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NS_S_DRM_ACQUIRE_CANCELLED
What NS_S_DRM_ACQUIRE_CANCELLED means
NS_S_DRM_ACQUIRE_CANCELLED is a Windows Media DRM status result indicating that the current license-acquisition operation was cancelled. The symbolic name begins with NS_S_: this is a state notification, not evidence that the DRM store, license server, or protected content is corrupt.
The useful diagnostic question is therefore not “why did DRM fail?” but who cancelled this acquisition and at what point in its asynchronous lifecycle? Cancellation can be intentional—for example, because the user stopped playback, the owning object was closed, or a newer operation replaced the old one.
Evidence to retain
- Record the callback or native method that delivered the status, the operation/correlation identifier, and the timestamps for acquisition start, cancellation request, and final callback.
- Retain a redacted or hashed content/license identifier, the owning Player or DRM object instance, and whether playback, shutdown, navigation, or another acquisition was in progress.
- Record whether any license-acquired callback or store update occurred before cancellation. Do not assume that replaying an asynchronous operation is harmless until its final state is known.
- Do not log license blobs, private keys, account credentials, challenge material, or decrypted content.
How to handle the status
If cancellation was requested intentionally, finish cleanup for that operation and do not display the status as a DRM failure. If it was unexpected, trace ownership first: determine whether the Player, application, shutdown path, replacement request, or another component issued the cancellation.
Start a new acquisition only when the application still needs the license and the previous operation has reached a terminal state. An unconditional retry loop can race with teardown or create multiple overlapping acquisition requests.
Nearby results
| Result | Different meaning |
|---|---|
NS_S_DRM_LICENSE_ACQUIRED | License acquisition completed and a license was acquired. |
NS_E_DRM_LICENSE_NOTACQUIRED | The required license was not acquired; this is a failure point rather than a cancellation status. |
NS_E_DRM_UNABLE_TO_ACQUIRE_LICENSE | The acquisition attempt failed rather than being reported as cancelled. |
Verification
Reproduce the same application flow while recording the acquisition lifecycle. A deliberate cancellation should end cleanly without being converted into a generic playback error. If acquisition is allowed to finish, verify that the expected final status and usable rights are observed for the same content and caller context.
Technical references
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