How to Reset Microsoft Digital Rights Management Software
The Microsoft Windows Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a component in Windows Media Player that protects various types of copyrighted material used in the software. If you recently made hardware changes to your computer, you may experience difficulties playing protected content on your computer. One way to resolve this issue is by resetting DRM on your computer. According to Microsoft, you can "reset Windows Media DRM by deleting all the files in the Windows Media DRM folder." Backup your existing licenses, if any, before resetting DRM.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Back Up Existing Licenses
-
1
Open Windows Media Player and then choose "Manage Licenses" from the "Tools" pull-down menu.
-
2
Select "Change" if you would like to modify the default backup location and then choose a new location on your computer.
-
-
3
Click "Back up now." You have successfully backed up your existing licenses.
Reset DRM
-
4
Open the Windows "Start" menu and then select "My Computer."
-
5
Click on "Tools," choose "Folder Options" from the drop-down menu and then select the "View" tab.
-
6
Select "Show hidden files and folders," and then uncheck the "Hide protected operating system files" check box.
-
7
Find the DRM folder by going to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DRM" if you are using a Windows Vista computer, or "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\DRM" if you are using a Windows 2000/XP computer.
-
8
Delete all the files in the folder and then reset DRM software by visiting the "Security component upgrade" homepage, selecting the "Upgrade" button and then following the prompts.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you are unable to find the DRM folder, open "Run" from the Windows "Start" menu, type "REGEDIT" and then scroll to the following branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\DRM\DataPath
Delete all the components under this folder.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit cd"s image by Horticulture from Fotolia.com
