NS_E_DRM_REPORT_ERROR (0XC00D273B): DRM component glitch

Quick answer for advanced users

Close all DRM-using apps. Stop the Windows Media Player Network Sharing service. Delete the contents of C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady and the DRM subfolders under %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\. Reboot and play the file again. The license store will rebuild.

What's actually happening here

Error NS_E_DRM_REPORT_ERROR (0XC00D273B) pops up when Windows Media Player or Microsoft Edge tries to play DRM-protected content — think rented movies from the Store, purchased music, or some Netflix streams in older Edge. The short version: the Digital Rights Management component can't talk to its license store. This usually starts after a Windows Update (like KB5005033 on Windows 10 21H2) or after you've messed with the system date to bypass some trial. The DRM subsystem keeps a local cache of licenses in %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\DRM and C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady. When that cache gets corrupted — a bad write during an update, permissions changed by a cleaner app, or a stale clock — the DRM client reports this error instead of falling back gracefully. You'll only see it on protected content; regular MP3s or videos play fine.

Fix steps — in order

1. Close everything using DRM — that's Windows Media Player, Movies & TV, Netflix app, Edge. Check Task Manager for any wmplayer.exe or Video.UI.exe still running. Kill them.
2. Stop the Windows Media Player Network Sharing service. Open services.msc, find WMPNetworkSvc, right-click and Stop. This prevents it from locking DRM files.
3. Delete the DRM license cache. Open File Explorer and go to %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\DRM. If you don't see the folder, enable hidden files. Delete everything inside — just the files, not the folder itself. Also: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady — delete its contents too. Windows will recreate these files when you next play protected content.
4. Clear the temporary DRM files. Run %temp% from Run or the address bar, delete any *.tmp files with DRM in the name. Not strictly necessary, but I've seen stale temp files keep the error alive.
5. Restart the WMP service. Go back to services.msc, start WMPNetworkSvc. Then reboot. Not a full restart — just a proper reboot to flush kernel-level DRM handles.
6. Test playback. Open your DRM-protected file or stream. Windows will re-download the license from the provider. It might prompt you to sign in again — that's expected.

Alternative fixes if the main steps fail

Run the Windows Media Player troubleshooter. Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Additional troubleshooters > Windows Media Player. It resets the same cache but automates the process. Works maybe 30% of the time when the manual delete doesn't.

Check your system clock. DRM licenses are time-bound. If your clock is off by more than a few hours — say, after a dead CMOS battery — the DRM client thinks the license expired. Turn on automatic time sync: Settings > Time & Language > Sync now. Then repeat the DRM folder deletion.

Repair the Media Feature Pack (Windows N editions only). Go to Settings > Apps > Optional features > Media Feature Pack and reinstall it. The N editions strip out Media Player and DRM; sometimes the pack gets corrupted.

Last resort: System Restore. If the error started right after a Windows Update, run rstrui.exe and pick a restore point from before that update. This rolls back the DRM component files — drmv2clt.dll and blackbox.dll — to a known-good version.

How to prevent this from coming back

Don't use registry cleaners or disk cleanup tools that delete the DRM folder — yes, CCleaner has an option for that. Disable it. Also, keep your system clock automatic and don't mess with the date for game trial resets. Every time you roll the clock back, the DRM timestamp check gets out of sync, and the next legitimate license acquisition can fail. If you dual-boot with another OS, make sure it doesn't set the hardware clock to local time instead of UTC — that's a whole different can of worms.

For media servers or shared libraries: turn off WMPNetworkSvc when not streaming. That service locks the DRM store when it's running, and if it crashes mid-operation, you're looking at the same corruption path. Set it to Manual instead of Automatic — start it only when you need to share.