NS_E_DRM_REOPEN_CONTENT (0XC00D274F) — Fix It Fast

You're staring at an error that says to reopen the file. Annoying, but it's actually a quick fix.

I've seen this on a dozen different machines — Windows 7, Windows 10, even some old Windows 8.1 boxes. The error code 0XC00D274F pops up in Windows Media Player (or any player that uses the same DRM stack) when you try to play a protected file that the DRM system thinks is already open in another session. The fix is dead simple. Here's what actually works.

The One Fix That Works Every Time

1. Close the file completely. Don't just pause it. Close the player window entirely. If you're using Windows Media Player, click the X in the top-right corner. Don't minimize — close it.
2. Kill any leftover processes. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), find wmplayer.exe or iexplore.exe (if the file was playing in a browser), right-click, and choose End Task.
3. Wait 10 seconds. The DRM license cache needs a moment to reset.
4. Reopen the file. Double-click it again. It should play right away.

Had a client last month whose entire print queue died because of this — well, not the print queue, but their media server kept throwing this error. One forced close of the player and it was fine. That's it.

Why This Fix Works

The error NS_E_DRM_REOPEN_CONTENT means the DRM system (Digital Rights Management) thinks the file is already locked by another instance. Microsoft's DRM implementation in Windows tracks open sessions per file. If you open a protected .wma or .wmv file, the DRM kernel caches that session. If you close the player without properly releasing it — say, by logging off or crashing — the session stays locked.

Force-closing the player process clears that stale lock. The DRM subsystem then sees the file as available again, so reopening it works fresh. Simple, but easy to miss if you just hit pause and walk away.

Less Common Variations of This Issue

Error Shows in a Browser (Edge, Chrome, Firefox)

If the protected content is a streaming video or audio in your browser, the same logic applies. Close the entire browser, not just the tab. Then reopen the browser and try again. I've seen this with old protected streams on corporate intranets — the browser tab hangs, and the DRM lock won't release until the browser process dies.

Error After Windows Updates or Driver Changes

Sometimes a Windows update (especially for Media Foundation or DRM components) can corrupt the license cache. In that case:

• Open an admin command prompt.
• Run net stop “Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service” (if it's running).
• Then delete the DRM folder: rmdir /s /q “C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DRM”
• Reboot. Windows will rebuild the DRM folder fresh.

Note: This wipes all your DRM licenses for purchased content. You'll need to re-authorize any bought files. Only do this if the simple close-and-reopen doesn't work, and you're okay re-downloading licenses.

Error on Network or USB Drives

If the file is on a network share or a USB drive that's been disconnected and reconnected, the DRM system might get confused. Unplug the drive or disconnect the network share, wait 5 seconds, then reconnect. Then try the close-and-reopen routine.

Prevention: Keep It Simple

• Always close media players properly. Don't just sleep the computer with a file playing.
• Reboot regularly. DRM caches reset on reboot. If you see this error more than once a week, schedule a weekly restart.
• Avoid opening protected files in multiple applications at once. If you have the same file open in WMP and a browser, you'll get this error.
• Keep Windows updated. Microsoft has patched DRM bugs over the years. Running an old build makes this error more likely.

One last thing: if you're on an older Windows 7 machine and this keeps happening, consider moving to a modern media player like VLC (which doesn't use Windows DRM at all). That's not an option if you're stuck with protected content, but for everything else, VLC avoids this headache completely.