Fix NS_E_PUBLISHING_POINT_REMOVED (0XC00D145A) on IIS Media Services

If you're staring at that 0XC00D145A error, you know the frustration. It usually hits right in the middle of a live stream or when you try to connect to a Smooth Streaming endpoint. But it's fixable—here's exactly what to do.

The Quick Fix: Rebuild the Publishing Point

This is the fix that works 90% of the time. The error NS_E_PUBLISHING_POINT_REMOVED means Windows Media Services can't find the publishing point it was told to use. It could be deleted by accident, or corrupted during a config update. Let's rebuild it.

1. Open IIS Manager (run inetmgr from the Start menu).
2. In the left Connections pane, expand your server name, then expand Sites.
3. Click the website that hosts your media content (usually Default Web Site).
4. In the middle pane, double-click IIS Media Services (or look for Windows Media Services icon if you're on an older build).
5. Under Publishing Points, you'll see a list. If the one you need is gone, click Add Publishing Point in the Actions pane on the right.
6. Give it the exact same name as the original. Use live or ondemand—whatever your client apps reference.
7. Pick the type: Broadcast Publishing Point for live streams, On-Demand Publishing Point for recorded files.
8. Click OK. At this point, the error should clear up for new connections.
9. Now restart the Windows Media Services service. Open Services (services.msc), find Windows Media Services, right-click and choose Restart.

What you should see: After step 8, the publishing point appears in the list. After step 9, the service restarts. Try connecting to your stream—the error should be gone.

Why This Fix Works

The error 0XC00D145A is a symptom of a missing or orphaned publishing point. This happens more than you'd think. Common triggers:

• A previous admin deleted the publishing point while troubleshooting something else.
• A script or automated deployment wiped the publishing point configuration.
• The Windows Media Services database got corrupted after a power failure or improper shutdown.

Rebuilding the publishing point recreates the configuration in the service's internal database. The restart makes sure the service loads the fresh config. That's it—no deep voodoo.

Less Common Variations

Sometimes the rebuild doesn't work. Here are three variations I've seen in the field:

1. The Publishing Point Exists But Shows Disabled

Check the publishing point properties. Right-click it in IIS Manager, choose Properties, and look at the Enabled checkbox. If it's unchecked, check it. Apply and restart the service.

2. The Publishing Point Exists But the Content Source Path is Broken

In the publishing point properties, go to the Source tab. If you're using a network share or a specific file path, verify that path is accessible. The Windows Media Services account needs read permissions. Test by pasting the path into File Explorer on the server. If you can't access it, fix the permissions or update the path.

3. The Publishing Point Was Removed From a Load-Balanced Farm

If you're running multiple Windows Media Servers behind a load balancer, the publishing point might be missing on one server. Check each server in the farm. The fix is the same as above—rebuild it on the missing server and restart the service. Then verify the farm syncs correctly.

Prevention Tips

Stop this from coming back. Do these three things:

• Back up the publishing point config. In IIS Manager, right-click the publishing point, choose Export Configuration, and save the .xml file. Keep it somewhere safe.
• Use a script to deploy publishing points. PowerShell or batch scripts that create the publishing point on every server in the farm. That way, if one gets deleted, you just run the script.
• Monitor the Windows Media Services event log. Look for event ID 101 or 102—they log when a publishing point is added or removed. Set up an alert so you know immediately if something changes.

That should keep the 0XC00D145A error out of your life. If it shows up again, you now know exactly where to look.