Fix 0XC00D1206 DRM License Error in Windows Media Player

What's Going On?

You're trying to play a media file — maybe a purchased song, a video from an old service, or a protected WMA file. Instead of playing, Windows Media Player throws up NS_E_WMP_DRM_LICENSE_UNUSABLE (0XC00D1206). The blunt translation: your license file is junk. Something corrupted it — a Windows update, a reinstall, or swapping your motherboard. Don't bother reinstalling WMP, that rarely helps.

The 30-Second Fix: Refresh the Individual License

Before you nuke anything, try this. WMP has a built-in license refresh for individual files. It works about 20% of the time, but it's fast.

Open Windows Media Player (yes, the old 12.0 version, not Groove).
Right-click the file that's failing and select 'Find Album Info' (or 'Find License' in older versions).
WMP will try to phone home to the license server. Accept any prompts.

If that hangs or fails, move on. Your license file is toast, not missing.

The 5-Minute Fix: Reset the DRM Store

This is the real fix for 9 out of 10 cases. Windows stores DRM data in a hidden folder. Deleting it forces WMP to rebuild it from scratch. You'll lose any stored licenses, but you can re-download them by playing the file again.

Close WMP completely. Kill it in Task Manager if needed.
Press Win + R, type %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\DRM, hit Enter. If you're on Windows 10/11, use %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\DRM.
Delete everything in that folder. Yes, all of it. You might get a 'file in use' error — that's the DRM service. We'll handle that next.
Open Command Prompt as Administrator: search 'cmd', right-click, 'Run as administrator'.
Run net stop drmsvc to kill the DRM service, then net stop drmkaud (if it exists).
Now delete the DRM folder contents again. Should work.
Restart WMP. Play the file again. WMP will prompt you to retrieve the license from the internet — accept it.

This works for most people. If you're still stuck, the license server for that file might be dead (RIP old music stores). That leads to the advanced fix.

The 15+ Minute Fix: Wipe and Re-register DRM Components

If the reset didn't work, the DRM system itself is hosed. You'll need to re-register the core DLLs. This is for Windows 10/11 20H2 and later. Older OS versions (Vista, 7) have a different process — I won't cover that here, but look for 'DRM individualization' downgrade.

Open an elevated Command Prompt (Admin).

Run these commands in order. They unregister and re-register the Windows Media Player DRM DLLs:

regsvr32 /u wmp.dll
regsvr32 /u wmdrmsdk.dll
regsvr32 /u wmvcore.dll
regsvr32 wmp.dll
regsvr32 wmdrmsdk.dll
regsvr32 wmvcore.dll

Now reset the DRM folder again (step 2 of the 5-minute fix).
Delete the DRM folder completely this time — yes, the whole folder, not just contents.
Reboot. WMP will recreate it fresh.

Still failing? The file's license server is probably dead. Example: old Zune Marketplace tracks, MSN Music purchases from 2008. Those servers are long gone. Your only option then is to strip the DRM (legally questionable where you live) or find an unprotected copy.

When to Give Up and Transcode

If the error persists after the advanced fix, the license is unretrievable. I've seen this with files from Yahoo Music Store, MTV Uncut, and early Napster. Use a tool like Audacity or FFmpeg to record the audio during play (if it plays at all) or find a DRM removal tool. Don't bother contacting Microsoft — they killed the DRM individualization service years ago.

Prevention Tips (for next time)

Back up your DRM folder before any OS reinstall: copy %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\DRM to an external drive. Restore it after reinstall.
If you buy music today, stick to MP3 or FLAC — no DRM. Services like Bandcamp, Amazon (non-DRM tracks), or Qobuz are safer.
Convert your old DRM-protected files to MP3 while you can still play them. Use Windows Media Player's 'Rip to MP3' feature if the license is still valid.

That's it. You've got three options here, and one of them will work. Start with the 30-second refresh — if it doesn't click, go straight to the DRM folder reset. That's your money fix.