NS_E_DRM_INDIV_FRAUD 0XC00D2843 – Fix DRM Errors Fast

Quick Fix – 30 Seconds: Check Your System Clock

Nine times out of ten, this error pops up because your system clock is off. Windows Media Player’s DRM checks the date and time against a license server. If they don’t match, you get 0XC00D2843.

Right-click the clock in your taskbar, choose Adjust date/time. Turn on Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically. If those are already on, turn them off, fix the time manually, then turn them back on. That forces a sync with time.windows.com.

I’ve seen this happen after a CMOS battery dies or after daylight saving time changes on older PCs. If your clock shows 2002 or something wild, swap the motherboard battery first. Once the clock’s correct, restart Windows Media Player and try again.

Moderate Fix – 5 Minutes: Delete the DRM Files

If the clock fix didn’t work, your DRM files are probably corrupted. Microsoft uses two folders to store DRM data, and they get borked sometimes. Here’s how to blow them away.

1. Close Windows Media Player and any other media apps.
2. Open File Explorer and paste this into the address bar: %PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\DRM
3. Press Enter. You’ll see a folder called DRM. Delete everything inside it. If you get a permission error, run cmd as admin and use del /F /S /Q "%PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\DRM\*.*".
4. Now paste this into the address bar: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\DRM
5. Same deal—delete all files in that DRM folder.
6. Restart Windows Media Player. It will recreate those files fresh the next time you play a DRM-protected file.

This wipes all your temporary DRM licenses. You might see a prompt to re-authorize the first time you play something. That’s fine—just click OK. The core license (like for a purchased track) is stored server-side, not in those folders.

Advanced Fix – 15+ Minutes: Re-register DRM Components and Reset Windows Media Player

If both above failed, the DRM system itself might be hosed. You need to re-register the COM components and reset the player.

Step 1: Re-register the DRM DLLs

Open an admin command prompt. Run these commands one by one:

regsvr32 /s wmdrmsdk.dll
regsvr32 /s wmp.dll
regsvr32 /s msvcr71.dll
regsvr32 /s msvcr80.dll
regsvr32 /s drmclien.dll

If any say “failed”, note the error. Usually it’s a missing DLL—then you need to reinstall Windows Media Features.

Step 2: Reset Windows Media Player

Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off. Uncheck Media Features (this removes Windows Media Player). Reboot. Then recheck it. That reinstalls a clean copy of WMP.

On Windows 10/11, you can also do this via PowerShell (admin):

Get-AppxPackage *mediaplayer* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*media*"} | Add-AppxPackage

But the feature toggle method is more thorough.

Step 3: Check for Conflicting Software

I’ve seen security suites (especially older Norton or McAfee) block DRM file creation. Temporarily disable your antivirus, try playing the file. If it works, add exceptions for the DRM folders listed above. Also, any tool that messes with system time like time sync utilities—uninstall them.

Step 4: Manual License Reset (Last Resort)

Open %WINDIR%\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\DRM (you need admin access). Delete files here too. This is the local service account’s DRM cache. Be careful—you might need to take ownership of the folder first.

After all that, restart. This fixes 99% of 0XC00D2843 cases. If you still see the error, the media file itself is probably corrupted or the license server is dead—try another source.