I cannot open MP3 files with any app on my Windows 11 ARM PC

Question

I cannot open MP3 files with any app on my Windows 11 ARM PC

Paul Bradshaw 20

Just got my new WIndows 11 Surface Pro ARM Copilot+ PC. But I cannot play MP3 files.

MP3 are STANDARD AUDIO files, it should just work. But none of the apps show "mp3" as a supported file type (Windows Media Player, VLC, nothing I try). It won't open them. If I right-click and select "Open With" nothing happens, no pop up offering options. If I double-click, nothing happens. If I launch the apps and try to "Open File" the Open button grays out if I select an MP3 file.

These files have been part of my music library for years. I've NEVER had a problem opening and playing them before. This is a very basic, very standard format and function: play music on my PC! Even Legacy Media Player won't recognize or play them. It's ridiculous.

I've googled and binged for answers and nothing works. How is this difficult? Why doesn't this "just work"?

Paul Bradshaw 20 Reputation points

2025-08-19T23:54:57.96+00:00

Turns out it's a problem with One Drive, and I cannot figure out how to fix it.

Every file that won't open has a little brown box icon in the lower left corner. There's no option in any right-click menu or properties pop up to sync the file to my PC from OneDrive in the cloud. This SHOULD be happening automatically, but it's not. I tried restarting the PC, but it's the same. So why is One drive broken? But only for this PC?

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Paul Bradshaw 20 Reputation points

2025-08-19T23:54:57.96+00:00

Turns out it's a problem with One Drive, and I cannot figure out how to fix it.

Every file that won't open has a little brown box icon in the lower left corner. There's no option in any right-click menu or properties pop up to sync the file to my PC from OneDrive in the cloud. This SHOULD be happening automatically, but it's not. I tried restarting the PC, but it's the same. So why is One drive broken? But only for this PC?

Answer 1

Kimberly Olaño 7,580 Independent Advisor

Got it, thanks for that. So, on your ARM build, those DLLs aren’t traditional COM shell extensions anymore, so regsvr32 doesn’t work. The 0x80070002 basically means “file found but no entry point,” i.e. Microsoft isn’t using Explorer shell registration the same way they do on x64. That’s why you never get the OneDrive verbs back with any of the old tricks.

What this actually means is, Nothing is broken on your side, you didn’t miss a command or corrupt your install.

The missing right-click options are a gap in Microsoft’s ARM OneDrive build.

They’re still shipping regular updates (you’re on 25.140, July 2025), so it’s reasonable to expect the context menu verbs to come back in a future update.

Paul Bradshaw 20 Reputation points

2025-08-20T02:22:42.3733333+00:00

Thanks. That's very disappointing. But I will wait and hope they resolve this soon. This seems like a HUGE gap and inconvenience, so I hope it's given a high priority.

Answer 2

Kimberly Olaño 7,580 Independent Advisor

Hello! Paul. I'm glad to assist you with this.

That explains everything. The brown box icon you’re seeing means the file is in OneDrive but not actually downloaded to your PC. That’s why no app can open the MP3s: Windows Explorer is showing you placeholders, but when an app tries to open them, there’s nothing local to load.

Normally, OneDrive should “fetch” them on demand (Files On-Demand feature). If that sync bridge is broken, you get exactly what you’re seeing.

Fixes to Try

1. Force Download the File(s)

Right-click an MP3 → look for “Always keep on this device”.

If you only see “Free up space”, that means OneDrive thinks it’s already local (but clearly it isn’t).

Try this instead:

Select the MP3(s).

Press Shift+F10 → OneDrive → Download (if available).

2. Check OneDrive Sync Status

In the system tray (bottom-right), click the OneDrive cloud icon.

Does it say “Up to date” or “Sync paused”?

If paused, hit Resume syncing.

If signed out, log back in.

3. Reset OneDrive

On ARM Windows, the reset command is the same:

Press Win + R → paste:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

Press Enter.

The OneDrive icon should disappear and reappear in ~1 minute.

If it doesn’t, run:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe

Best regards,

Kimberly

Paul Bradshaw 20 Reputation points

2025-08-20T01:47:12.4566667+00:00

"Right-click an MP3 → look for “Always keep on this device”."

This option does not exist. Files On Demand is turned out, but Explorer isn't showing any of the normal options in the right-click context menu for One Drive files. "Free Up Space" is not there either.

"Press Shift+F10 → OneDrive → Download (if available)."

This option also does not exist. It's like One Drive isn't adding its options to right-click context menus.

"2. Check OneDrive Sync Status"

One drive is on. It says everything is synced and up to date.

"3. Reset OneDrive"

The File OneDrive.exe is not found. I don't think the exe would be in the AppData folder.

I found it in Program Files, and issued the OneDrive.exe /reset command, and it reset... and still no context menu items. I will note that I have PowerToys installed, so I see those options in the context menu. Even if I select "more options" I don't see anything.

The only way I had to solve this was to go to OneDrive advanced options and tell it to "download all the files" by clicking the button under File On Demand section. This downloaded 60GB of music files onto my PC. I really didn't want to do this, but this resolved the immediate problem.

However, the existing problem remains. OneDrive options for clearing up space, download to this device, etc., simply are not available.

These options are present on my other PCs, and the only thing different about this one is that it's ARM... and newer.

Answer 3

Kimberly Olaño 7,580 Independent Advisor

Please verify your OneDrive version.

Open a Command Prompt and run:

"%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft OneDrive\OneDrive.exe" /version

Compare with your other PC. Current GA version (Aug 2025) should be in the 24.x series. If your ARM machine is on an older or “work-in-progress” ARM build, that’s the culprit.

Paul Bradshaw 20 Reputation points

2025-08-20T02:03:22.73+00:00

For whatever reason, when I open a command prompt in that folder, and type "OneDrive.exe /version", it just opens a one drive explorer window. It doesn't give me a version.

But opening the folder in File Explorer and right-clicking properties, and going to the details tab, it says the version is 25.140.0720.0001

There is also a OneDrive.app.exe in this folder.

Attempting to update the application shows the message that it's already up to date.

OneDrive.exe IS running in Task Manager.

Answer 4

Kimberly Olaño 7,580 Independent Advisor

Okay please try to run these commands in PowerShell (Admin):

Unregister first

regsvr32 /u "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft OneDrive\FileCoAuthLib64.dll"

regsvr32 /u "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft OneDrive\FileSyncShell64.dll"

Re-register

regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft OneDrive\FileCoAuthLib64.dll"

regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft OneDrive\FileSyncShell64.dll"

(Replace with the correct path if your OneDrive is under Program Files (Arm64) or Program Files (x86).)

Then reboot → check if context menu items return.

Paul Bradshaw 20 Reputation points

2025-08-20T02:16:08.3733333+00:00

None of those command lines worked (I had to insert another subdirectory with the version number). Even once I got it to locate the DLL, it gave this error:

The module "C:\Program Files\Microsoft

OneDrive\25.140.0720.0001\FileCoAuthLib64.dll" was loaded but the

call to DIIUnregisterServer failed with error code 0x80070002.

I stopped there.

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I cannot open MP3 files with any app on my Windows 11 ARM PC

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