My own songs have been DRM protected in .wma format. How to remove DRM ...

Jeffry P Belnap 0 Reputation points
2026-07-26T07:10:34.5733333+00:00

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I posted on Support site, wold like to see these More Help bits, bu tno path clicks to a link of usefulness.

I am exhausted fighting this.

******@outlook.com.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Alex-L 12,570 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-07-27T06:48:39.98+00:00

    Hi Jeffry P Belnap

    Regarding the DRM issue itself:

    • If the .wma files were ripped years ago with "Copy protect music" enabled in Windows Media Player, the DRM licenses were tied to the original computer.
    • Microsoft discontinued parts of the old Windows Media DRM licensing infrastructure many years ago, so in many cases lost DRM licenses cannot be reissued or restored.
    • There is no Microsoft-supported tool to remove DRM from protected WMA files.

    If these are truly your own recordings, you may still have some options:

    1. Check whether the files will play on the original PC where they were created.
    2. Look for the original audio CDs, source recordings, backups, or unprotected copies.
    3. If the files still play somewhere, you may be able to create new copies in a modern format from the original source recordings.

    It looks like the screenshot is showing related Community posts ("More help"), not actual Microsoft support articles. Those blue titles should normally open the corresponding discussion threads, but sometimes the links fail to load depending on the page, browser, region or they might just be legacy posts.

    If you can share the URL of the page containing the "More help" section, I can try to be on your side and see what you see.


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