NS_E_METADATA_INVALID_DOCUMENT_TYPE (0XC00D32DC) – metadata document is invalid

Cause 1: Corrupt or unsupported metadata headers in the file

What's actually happening here is that Windows Media Player (WMP) reads a file's metadata—artist, album, track number, cover art—before it plays the audio or video. When those headers are corrupt, truncated, or use a format WMP doesn't recognize (like a malformed ID3v2 tag in an MP3 that was saved from a bad ripping tool), it throws 0XC00D32DC and refuses to play the file. I've seen this most often with MP3 files from old peer-to-peer downloads, or from audio CDs ripped with buggy software back in the Windows XP days.

How to fix it

1. Identify the bad file. The error usually names the file in the dialog. If not, check WMP's error history: open WMP, press F10 to show the menu, go to Help > Troubleshooting > View error details.
2. Strip and re-add the metadata. Use Mp3tag (free, works on MP3, FLAC, M4A, WMA). Drag the problematic file into Mp3tag, select it, then press Ctrl+A to select all, then hit Del to remove all tags. Save the file (Ctrl+S). Now re-add the metadata manually—just artist and title is enough to test. Save again. Try playing the file in WMP.
3. If that fails, rebuild the header entirely. Still in Mp3tag, go to File > Change Directory and navigate to the folder with the problem file. Select the file, go to Actions > Quick, and choose Rewrite existing tags. This forces a clean header structure.

Why this works: Mp3tag writes tags using the standard ID3v2.4 format, which WMP supports fully. The corrupt file may have had a mix of ID3v1 and ID3v2.3 headers that conflicted—rewriting them as a single clean block eliminates the conflict.

Cause 2: The file uses a container format WMP can't parse metadata from

Some video files—like MKV or OGM—embed metadata in non-standard chunks. WMP's metadata parser is picky: it expects certain atom structures (for MP4) or ASF headers (for WMV). If you've got an MKV with custom tags from a fan-sub group, or an AVI with VBR MP3 audio, WMP can choke on the metadata section and give you this error before it even tries to decode the video.

How to fix it

1. Re-encode the file with a modern tool. I recommend HandBrake (free, works cross-platform). Open HandBrake, load the problem file, and under the Summary tab, set the container to MP4. Under Audio, keep the codec as AAC. Under Subtitles, remove any foreign metadata tracks. Start encoding. The re-encoded MP4 will have clean, WMP-compatible metadata headers.
2. Alternatively, strip metadata without re-encoding. Use MKVToolNix for MKV files. Open the file in MKVToolNix GUI, go to the Global tab, and enable Disable track statistics tags. Then mux to a new MKV. This clears custom tags while keeping the video stream untouched.

Why step 2 works: WMP throws 0XC00D32DC when it encounters metadata it can't interpret. By stripping non-standard tags, the remaining structure is plain enough for WMP's parser to handle. The video itself stays intact.

Cause 3: WMP's metadata database is corrupted

Less common, but I've seen this on Windows 7 and 8 machines where WMP's library index gets scrambled—usually after a forced shutdown or a failed metadata update from an online service (like album art fetching). The player tries to read metadata from its database, finds garbage, and throws the error even for files that are perfectly fine.

How to fix it

1. Reset the WMP library. Close WMP. Press Win+R, type %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Media Player, and hit Enter. Delete everything inside that folder. Don't worry—this doesn't delete your media files, only the cached database. Next time you open WMP, it'll rescan your monitored folders from scratch.
2. Clear the metadata cache. Open WMP, go to Organize > Options > Library. Under Library settings, click Remove from library for every folder listed, then add them back. WMP will rebuild metadata entries one by one. This forces it to re-read each file's headers directly.

Why this works: The database corruption was causing WMP to serve stale or corrupted metadata snippets instead of reading the file fresh. Deleting the cache forces a clean read of the actual file headers, which—if the file itself is healthy—resolves the error.

Quick-reference summary table

If none of these work, the file itself may be broken beyond repair—try playing it in VLC (which is much more lenient with metadata) as a sanity check. If VLC plays it fine, the problem is definitely WMP's metadata parser. If VLC also chokes, the file's audio/video streams are likely corrupt, and you'll need to re-download or re-rip the source.