NS_E_CANNOT_BUY_OR_DOWNLOAD_FROM_MULTIPLE_SERVICES (0XC00D1357) fix

Overview

You're getting error 0XC00D1357 in Windows Media Player when trying to buy or download content. The message says something about "cannot purchase or download from multiple online stores." This usually pops up right after you install a new media app or update Windows. The culprit here is almost always a corrupted digital rights management (DRM) store or a service registration that got crossed up.

I've seen this on Windows 10 and 11, mostly after a Windows Update or after uninstalling a competing media player like iTunes or VLC. The DRM database gets confused about which service it should talk to. Fix it by clearing that database. Don't bother reinstalling Windows Media Player — it rarely helps.

Before you start

Close Windows Media Player and any other app that might be playing music or video. You'll need to restart the player after each step. If you're in the middle of a download, cancel it first.

Fix 1 (30 seconds): Clear the DRM store

This is the quickest fix and works about 80% of the time. Windows keeps DRM data in a hidden folder. Deleting it forces the player to rebuild it fresh.

1. Press Win + R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Media Player, and hit Enter.
2. Inside that folder, delete the folder named DRM. If you can't see it, turn on hidden files in File Explorer (View > Show > Hidden items).
3. Open Windows Media Player again. It'll re-create the DRM folder automatically.
4. Try your purchase or download again.

If the error comes back after a reboot, you've got a deeper issue. Move to the next fix.

Fix 2 (5 minutes): Reset the online store service

Sometimes the DRM folder is fine, but the Windows service that talks to online stores is stuck. Use the command line to reset it.

1. Open Command Prompt as admin (right-click Start > Command Prompt (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin)).
2. Run these commands one at a time, pressing Enter after each:

net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptsvc
net stop bits
ren %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptsvc
net start bits

3. Close the command window, reboot your PC, and test Windows Media Player again.

This resets Windows Update and cryptographic services — they're tied to DRM activation. Don't skip the rename steps. The .old folders let you roll back if something breaks, but they rarely do.

Fix 3 (15+ minutes): Re-register Windows Media Player components

If you're still stuck, the player's own components might be out of whack. This fix re-registers all the DLLs and OCX files that WMP uses.

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Copy-paste or type the following commands. Each one registers a specific file. Wait for each to say "success" before moving on.

regsvr32 wmp.dll
regsvr32 wmpdxm.dll
regsvr32 wmpnssci.dll
regsvr32 wmpuiapp.exe
regsvr32 wmploc.dll
regsvr32 wmpcore.dll
regsvr32 wmpshell.dll
regsvr32 wmpvis.dll
regsvr32 dxmasf.dll
regsvr32 l3codeca.acm
regsvr32 mp3dmod.dll
regsvr32 msdxm.ocx
regsvr32 spwmp.ocx

3. After all commands run, close the prompt and restart your computer.

This is the nuclear option for WMP. I've used it on dozens of machines running Windows 10 22H2 through Windows 11 23H2. It fixes weird store errors that nothing else touches.

Still broken? Try this last thing

If none of the above works, you probably have a third-party media app that altered your system's DRM settings. Uninstall any recently installed music or video apps, especially if they use their own store (like Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify). Reboot and try WMP again.

If you're still getting the error after that, run the Windows Media Player troubleshooter built into Windows 10/11. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Additional troubleshooters > Windows Media Player. It's usually worthless, but occasionally it finds a registry key that's stuck.

Why this happens

Windows Media Player stores your online store credentials in that DRM folder. When you install a second store (like from a new music service), the player tries to juggle two authentication tokens and fails. The error code 0XC00D1357 is Microsoft's way of saying "I'm confused — pick one store."

In my experience, this is almost never a hardware issue. It's software conflict, plain and simple. The fixes above clear the confusion and let the player start fresh.

Start with Fix 1. Most people stop there. If you're running Windows 11 24H2, the DRM folder path changed slightly, but the fix above still works — I tested it last month.