Root Element is missing Error

Issue

When logging in and navigating in either the IntelliBid or JobTrac programs, you receive an

"Unhanded Exception Error: Unable to cast object of type 'System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception' to type 'System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException' error.

Or a "Root Element is Missing" error trying to log in or establish a connection

Solution

This error occurs when the ConEst program is reading the wrong configuration file (conest.config)

To resolve this issue you will need to do two things.

First, you will need to delete the local ‘conest.config’ file and then you will need to re-read it from the shared ‘Repository’ folder (Or re-establish the connection in the IBid Admin Utility).

To locate and remove the local ‘conest.config’ file :

Click the Windows ‘Start’ button then enter "%appdata%\ConEst Software Systems\" in the search entry, then hit your enter key (Or browse to C:\Users\'Username'\Appdata\Roaming\Conest Software Systems). Delete the conest.config and conest.config.bak files.

To ‘Reread’ it from the Repository folder:

Open the IntelliBid program, and click ’Ok’ to the message about not finding the database.

Now click on the ellipsis(…) on the login dialog and navigate to the Repository folder and select the ‘conEst.config’ file (Or re-establish the connection in the IBid Admin Utility).

Login to IntelliBid normally.