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.NET applications may crash at startup for specific users if the user.config file is corrupt

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This article helps you resolve the crash problem when a user starts a .NET application.

Original product version:   .NET Framework
Original KB number:   956762

Symptoms

A user starts a .NET application. However, the application crashes at startup if the user.config file is corrupt. The application works fine for other users on the same machine, but for one user, the application crashes with an error entry in the event log like this:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: .NET Runtime 2.0 Error Reporting
Event Category: None
Event ID: 5000
Date: DateTime
Time: DateTime
User: N/A
Computer: <application_name>
Description:
EventType clr20r3, P1 <app_name>.exe, P2 4.0.5.0, P3 4880b494, P4 system.configuration, P5 2.0.0.0, P6 461ef187, P7 2cc, P8 1c, P9 ioibmurhynrxkw0zxkyrvfn0boyyufow, P10 NIL.

Cause

The user.config file may be corrupted. This file is generally found in the folder:
...\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\<application_name>\...\user.config

Resolution

You can delete the user.config file and let the application recreate it.

More information

For more information, see Application Settings Architecture.