Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide a solution for the error 'Root element is missing' when attempting to launch Shavlik Protect.

Symptoms

Upon launching Shavlik Protect you encounter the following error:

Within the ST.Protect.managed.log an error is seen similar to the one below: (C:\ProgramData\LANDesk\Shavlik Protect\Logs)

2015-03-09T14:28:05.6070349Z 0001 C Launcher.cs:73|System.Configuration.ConfigurationErrorsException: Root element is missing. (C:\Users\*USER ACCOUNT*\AppData\Local\LANDESK_Software,_Inc.\ST.Protect.exe_StrongName_d0lqlz1kmud40uzklaub23nzftivjxwo\9.1.0.0\user.config) ---> System.Xml.XmlException: Root element is missing.

Cause

The cause of the issue is due to the user.config file entering a corrupt state.

Resolution

This issue can be resolved by navigating to the directory where the user.config file is located. The path should be same as defined in the ST.Protect.managed.log. In the above example the directory would be C:\Users\*USER ACCOUNT*\AppData\Local\LANDESK_Software,_Inc.\ST.Protect.exe_StrongName_d0lqlz1kmud40uzklaub23nzftivjxwo\9.1.0.0. Once you have navigated to this directory, delete the user.config file.

Once this has been completed, re-launch Shavlik Protect. The user.config file will recreate itself if it does not exist.

Affected Product(s)

Shavlik Protect 9.x