Windows NS_S_TRACK_ALREADY_DOWNLOADED Fix (0X000D1361)

Cause 1: The file is already in your library — the error is a false alarm

What's actually happening here is that Groove Music or the legacy Windows Media Player uses this error code to tell you a track already exists in your local library. It's not a crash. It's a status message that the app handles poorly by showing it as an error. You'll usually see it when you try to download a song you already have from OneDrive or a synced folder.

I've seen this most often on Windows 10 after a user moves a music folder around or resyncs OneDrive. The app thinks the track is new, tries to download it, then realizes it's already there — and instead of silently skipping, it shoots you this code.

The fix: clear the download cache or re-add the track

1. Open Groove Music (or Windows Media Player if you're on an older setup).
2. Go to Settings (the gear icon) and find the Download or Cache section.
3. Click Clear cache — this wipes the temporary download list without deleting your actual music files.
4. Restart the app. The error should stop appearing.

If the error still shows up, the track might be listed as both a local file and a cloud item. Right-click the song, select Delete from library (not from disk), then re-add it by dragging the file back into the app window.

Why this works: clearing the cache resets the app's internal state, so it stops trying to match a download that already exists.

Cause 2: OneDrive sync conflict

Another common trigger is OneDrive's “Files On-Demand” feature. When a track is stored only in the cloud and you mark it “Always keep on this device,” OneDrive downloads it in the background. If you then try to download the same track through Groove Music, you get 0X000D1361 because the file already exists on disk.

Fix: turn off Files On-Demand temporarily

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon in your system tray.
2. Select Settings > Sync and backup > Advanced settings.
3. Under Files On-Demand, uncheck Save space and download files as you use them.
4. Click OK and wait for OneDrive to fully download all files (this might take a while if you have a big library).
5. Try the download in Groove Music again.

After that, you can re-enable Files On-Demand. The error usually doesn't come back because the file is now fully local and the app recognizes it.

Cause 3: Corrupted index or stale database entry

Sometimes the app's internal database gets out of sync. This happens after a major Windows update (I've seen it on Windows 11 22H2) or when you move your music folder to a new drive. The index still points to the old location, but the actual file is elsewhere. When you try to download, the app sees the track as “already downloaded” because the index says so — but the file isn't really there.

Fix: rebuild the media library

• Close Groove Music / Media Player.
• Open Run (Win+R) and type %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.ZuneMusic_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState (for Groove Music). For Media Player, use %appdata%\Microsoft\MediaPlayer.
• Delete the Database folder (or the wmdb file in Media Player).
• Restart the app. It will rebuild the index from scratch, scanning your actual music folders.

This is the nuclear option, but it's the one that fixes the error permanently when the other two don't. The downside is that you lose your play counts and custom ratings — but if you're seeing this error repeatedly, that's a fair trade.

Quick reference

Most people fix this in under five minutes by clearing the cache. If you're the unlucky one where that doesn't work, the database rebuild is the real endgame. It's safe — it won't delete your music files, just the app's internal records.