Fix NS_E_PLAYLIST_PLUGIN_NOT_FOUND (0XC00D157F) in WMP

Windows Media Player can't read a playlist because the right parser plug-in is missing or disabled. This usually happens after a Windows update or when you open an unsupported playlist type. Here's how to fix it.

You're trying to play a playlist in Windows Media Player (WMP) and you get that error: NS_E_PLAYLIST_PLUGIN_NOT_FOUND (0XC00D157F). It happens when you double-click a .wpl, .m3u, or .asx file, or when you drag a playlist from an external drive onto the WMP window. The player just refuses to open it, showing a dialog that says "No enabled playlist parser plug-in is available to access the requested content."

This usually appears after a Windows feature update (like going from Windows 10 22H2 to Windows 11 23H2) or after a third-party media player uninstalls itself and takes WMP's plug-ins with it. Sometimes it's as simple as a setting that got toggled off.

What actually causes this error

Windows Media Player doesn't natively read every playlist format. It relies on small plug-ins called "playlist parsers" to read the file. Each parser handles a specific format. When the parser for the format you're trying to open is missing or disabled, WMP throws this exact error.

The most common culprit is the ASX/WMX parser, but M3U and WPL parsers also get disabled after updates. The fix is almost always to re-enable the plug-in in WMP's options. In rare cases, the plug-in files are corrupted or removed completely, and you need to reinstall WMP or repair the system files.

Fix it in four steps

Start with the easy one. No admin rights needed for step 1.

Open Windows Media Player's options. Launch WMP from the Start menu. If it doesn't open because the error keeps popping up, right-click the WMP shortcut and choose "Run as administrator". Once WMP is open, press Alt on your keyboard. That reveals the old menu bar. Click Tools > Options.
Go to the Plug-ins tab. In the Options window, you'll see a row of tabs. Click Plug-ins. There's a dropdown at the top that probably says "Category". Leave it as is. Below that you'll see a list of plug-ins. Look for one called Playlist Parser or Windows Media Playlist Parser. If you don't see it, scroll down the list—it's there, just buried.
Enable the parser. Click on the playlist parser entry to select it. Then look at the bottom of the window—there's a checkbox that says Enabled. If it's unchecked, click it to check it. Also click Properties (if it's not grayed out) and make sure the file associations for .asx, .wpl, .m3u, and .wmx are all checked. Click OK on the Properties dialog, then Apply and OK on the Options window.
Test your playlist. Try opening the playlist again. Double-click the file or drag it into WMP. You should see the playlist load and the first track start playing.

After clicking Apply, you might see a quick flash as WMP reloads its plug-ins. That's normal. If you don't see the checkbox or the plug-in is grayed out, skip to the next section.

Still not working? Try these

If the plug-in is already enabled, or you can't find it at all, the plug-in files might be missing. Windows Media Player doesn't ship as a standalone installable program in Windows 10/11—it's a feature you can toggle. The fastest fix is to re-register the plug-in DLLs.

Re-register the playlist parser DLLs

Close WMP completely. Open a Command Prompt as administrator. You can do that by typing "cmd" in the Start search, right-clicking on Command Prompt, and choosing "Run as administrator". In the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing Enter after each:

regsvr32.exe jscript.dll
regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll
regsvr32.exe wmp.dll
regsvr32.exe wmploc.dll

You'll see Success dialogs after each registration. Click OK on each. Then restart your computer. Don't skip the restart—it actually matters here because the plug-in cache needs to refresh.

Reset Windows Media Player settings

If the error persists, someone (or something) messed with WMP's settings. Resetting them doesn't delete your library, but it does clear your skins, radio presets, and custom views. Heres how:

Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.
Type regedit and press Enter.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer.
Right-click the MediaPlayer key on the left and choose Delete.
Close Regedit and restart WMP.

WMP will recreate that registry key with default settings when it launches. This fixes most plug-in related errors because the default settings enable all parsers.

When nothing else works

If you still get the error, the problem is likely the playlist file itself. Some playlist formats are old and broken. For example, .asx files that were created on Windows XP sometimes reference codecs that don't exist on modern systems. Try creating a new playlist in WMP and adding those same songs. Highlight all the tracks in your current playlist, drag them into WMP's library, then save that as a new .wpl file. If that new playlist plays, the original file was corrupt.

Another last-ditch fix: uninstall and reinstall Windows Media Player through Windows Features. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off. Scroll down to Media Features, uncheck Windows Media Player, click OK, and restart. Then go back and re-check it, restart again. This reinstalls all WMP components, including the plug-in files.

If you're on Windows 11, note that WMP is often replaced by the newer Media Player app from the Store. The legacy WMP still exists but is hidden. If none of the above works, consider converting your playlists to a universal format like M3U and use a modern player like VLC. But honestly, the registry reset fixes it for 9 out of 10 people.