canton7/SyncTrayzor

Failed to parse the configuration file at ... config.xml

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#471 opened on Jul 17, 2018

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 (27 comments) (3 reactions) (0 assignees)C# (5,477 stars) (390 forks)batch import
enhancementhelp wanted

Description

Hello,

From time to time Synctrayzor (1.1.21) fails to start. This happens on two different Windows 10 laptops, maybe every month or two. A dialog box appears with the message:

Failed to parse the configuration file at C:\Users\Márcio\AppData\Roaming\SyncTrayzor\config.xml '.', hexadecimal value 0x00 is an invalid character. Line 1, position 1. _(Translated from Portuguese)

Looking at config.xml I can see that all characters have been replaced, somehow, by the null character.

I don't care about going to %appdata% and deleting the file, but other people here have trouble with this. I have found a similar issue https://github.com/canton7/SyncTrayzor/issues/120 but it is closed.

Thank you for SyncTrayzor.

Greetings, Márcio Moreira

Contributor guide

Tech stack
csharp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
4
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
over 1 week
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
C#XML parsingFile I/O
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
25
Research direction
Investigate the root cause of config.xml file corruption where all characters are replaced by null bytes. This likely occurs during file writing; examine the code in SyncTrayzor that writes to config.xml, possibly in the configuration serialization logic. Look for race conditions or improper file flushing, especially considering the issue is intermittent. Review linked issue #120 for context. A potential fix could involve adding file integrity checks or using atomic writes.