How to remove Paratext startup error "Project guid must be set before adding it to the ScrTextCollection"

Question

I have a user who always gets this message on startup (first line translated from French):

"The project on your computer could not be opened.
Project guid must be set before adding it to the ScrTextCollection."

Since this is similar to the BYZ error (https://paratext.org/ufaqs/corrupt-slt-resource-9-1/), I followed the instructions there: I closed Paratext (9.4, latest beta), moved the 3 source resources (BYZ, GRK, HEB) out of the _Resources folder, uninstalled Paratext, installed Paratext 9.4 (and then the patch to .5), verified that the source resources had been reinstalled in the _Resources folder, then started Paratext - same error.

So what "project" is it referring to? The user has also closed her Text Collection, and rebuilt it from scratch. But even if the Text Collection window is closed, the error still appears on Paratext startup.

Answer 1

The "ScrTextCollection" in the message is some internal code-related thing and has nothing to do with the Text Collection window. I know it's confusing. 

The best thing to do is to use Help > Give feedback from the computer with the problem so we can look at which project is causing the issue.

Comments

I've asked the user to do this, and to reference this thread in the report.

Answer 2

There is probably a folder in the "My Paratext Projects" directory that has a Settings.xml file in it that is not valid, but Paratext is trying to treat as a project. The message should have the project name, but in this case, the name must be missing in the Settings.xml file.
 

Searching the "My Paratext Projects" folder for "Settings.xml" files may help you find the problem.

Comments

I searched through all of the Settings.xml files in the My Paratext Projects folder. There were a couple that looked a little strange, and they weren't important projects for the user, so we just deleted the projects. All of the remaining Settings.xml files I opened and gave a quick visual inspection, and I verified that each one of them had both <Name> and <FullName> tags in the file. And I also verified that each folder that looked like it should be a project folder had a Settings.xml file.

So I've asked the user to send feedback (see post above), and see if that produces any fruit.

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One additional comment: There are a couple of folders for "Resources" which appear as if they are projects (HBKFRA, KTOT). This person may be an editor on those projects, so that may not be unexpected, but I just thought I would mention it.