Fix 0XC00D1133: WMP Backup/Restore Rights Error

Error 0XC00D1133 pops up when Windows Media Player can't back up or restore DRM licenses. The fix is deleting the DRM folder and letting WMP rebuild it.

You're trying to back up or restore media usage rights in Windows Media Player, and boom – error 0XC00D1133 with that long "NS_E_WMPBR_ERRORWITHURL" message. Yeah, it's annoying. Here's the fix that actually works, no hokey registry tweaks or driver reinstalls.

Delete the DRM folder – it's the culprit

Windows Media Player stores your DRM licenses in a hidden folder under %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\DRM. When that folder gets corrupted – and it does, especially after Windows updates or a failed backup attempt – WMP can't read or write to it, and you get error 0XC00D1133.

The fix: nuke the folder and let Windows rebuild it fresh.

Close Windows Media Player completely. Check Task Manager to make sure no wmplayer.exe or ehshell.exe processes are running.
Press Win + R, type %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\DRM, and hit Enter. If that path doesn't work, try C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DRM – same thing on most systems.
Delete everything inside that folder. Don't delete the folder itself – just the files and subfolders inside.
Open Windows Media Player again. It'll recreate the DRM folder automatically.
Try the backup or restore operation again.

That's it. One client of mine had this error pop up after a Windows 10 22H2 update. Deleting the DRM folder fixed it instantly. Another user had a corrupted license after moving his music to a new drive – same fix.

Why this works

The DRM folder holds cryptographic keys tied to your hardware. If a file inside gets truncated or a write operation fails midway, Windows Media Player can't parse it. Instead of patching a broken file, you let Windows start from scratch. WMP re-downloads licenses from the content provider next time you play protected media – it's seamless.

Less common variations of the same issue

Error appears only when backing up to a network drive

If the error only happens when you choose a network path or USB drive, it's usually a permissions problem. The DRM folder is protected by NTFS permissions – backing up to a drive without proper write permissions triggers the same error. Solution: run the backup as Administrator, and make sure the target drive is NTFS (FAT32 won't work with DRM licenses).

Error after a clean Windows install

If you've reinstalled Windows and see this error trying to restore licenses you backed up before, you're out of luck – those old licenses are hardware-locked. You can't restore them to a new motherboard. The only option is to re-authorize with the content provider (iTunes, Amazon, etc.). Don't waste time with compatibility modes.

Error appears even after deleting DRM folder

Sometimes the DRM folder won't delete because a Windows service called sppsvc holds it open. Boot into Safe Mode (hold Shift while clicking Restart), then delete the folder contents. That's rare but I've seen it twice – once on a Dell laptop.

Prevention tips

Don't back up DRM licenses manually. The WMP backup tool is fragile. Use it once and forget it.
Keep Windows Media Player updated. Microsoft patched some DRM corruption bugs in later versions of WMP 12 on Windows 10. Check for updates.
Avoid third-party DRM strippers. They corrupt the license store more often than they help. I've seen three machines completely brick their DRM folder because of these tools.
Run a disk check quarterly. chkdsk /f on your system drive prevents file system corruption that can trash the DRM folder. Takes a reboot and 10 minutes.

If none of this works, you're probably dealing with a deeper system corruption. Run sfc /scannow from an admin command prompt, then DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. That's overkill 95% of the time, but it catches the edge cases.

Final note: error 0XC00D1133 is almost never about your internet connection or firewall. Don't waste time disabling security software – the DRM folder is the issue 9 times out of 10.