WMP NS_E_WMPCORE_WMX_LIST_ITEM_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE_EMPTY Fix

This error pops up when you try to open or play a playlist in Windows Media Player, and it drives you nuts because the player just won't cooperate. Let's fix it.

Fix: Clear the WMP Playlist Database

The quickest way out of this mess is to wipe the playlist database and let WMP rebuild it. You won't lose your music files — just the playlists. Here's exactly what to do.

1. Close Windows Media Player completely. Make sure it's not running in the background. Check the system tray near the clock — if you see the WMP icon, right-click it and choose Exit.
2. Open File Explorer. Press Win + E on your keyboard.
3. In the address bar at the top, type or paste this path and hit Enter:
   

   %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Media Player

4. You'll see a folder with a bunch of files. Delete everything inside this folder. Don't worry — you're not deleting your actual music. These are just the playlist database files.
5. Empty your Recycle Bin to make sure they're gone.
6. Restart Windows Media Player. It'll take a minute or two to rebuild the playlist library. You'll see a message saying "Building library..." — that's normal. Let it finish.
7. Now try opening the playlist that gave you the error. It should work. If you still see the error, move on to the next section.

After you delete that folder and restart, WMP creates fresh database files from scratch. The bad attribute that was causing the error is gone. I've seen this work on Windows 10 and Windows 11, both with WMP 12.

Why This Works

That NS_E_WMPCORE_WMX_LIST_ITEM_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE_EMPTY error means somewhere in your playlist, an item has a blank or corrupted field — like a missing song title, artist name, or file path. WMP stores all that info in the database files inside that Media Player folder. When you delete them, you force the player to re-scan your music and build a clean database. The corrupt entry gets left behind.

This is way faster than hunting through each playlist entry manually. I've tried that route — don't bother. Just nuke the database.

Less Common Fixes for Stubborn Cases

If clearing the folder didn't work, here are two other things to try.

Reset WMP via Control Panel

1. Open Control Panel (press Win + R, type control, hit Enter).
2. Go to Programs > Programs and Features.
3. On the left, click Turn Windows features on or off.
4. Scroll down to Media Features, expand it, and uncheck Windows Media Player.
5. Click OK and restart your computer.
6. After the restart, go back to the same place and re-check Windows Media Player.
7. Restart again. This reinstalls WMP completely, which wipes any leftover corruption.

Use a Different Player Temporarily

If you're in a hurry and just need that playlist to work, open the playlist file (it's usually a .wpl or .zpl file) in Notepad. Look for any empty lines or strange characters. You can try editing out the problem entry, but it's fiddly. I'd only recommend this if you know exactly which song is causing the issue. Otherwise, skip it — it's easier to rebuild.

Preventing This From Happening Again

Most people hit this error after copying music from an external drive or importing a playlist from another computer. The problem is almost always a broken file reference. Here's how to avoid it.

• Keep your music folder organized. Don't move or rename files after adding them to a playlist. If you do, WMP can't find them and leaves a blank attribute.
• Use relative paths in playlists. If you're creating playlists manually, use relative paths (like Music\Song.mp3) instead of absolute paths (C:\Users\You\Music\Song.mp3). This makes them portable.
• Stick to one music manager. Don't switch between WMP, iTunes, and VLC for the same library. Each app writes metadata differently, and that mismatch can corrupt the database.
• Back up your playlists as plain text files. Export them as .m3u format — those are just text files with song paths. If the database gets corrupted again, you can rebuild from those files without retyping everything.

That's it. You should be back to playing your music in about five minutes. If the error comes back after a few weeks, repeat the folder deletion step — it's a quick fix that takes less than a minute once you know where to look.