XML Error (ive read the sticky etc already)

[Chris_Boro]

Hi guys, first off i want to say that i havent just came here to post this without trying to solve my problem, i understand its annoying when people create a thread when all they have to do is look and their problem will easily be solved.

I have been playing as darlington for a season and a half, about 2 months in real life time, and i havent had a single issue. I have used fm 09, 10 and 11 on this laptop with steam without a single problem, and i always use the 2d classic view (im oldschool lol) and have never had a problem. I log in today and start my match with exeter, and i get a crash to the desktop with this message box:

not well-formed (invalid token) at line 1 of floating_info_state_changed.xml.

i have tried:

* deleting the settings folder, which results in my save game being lost, so i restored it.
* restarting my laptop
* deleting the cache folder
* going on holiday to skip one game incase it was a one off thing
* i attempted to find the preferences thing in steam games to 'reset preferences' but i cant find it

im not certain what my next move is, but im thinking either myself or the game could be the cause? firstly, i was playing last night and my charger fell out, with me having a pathetic battery the power instantly turned off (i was in the middle of the very exeter game i can no longer play).. maybe thats caused something? or secondly, steam updates the game automatically right? so maybe a new update after the transfer window has caused it?

im not sure. ive gave as much info as i can think of lol, if anything else is needed il get it for you, but if this could be solved i would be much much appreciated

thanks


EDIT: i removed the settings folder again and tried to view a saved match to see if this was the root of the problem.. this time i get (after 4 tries) a crash to the desktop, but with the usual 'windows has stopped working' problem..


---------- Post added at 01:04 AM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 08:17 PM ----------

okay so i downloaded the files from here :

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...2b-b4f2-46da-b4b6-c5d7485f2b42&displaylang=en

i tried playing a saved game again and a saved match (with the original settings folder) and it played the first 10 seconds of the game, (with stretched graphics, almos like a failed fullscreen mode), then it again crashed and this time said this:

not well-formed (invalid token) at line 1 of floating_league_table_state_changed.xml

do i presume that i need to re-install and forget about my hard worked save game?

i need help here guys! :/

---------- Post added at 12:32 AM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 01:04 AM ----------

bump - anyoneee? :/

 

[Jake]

Power cuts, shut downs, etc etc are very common causes of xml errors, particularly when using steam.

If you open the game now, then close it, and immediately try and close steam it will say please wait while FM shuts down.

As your battery ran out steam did not have chance to either close FM or itself safely.

This is only a potential cause. As for the actual error messages. they sound very reminiscint of FMRTE caused crashes, not that i'm accusing your or anything, but altering the game using FMRTE can lead to crash dumps.

No two crashes are the same, and there isn't a single reason or root cause for them, which is why its so difficult for anyone to offer help.

Have you tried restoring your entire system back to a point before this occured?

I'd say in 95% of cases, the save is lost unfortunately.

 

[Chris_Boro]

wow i must be a bit stupid, or sleepy...

either way, i gave removing the settings folder one last try for luck, and my save match worked!

the only problem was, the load last game was not available to click. but my games were still in the load game option!

future note for all: when removing the settings folder to solve an XMLproblem, make sure you check the load game button! as the load last game will not be highlited, lol