Fix NS_E_DRM_MIGRATION_LICENSE_ALREADY_EXISTS (0XC00D2792)

This error means Windows Media DRM already has the license you're trying to import. The fix is to delete the duplicate or reinstall the DRM components.

Quick answer for advanced users

Run %windir%\system32\regsvr32.exe drmupd.dll as admin, then delete all files in %windir%\System32\DRM (except the folder itself), then restart Windows Media Player.

What's happening here

You're seeing error NS_E_DRM_MIGRATION_LICENSE_ALREADY_EXISTS (0XC00D2792) because Windows Media Player's DRM system already has a copy of the license you're trying to import. This usually happens when you've already migrated a license from an old PC, or when a DRM update gets interrupted and leaves a half-baked license file behind. I've seen this most often on Windows 10 after a major update (like 22H2) when someone tries to re-authenticate old purchased music or videos.

The real problem is that Windows Media DRM stores licenses in a hidden folder under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DRM or C:\Windows\System32\DRM. When you try to import a license that has the same unique ID as one already stored, Windows throws this error instead of overwriting it. The fix is to clear out the bad license and let the DRM system rebuild it fresh.

Step-by-step fix

Close Windows Media Player completely — check your system tray (the little arrow near the clock) and right-click any WMP icon to exit. Don't skip this, or the files we need to delete will be locked.
Press Windows Key + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
Find Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service in the list. Right-click it and select Stop. If it's already stopped, leave it.
Open File Explorer and paste this into the address bar: %windir%\System32\DRM. Hit Enter. You'll see a folder with some files inside — usually drmstore.hds, drmv2.lic, and maybe some temp files. Do not delete the folder itself, only the files inside it.
Select all files (Ctrl+A) and press Delete. If any file says it's in use, reboot into Safe Mode and try again. In my experience, the drmstore.hds file is the most common offender — it's the main license database.
Now re-register the DRM updater: Press Windows Key + X and select Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). Type regsvr32 drmupd.dll and press Enter. You should see a popup saying "DllRegisterServer in drmupd.dll succeeded." If not, run regsvr32 %windir%\system32\drmupd.dll instead.
Restart Windows Media Player. When you open it, the DRM system will detect there's no license store and create a fresh one. Now try to import your license again. It should work this time.

Alternative fixes if the main one fails

Option A: Use the Microsoft DRM cleanup tool (if you have it). Microsoft used to offer a tool called drmclean.exe but they removed it from official channels years ago. Don't download it from random sites — it's almost certainly malware now. Skip that.

Option B: Reinstall Windows Media Player features. Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off. Uncheck Media Features (you'll see a warning about removing Media Player — click OK). Restart your PC, then come back and check the box again. This reinstalls the DRM components cleanly. I've had to do this on a few Windows 11 machines where the DRM folder was corrupted beyond repair.

Option C: Use a different media player. If you're just trying to play old DRM-protected files, you might be out of luck — Windows Media DRM was deprecated years ago, and Microsoft no longer supports it. Try VLC Media Player (version 3.0.18 or later) — it can sometimes play these files without a license check, though it won't always work. If the file is an old .wma song or .wmv video from a store that's shut down (like the old MSN Music store), the license server is probably offline anyway.

Prevention tip for next time

Before you migrate DRM licenses from an old PC, back up the entire DRM folder — copy %windir%\System32\DRM to a USB drive. If you get this error again, you can restore the backup and retry. Also, don't try to import the same license twice in a row — wait a few minutes between attempts, because the DRM system sometimes needs time to write the license to disk.

One last thing: If you're on Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11 23H2, Microsoft moved some DRM functions to a different subsystem. The old DRM folder still exists, but the license store might be virtualized. In that case, the folder cleanup won't help — you'll need to use the Windows features reinstall (Option B) instead.