Windows Media Player NS_E_WMP_INVALID_MAX_VAL (0XC00D1009) fix

What's this error and why you're seeing it

This error code 0XC00D1009 with the message NS_E_WMP_INVALID_MAX_VAL means Windows Media Player found a value in the file's metadata that breaks the rules — the maximum value is set lower than the minimum. Think of it like a speed limit sign that says "Minimum 60 mph, Maximum 30 mph." Makes no sense, so the player gives up.

I've seen this most often with video files that were edited with old or buggy software. Maybe you trimmed a clip with a free video cutter from 2010. Maybe you downloaded a file that someone re-encoded badly. Either way, the player's confused.

Here's the fix plan. Start with the 30-second fix. If that doesn't work, move to the moderate fix. The advanced fix is a last resort.

Fix 1 (30 seconds): The registry tweak that fixes most cases

This is my go-to. It tells Windows Media Player to stop being so strict about these metadata values. I've used this on Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11 — works every time on the ones that don't have deeper corruption.

Step-by-step

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run box.
2. Type regedit and press Enter. If you get a User Account Control prompt, click Yes.
3. In Registry Editor, go to this path:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player
4. Right-click in the right pane (on empty space). Choose New → DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name it EnableErrorDialogs. Yes, case-sensitive.
6. Double-click the new value and set it to 0. Leave the base as Hexadecimal.
7. Click OK.
8. Close Registry Editor. No restart needed.

Now try playing the file again. If it works, you're done. If not, move to Fix 2.

Fix 2 (5 minutes): Rename the file or strip metadata

Sometimes the problem is specific to the file's metadata — not the player. Renaming the file can trick the player into re-parsing it cleanly. I've seen this work on files that have weird Unicode characters in the title tag.

Try renaming the file first

1. Right-click the file and choose Rename.
2. Change the name to something simple like video1.mp4 or song1.wma. Keep the same extension.
3. Try opening it in Windows Media Player again.

If that doesn't work, strip the metadata entirely.

Strip metadata with a free tool

I recommend MP3tag for audio files (it's free, no bloat) and FFmpeg for video files. Both let you remove all metadata without re-encoding the whole file.

For video files using FFmpeg

Download FFmpeg from the official site. Then open a command prompt in the folder with your file and run:

ffmpeg -i "yourfile.mp4" -map_metadata -1 -c:v copy -c:a copy "output.mp4"

Replace yourfile.mp4 with your actual filename. This creates a new file called output.mp4 with no metadata. Try playing that.

For audio files using MP3tag

1. Open MP3tag. Drag your audio file into the window.
2. Select the file. Press Ctrl + A to select all tags.
3. Press the Delete key to remove them.
4. Click the Save icon (or press Ctrl + S).
5. Try playing the file now.

Fix 3 (15+ minutes): Convert the file to a clean format

If the metadata fix didn't work, the file itself might be damaged in a way that the player can't work around. The real fix here is to re-encode the file into a clean version. This takes longer but fixes almost everything.

Convert with FFmpeg (free, no GUI)

Open a command prompt in the file's folder. Run this command:

ffmpeg -i "yourfile.mp4" -c:v libx264 -preset medium -crf 23 -c:a aac -b:a 192k "cleaned.mp4"

This re-encodes the video using the H.264 codec and audio using AAC. The -crf 23 keeps good quality while compressing a bit. If the original file is huge, this can take 10–20 minutes on a modern PC. But I've never seen this fail to fix the error.

Convert with VLC (free, has a GUI)

If command lines make you nervous, use VLC Media Player. It's free and handles this well.

1. Open VLC. Click Media → Convert / Save.
2. Click Add and select your problem file.
3. Click Convert / Save at the bottom.
4. In the Profile dropdown, choose Video – H.264 + AAC (MP4).
5. Click the wrench icon next to the profile to customize if you want. For most people, the default is fine.
6. Choose a destination filename and click Start.
7. Wait for the conversion to finish. Then open the new file in Windows Media Player.

What if none of these fix it?

If you've done all three fixes and still get the error, you might be dealing with a file that's encrypted or protected by DRM. Windows Media Player has a history of choking on DRM-restricted files. Check if the file plays in VLC — if VLC plays it fine, the problem is likely DRM, not a bad metadata value. In that case, you'll need to find a non-DRM copy of the file.

Also check if you're running an old version of Windows Media Player. I've seen this error on Windows 7's WMP 12. Updating to the latest version (usually through Windows Update) can help. On Windows 10 and 11, you're already on the newest version unless you've disabled updates.

Quick summary

• Start with the registry fix — it takes 30 seconds and works for most people.
• If that fails, strip the file's metadata.
• As a last resort, re-encode the whole file.
• If it still fails, check for DRM or an outdated player.