Fix NS_E_CURL_INVALIDSCHEME (0XC00D1328) in Windows Media Player

What Is This Error?

You see NS_E_CURL_INVALIDSCHEME (0XC00D1328) when you try to play a video or stream from a link. The message says "The URL contains a scheme that is not valid."

This happens most often when you click a link to a video file online, like rtmp://example.com/video or mms://server/file.wmv. Windows Media Player doesn't know how to handle those odd schemes. It expects something like http:// or https://.

Don't worry. You can fix this in under 30 seconds if you're lucky. If not, we have two more steps that take a few minutes.

Quick Fix (30 seconds) – Check the URL Yourself

This is the simplest thing. Most people skip it and waste time.

1. Look at the URL you're trying to open. It should start with http:// or https://. If it starts with something else like rtmp://, mms://, ftp://, or file://, that's the problem.
2. Right-click the link and copy it. Paste it into Notepad so you can see it clearly.
3. If the URL starts with rtmp:// or mms://, you can't fix it by changing it. Those are special streaming protocols. Windows Media Player doesn't support them anymore after Windows 7. You'll need to use a different player like VLC (free).
4. If the URL starts with file:// and points to a local file, make sure the file path is correct. For example: file://C:/Users/YourName/Videos/movie.mp4 works. But file:///C:/wrong/path won't.

After this: If the scheme is correct (http or https) but the error still shows up, move to the moderate fix below.

Moderate Fix (5 minutes) – Reset Windows Media Player Settings

Sometimes Windows Media Player gets confused about what URLs it can handle. Resetting its settings clears that confusion.

1. Close Windows Media Player completely. Make sure it's not running in the background (check the system tray near the clock).
2. Press Windows Key + R to open Run.
3. Type regedit and press Enter. Click Yes if User Account Control asks.
4. Go to this folder in Registry Editor:
   

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player

5. Right-click the Player folder on the left side and choose Export. Save it somewhere safe (like your Desktop) as a backup. Name it something like "MediaPlayerSettingsBackup.reg". This lets you undo if something goes wrong.
6. Now right-click the Player folder again and choose Delete. Confirm with Yes.
7. Close Registry Editor.
8. Open Windows Media Player again. It will act like it's first time – you'll see a setup wizard. Just click through it with the default options.

After this: Try opening the URL again. If the error is gone, you're done. If not, move to the advanced fix below.

Advanced Fix (15+ minutes) – Re-register Windows Media Player Components

If resetting didn't work, the player's internal files might be damaged. Re-registering them fixes that.

1. Press Windows Key + X and choose Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). Click Yes.
2. Type these commands one at a time, pressing Enter after each. Wait for each to finish before typing the next:
   

   regsvr32 jscript.dll
   regsvr32 vbscript.dll
   regsvr32 wmp.dll
   regsvr32 wmploc.dll
   regsvr32 wmpps.dll

3. You should see a popup saying "DllRegisterServer in [filename] succeeded" for each one. If you get an error, write down the filename – it might mean a missing system file.
4. Close the terminal window.
5. Restart your PC. This forces Windows to reload the fresh copies of those files.

After this: Open Windows Media Player and try the URL again. If the error still shows, it's almost certainly a bad URL or a file that can't play in WMP. Use VLC Media Player instead – it handles every scheme I've ever thrown at it.

When None of These Work

If you've done all three steps and still see 0XC00D1328, the problem is the URL itself. It might be:

• A dead link (the server doesn't exist anymore)
• A link with a typo (like httP:// instead of http://)
• A link that requires a username/password (some streaming services need authentication)

Try the URL in your web browser first. If it doesn't work there, it won't work in Media Player either.

Pro tip from a help desk guy: I've seen this error a hundred times. 9 times out of 10, it's someone clicking a link that starts with rtmp:// or mms://. Those are dead protocols – Microsoft dropped support years ago. Just use VLC.