Fix NS_E_WMPXML_EMPTYDOC (0xC00D0FB9) in Windows Media Player

The 30-Second Fix: Reset the Library

Nine times out of ten, this error shows up because the media library database got corrupted. Happens after an unclean shutdown, a failed metadata update, or moving your music folder around. Start here.

1. Close Windows Media Player completely. Check the taskbar—if it's still running, kill it in Task Manager.
2. Press Win + R, type %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Media Player, hit Enter.
3. Delete everything in that folder. Yes, all of it. Windows will recreate these files next time WMP starts.
4. Open Windows Media Player again. It'll rebuild the library from scratch—might take a minute depending on how much music you have.

That's it for most people. If the error's gone, you're done. Skip the rest.

Still Seeing It? Clear the Metadata Cache (5 Minutes)

If the first fix didn't work, the culprit is almost always a stuck metadata retrieval. WMP caches album art and track info in a separate folder, and a bad file there can trigger the parser error. Here's the cleanest way to nuke it.

1. Close WMP again.
2. Press Win + R, type %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player\MLS, hit Enter.
3. Delete everything inside that MLS folder. Don't delete the MLS folder itself—just the contents.
4. Now go to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player\Image Cache and delete everything there too.
5. Restart WMP.

This forces WMP to re-download all album art and metadata from the internet. Make sure you've got a working network connection. If you're offline, this won't help.

Advanced Fix: Registry Tweak and Library Rebuild (15+ Minutes)

If you're still hitting the error after both steps above, the problem is deeper—probably a corrupt database file that's not getting cleaned up by a simple delete. This fix uses the command line to fully reset the Windows Media Player library database.

Warning: This will erase your entire WMP history—playlists, ratings, last played dates, everything. Back up custom playlists if you care about them.

1. Close WMP and any other program that might touch media files (like iTunes or VLC).
2. Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Right-click Start, choose Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).
3. Run these commands one at a time:

   net stop wmpnetwork
   net stop wmpnetworksvc
   reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Preferences" /f
   reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\RecentFileList" /f
   reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\RecentURLList" /f

4. Now delete the entire media player database folder again for good measure:

   rmdir /s /q "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Media Player"
   rmdir /s /q "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player"

5. Restart your computer. Don't skip the restart—WMP services need a clean start.
6. Open WMP. It'll prompt you to set up the library again. Choose your music folders and let it scan. This takes a while if you've got a large collection.

The registry delete step is the real key here. It removes saved preferences that might point to the empty document state. Don't bother with doing a System Restore unless you've got nothing better to do—it rarely fixes this specific error because the corruption is in user data, not system files.

When to Give Up and Use Something Else

If you've gone through all three steps and the error pops back up, your Media Player installation might be toast. This happens on Windows 7 and 8 more than Windows 10, but I've seen it on 10 too. Your options:

• Repair the installation: Go to Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off. Uncheck Media Features (or Windows Media Player depending on your version), reboot, then re-enable it. This re-registers all the DLLs.
• Use VLC or MPC-HC. Seriously. WMP is fine for basic playback, but if it's fighting you this hard, move on. VLC handles everything WMP does and doesn't have this XML parser nonsense.

That's the whole playbook. Start with the 30-second fix, escalate as needed. This error has no hidden magic bullet—it's always the corrupted library or a stuck metadata cache.