You're trying to play a purchased or rented video — maybe a downloaded movie in Windows Media Player, or a stream inside an older app that uses Windows Media DRM. The file won't open. Instead you get a popup that says "A problem has occurred in the Digital Rights Management component" with the code 0XC00D28B6. The full symbolic name is NS_E_DRM_DRMV2CLT_REVOKED. This isn't a random glitch. It means your system's DRM client has been permanently blacklisted by Microsoft's license server.
What's actually happening here is that Microsoft's DRM server checks a version number and a revocation list every time you try to acquire a license. If your DRM components are too old, or if the local DRM store got corrupted and reports a bogus version, the server rejects it. The client is "revoked" — not because you did anything wrong, but because it's no longer trusted. The fix is to force Windows to re-download a fresh DRM client and a clean license store.
Root Cause
Windows Media DRM (WMDRM) uses two main files: drmv2clt.dll for the client logic, and a per-user folder called DRM under %ProgramData% (or %ALLUSERSPROFILE%) that holds individual license files. Over time, that folder can get corrupted — a half-written license, a bad index, or an interrupted update. When the DRM client tries to read it, it reports a version that the license server doesn't recognize, and the server revokes the client ID.
Another trigger is an old Windows installation that hasn't been updated for years. Microsoft revokes old DRM client versions periodically, and if your system still has one of those, the server simply refuses to issue new licenses. The error usually shows up right after you've installed a fresh Windows copy and then try to play older DRM-protected content — that's the exact scenario. The new install has no update, the DRM client is ancient, and the server says no.
Fix: Rebuild the DRM Store
The real fix is to delete the corrupted DRM data and let Windows recreate it on the next attempt. You don't need third-party tools. Here's the sequence that works on Windows 10 and 11 (and it worked on Windows 7 back in the day, too):
- Close every media player — Windows Media Player, Microsoft Movies & TV, any app that might use DRM. If a player is running, it locks the DRM files and you can't delete them.
- Open File Explorer and go to this folder:
In File Explorer, paste that path into the address bar and hit Enter. You'll see a bunch of files with extensions like%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\DRM.drm,.tmp, and.bak. - Delete everything inside that folder. Don't delete the folder itself — just its contents. You might get a "file in use" error. If that happens, close any hidden processes by opening Task Manager and ending
wmplayer.exeorsvchost.exe(careful with svchost — only end the one that runs the DRM service, but usually closing all media apps is enough). - Reboot your PC. This clears any residual locks and resets the DRM service.
- Reopen your media player and try to play the file again. Windows will see that the DRM store is empty and go through its initialization routine. It will download a fresh DRM client and create a clean set of license files. The error should be gone.
If the error persists after that, you need to make sure the DRM client itself is up to date. The easiest way is to run Windows Update. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and check for updates. Install all pending updates, especially any that mention "Media Feature Pack" or "Windows Media Player". On Windows 10 N editions, the Media Feature Pack is a separate download — without it, DRM components are missing entirely, and you'll get this error no matter what you do.
What to Check If It Still Fails
If you've cleaned the DRM folder and updated Windows, and the error still shows up, there are a few more things to look at.
First, check whether the file itself is tied to an old DRM version that Microsoft has permanently revoked. Some older online video stores used DRM that's been deprecated. Even with a fresh client, the server might refuse because the content's DRM version is no longer supported. In that case, no local fix will help — you'd need to re-download the file from the store if it's still available, or accept that it's dead.
Second, check if your system clock is correct. DRM licenses are time-sensitive. If your clock is off by more than a few minutes, the license server can reject your request. Sync your time via Settings > Time & Language > Sync now.
Third, look at the event log. Press Win + X and pick Event Viewer. Go to Windows Logs > Application and filter for errors with source Microsoft-Windows-MediaPlayer or DRM. The details might reveal a deeper problem like a corrupted system file. If so, run sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt. That checks and repairs Windows system files, including any DRM-related ones.
Of course, there's the nuclear option: create a new user profile. DRM data is also stored per-user, and if your profile is corrupted, a fresh one might fix it. Create a new user account, log into it, and try playing the file. This is a last resort, but I've seen it work when the local DRM store won't rebuild even after deletion.
One thing that doesn't help: reinstalling the media player or the app that's showing the error. The DRM component is a system-level piece, not tied to any single player. You'll waste time uninstalling and reinstalling Windows Media Player and see the same error again. Stick to clearing the DRM folder and updating Windows.
After you've gone through these steps, the error should be resolved. The cleanest approach is the folder deletion + reboot + update sequence. It's handled a dozen similar cases for me, and it's almost always the corrupted store that's the problem, not the client itself.