Fix NS_E_DRM_ACQUIRING_LICENSE (0XC00D272B) in Windows Media Player

What's happening here?

You're trying to play a song or video you bought from an online store, and Windows Media Player throws the error NS_E_DRM_ACQUIRING_LICENSE with code 0XC00D272B. The message says: You cannot begin a new license acquisition process until the current one has been completed.

This usually happens when a previous license download got interrupted—maybe your internet dropped mid-request, or you closed WMP right as it was fetching the license. The DRM system on your PC still thinks that old request is active, so it blocks any new ones.

Here's the good news: you can fix this in under a minute with the simplest fix. If that doesn't do it, we've got two more that will. Start at step 1 and move down only if you need to.

Fix 1: Restart Windows Media Player and retry (30 seconds)

This sounds too easy, but it clears a ton of these errors. The old request might just be stuck in memory.

1. Close Windows Media Player completely. If it's minimized, right-click the taskbar icon and select Close window.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Look under Processes for anything named Windows Media Player or wmplayer.exe. If you see it, right-click and choose End task. This kills any background processes that might still be running.
3. Reopen Windows Media Player.
4. Try playing the same file again. If the error is gone, you're done. If you still see 0XC00D272B, move to Fix 2.

What you should see: If the fix worked, the file starts playing or the license download begins without the error. If not, you'll get the same pop-up.

Fix 2: Clear the DRM license cache (5 minutes)

If a restart didn't help, the license request is probably stuck in the DRM data store. Clearing that store forces Windows to start fresh. Don't worry—you won't lose your purchased files, just the licenses. You'll need to re-download them, which happens automatically when you try to play the file again.

Step-by-step

1. Close Windows Media Player completely (use Task Manager like in Fix 1 if needed).
2. Open File Explorer. You can press Win + E.
3. In the address bar, type or paste this path and press Enter:

%PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WwanSvc\DRM

Wait—that's wrong. The correct path for the DRM store is:

%PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\DRM

If you get an access denied error, that's normal. You need to take ownership first. Skip to the 'If you can't open the folder' section below.

4. You'll see a bunch of files with names like drms001.bin, drms002.bin, and folders like tmp. Select everything inside that folder (press Ctrl + A) and delete it. Windows will ask for permission—click Continue.
5. If some files won't delete because they're in use, that's a sign something is still running. Go back to Task Manager and end any WMP processes. Then try deleting again.
6. After everything is deleted, restart your PC. This is important—the DRM service needs a clean start.
7. After reboot, open Windows Media Player and try to play the file. It will re-acquire the license. This time, make sure your internet connection is stable and don't close the player while the license is downloading.

If you can't open the folder

Sometimes Windows blocks access to the DRM folder. Here's how to get in:

1. Right-click the DRM folder and select Properties.
2. Go to the Security tab, click Advanced.
3. At the top, next to Owner, click Change.
4. Type your Windows username (or Administrators) and click Check Names, then OK.
5. Check the box that says Replace owner on subcontainers and objects.
6. Click OK and then retry step 4 above.

What to expect: After a reboot, the error should be gone. If not, you've got a deeper issue—Fix 3.

Fix 3: Update your DRM components and check for corrupted files (15+ minutes)

This is for when the simple stuff fails. The DRM stack on Windows can get corrupted, or an old version of Windows Media Player isn't playing nice with new license servers. Here's how to force a refresh.

Step 1: Run the System File Checker

1. Right-click the Start button and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Type this and press Enter:

sfc /scannow

This scans all protected system files. It'll take 10-15 minutes. Let it finish—don't close the window.

3. When it's done, it'll tell you if it found and repaired anything. If it says it couldn't fix some files, run this next:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

That's another 10 minutes sometimes. After it finishes, run sfc /scannow again.

Step 2: Re-register Windows Media Player

This resets the player's internal settings. Close WMP first, then run the command below in the same admin window.

regsvr32 wmp.dll

You'll get a confirmation pop-up. Click OK.

Step 3: Check for Windows updates

Old builds of Windows 10 and 11 have DRM bugs that Microsoft fixed later. Go to Settings > Update & Security (or Windows Update on Win 11) and click Check for updates. Install any updates and restart.

What to expect: If the file was corrupted, SFC will repair it and the error disappears. If the issue was a missing update, the restart after updating should clear it.

If nothing works: last resort

I've seen rare cases where the DRM store is too damaged even for these fixes. Your options are:

• Create a new Windows user account and try playing the file there. DRM data is per-user, so a fresh account might sidestep the corruption.
• Reinstall the media player from the store (if you're using the Windows Media Player from the Microsoft Store, not the classic one).
• Contact the store where you bought the file. Sometimes they have a re-download option that resets the license on their end.

One more thing: this error appears most often when you're using the old Windows Media Player that ships with Windows 10/11. If you're using a third-party player like VLC, you won't see it because VLC doesn't handle DRM files at all. If you can, switch to a player that supports the file type without DRM—or just buy DRM-free music. That's the real fix, honestly.