Corrupt XML File

[Newlander]

Hey Guys first post im in desperate need of help been working on an arcade machine for ages i have my cabinet coming tomorrow , went to open Launchbox this morning and was welcomed with this error message it says Root Element not found , i have tried restoring a backup of the XML file which are all from the 29th of September since then i have done a tonne of work on the setup i have tried restoring the backup however i get the same message judging on the root element there wcould be something wrong with my installation so i went to programs and features but launchbox isn't on the list - Any help would be awesome

Thank you  

[SentaiBrad]

Are you on the latest version of LaunchBox? If so, the LaunchBox.xml is no longer being used, the XML has since been split and put in to a new folder called Data. What version are you even on?

[Newlander]

6.11 i think it is , i know its .11

[Newlander]

Just double checked Definitely 6.11

[SentaiBrad]

So I would make a backup of your LaunchBox folder (right click the LB folder, copy, and paste it in the same location so it will create a LaunchBox - Copy folder). Download the latest version of LaunchBox from the site and install it on top of your original LaunchBox install.

[Newlander]

Ok i will give that a try Thanks Brad

 

[SentaiBrad]

I'm not 100% sure this will fix the problem, but we've since migrated over to a different XML structure. The reason I had you make a copy of your LB folder first, is just in case. We may need to fix your XML and then have you run the upgrade process; and of course! I love helping everyone out, so I hope we can get your issue resolved for you!

[Newlander]

Hi Brad Unfortunately it still doesn't work

[Jason Carr]

Hi @Newlander. You'll probably need to restore a backup from the Backups folder. One of the XML files somehow got corrupted it looks like. The new files are all stored in the LaunchBox\Data subfolder, so one of those files is probably causing the issue. I apparently need to fix that error message so that it makes more sense too, so I'll add that to my list.

Try sorting your Backups folder by most recent first and see what was most recently updated. You'll want to try restoring those files first.

[Newlander]

HI Jason already tried that all the backups are broken and from the same date (29th September ) within a couple minutes of each other

[Jason Carr]

Wow, okay. Zip up and send me your Data folder to jason@unbrokensoftware.com and I'll take a look to see what is causing the issue.

[Newlander]

Ok will do thank you might be a minute  or two

 

[Jason Carr]

Alright, good news. It's only the Settings.xml file that is corrupted. So it looks like the only thing you'll lose is settings. Go into your LaunchBox\Data folder and delete the Settings.xml file. Then just open LaunchBox and you'll have to reset your settings but otherwise you should be good to go.

[Jason Carr]

It is odd that it happened in the first place though. Did it happen after an application crash or a power outage or something? Any idea?

[Newlander]

no crashes or power issues , it was running slow , deleting that file has fixed the issue and is running much faster now , a few emulators seem to be broken now but that should be fixable

Thanks Jason

[zedman2003@gmail.com]

Just to let you know i just had the exact same message about the launchbox.xml being corrupt. deleting the settings.xml file worked for me. i am on version 6,12-beta-5

[Jason Carr]

Thanks zedman. I'm fixing this error message at least, though I still don't know why it's happening in the first place. Did you have an application crash or anything like that before it happened?

[zedman2003@gmail.com]

22 hours ago, Jason Carr said:

Thanks zedman. I'm fixing this error message at least, though I still don't know why it's happening in the first place. Did you have an application crash or anything like that before it happened?

no nothing LaunchBox closed as normal and the next day when i opened LaunchBox it gave me that error, as per the advice on this forum i deleted Settings.xml and it worked restoring the LaunchBox.xml as the error message suggested did not work . keep up the good work Jason Launchbox is awesome.

[StuDentBR]

I am having this same issue with the 6.12 beta 5 

Seems that some files disappeared... like Bigbox.exe and uninstal.exe and debug.log

what i am suposed to do to fix it without losing my collection ?

Edited October 20, 2016 by StuDentBR

[Jason Carr]

Hi @StuDentBR, if files disappeared most likely it's your anti-virus client. With the betas sometimes they can trigger false positives. Just install the latest version over top and you should be good to go. We're on the 6.12 official now. Make sure you disable your anti-virus before-hand though.