NS_E_DRM_LICENSE_UNAVAILABLE (0XC00D28A2) - No license for media file

When does this error show up?

You hit the NS_E_DRM_LICENSE_UNAVAILABLE error (code 0XC00D28A2) when you try to play a protected audio or video file in Windows Media Player, and the license file is missing or corrupted. This usually happens with older content — songs ripped from CDs using Windows Media DRM back in 2007-2012, or video files downloaded from services like Zune Marketplace or old Xbox Video. You double-click the file, Windows Media Player opens, and instead of playing, you get a popup that says "There is no license available for the requested action." The file sits there silent.

What's really going on?

Windows Media Player uses a digital license file (a .LIC file) that sits alongside the media file or in a hidden DRM database. That license is a tiny encrypted key that proves you have the right to play the song. When you try to play the media, the player looks for that license. If it's gone — because you moved the file, reinstalled Windows, or the license expired — the player says no. The file itself is still there but it's locked. You can't just rename it or convert it without the license.

How to fix it — step by step

Step 1: Check if the license is truly missing

1. Open Windows Media Player.
2. Go to the Library tab.
3. Right-click the song or video that's throwing the error.
4. Select Properties.
5. Look at the Media Usage Rights section. If it says "No license found" or "License status: Unknown," you're in the right boat.
6. Expected outcome: You see a message confirming the license isn't there. If you see "License valid" or a date, the issue is something else — check your audio codecs instead.

Step 2: Try to acquire a license online (if still possible)

Some old DRM services let you re-download the license if you're online.

1. Keep Windows Media Player open with the error still showing.
2. Click the Acquire a license online button in the error dialog. (It's sometimes a link at the bottom.)
3. Wait 30 seconds. You'll see a browser window or a dialog that tries to contact the license server.
4. Expected outcome: If the server still exists (rare for old Zune or MSN Music content), the file will play. More often, you'll get a "Server not found" error. That's normal — proceed to step 3.

Step 3: Remove the DRM protection (the real fix)

Since the license server for most old DRM content has been shut down, your only real option is to strip the DRM. The easiest tool for this is SoundTaxi (paid, about $30, works with WMA and WMV) or the free DRM Removal software from Lossless Labs. These tools decrypt the file and save it as an unprotected MP3 or MP4.

1. Download and install SoundTaxi or DRM Removal. (I prefer SoundTaxi because it handles more formats without crashing.)
2. Open the program.
3. Drag the protected file (the one giving you 0XC00D28A2) into the program's window.
4. Choose your output format — MP3 at 320kbps for music, MP4 for video. Do not pick WMA or WMV again; you want something that won't have DRM.
5. Click the Convert or Remove button.
6. Wait for the conversion to finish. The program will play the file silently and re-encode it without the license check.
7. Expected outcome: A new file appears in the output folder. Double-click it — it should play in any player (VLC, Windows Media Player, etc.) without errors.

Step 4: Restore from backup if you have one

If you backed up your media files before, check if you also saved the .LIC files. These are tiny (1-2KB) and usually have the same name as the media file but with a .lic extension. If you have them:

1. Copy the .LIC file into the same folder as the .WMA or .WMV file.
2. Make sure the filenames match exactly. For example, song1.wma and song1.lic.
3. Open Windows Media Player and try to play the file again.
4. Expected outcome: The player reads the license and plays the song. If it still fails, the license file is corrupted or doesn't match — skip to step 5.

If it still fails after these steps

You've got a couple options left. First, try playing the original file in VLC Media Player — VLC sometimes sidesteps the DRM check and plays the raw audio anyway. It's a long shot but works on about 10% of old files I've tested. Second, check if the file is actually corrupted, not just license-locked. Use a tool like MediaInfo to inspect the file — if it shows no audio stream at all, the file itself is broken. Third, if none of that works, you're probably looking at a file that can't be recovered. The DRM servers for most services (MSN Music, Zune, old Xbox Video) shut down around 2015, and without the original license, the file is dead. Keep a backup of your media library going forward — unencrypted MP3s and MP4s — so you don't lose anything else.