NS_E_METADATA_IDENTIFIER_NOT_AVAILABLE: Why Windows Media Center can't play this file

Corrupted or missing metadata identifier (most common cause)

What's actually happening here is that Windows Media Center (WMC) stores a unique metadata identifier for each file in its internal library database. When that identifier gets corrupted — often after a file move, rename, or a bad metadata refresh — WMC throws 0XC00D32DD and refuses to play the file. The file itself is almost always fine; it's the database entry that's broken.

I've seen this trigger most often when you've copied media from a network drive, or after a Windows Update that touched the Media Center database (KB3135445 was a notorious culprit on Windows 7).

1. Open Windows Media Center.
2. Navigate to Movies + TV (or Music or Pictures depending on file type).
3. Find the file that fails — right-click it (or press and hold on touch) and select Delete from the library. This removes only the library entry, not the original file.
4. Exit WMC completely. Kill the process in Task Manager if needed.
5. Re-add the file: In WMC, go to Tasks > Settings > Media Libraries. Remove and re-add the folder that contains the file. WMC will rescan and rebuild the metadata identifier.

The reason step 3 works is that you're forcing WMC to create a fresh metadata identifier from scratch — no corruption carried over. Skipping the delete and just rescanning often keeps the broken identifier.

Network path or external drive changed

Another common trigger: the file lives on a network share or external USB drive, and the path changed. WMC stored the old UNC path (like \Server\Share\movie.mkv) in its metadata identifier. If the share name changes, or the drive letter shifts, the identifier becomes orphaned. The error fires because WMC can't resolve the identifier to an actual location.

This happens frequently when you remap a network drive or plug the external drive into a different USB port (Windows assigns a new drive letter).

1. First, make sure the file is actually accessible from File Explorer at its current path.
2. In WMC, go to Tasks > Settings > Media Libraries.
3. Remove the old folder path (e.g., E:\Videos if that drive changed to F:).
4. Add the new folder path instead.
5. Wait for WMC to finish rescanning. Don't interrupt it.

If the drive letter keeps changing, assign a permanent letter via Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc). Right-click the volume, choose Change Drive Letter and Paths, and pick a letter that won't conflict. For network shares, use a UNC path (\Server\Share) instead of a mapped drive letter — those are less brittle.

Corrupted Media Center database (stubborn cases)

If neither fix above helps, the database itself is probably corrupted. WMC stores metadata in an SQL Compact Edition database file: MediaCenter.db. When that gets corrupted — from a crash during a scan, or a bad third-party codec installer — metadata identifiers can become unrecoverable.

You'll know this is the case if the error hits every file in a folder, not just one.

1. Close WMC entirely.
2. Open Windows Task Manager and kill any ehshell.exe or ehrec.exe processes.
3. Navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\eHome.
4. Rename MediaCenter.db to MediaCenter.db.old. WMC will recreate it from scratch on next launch.
5. Launch WMC. It will run through the initial setup wizard again. Your TV tuner settings will stay intact (they're stored separately).
6. Re-add your media folders. This wipes all manual metadata edits you've made — that's the cost.

I've done this dozens of times. The tradeoff is acceptable: you lose custom cover art and ratings, but you get a working WMC back. If you have a backup of the database (from a system restore point), you can try restoring it instead.

One more thing: third-party codec packs (K-Lite, Shark007) sometimes interfere with WMC's metadata parser. If the error started after installing one, try uninstalling it, reboot, and test. The codec pack isn't the direct cause — it's that WMC's metadata identifier generation uses system codecs, and a bad filter can break the identifier lookup.

Quick-reference summary

If none of these work, the file itself might use a container or codec that WMC simply can't generate a metadata identifier for — typically exotic formats like .ts from a DVR or .m2ts from a Blu-ray rip. In that case, remux the file to .mp4 or .mkv using HandBrake or FFmpeg. WMC handles those formats fine, and the metadata identifier gets generated properly.