quick fix (adding Full control) solved it in 20 seconds.

That's it. Start with the quick fix, and only move down if you have to. You'll have your library back before you know it.