When starting TurboLaw Time and Billing, an "Unexpected Error" message appears. (On Windows XP, the message may say "TurboLaw Time and Billing has encountered a problem and needs to close.")

If you click the Show me the details of this error link, the details will mention one of the following:

• An "ApplicationException" regarding the user.config file, or
• An XMLException mentioning that the "root element is missing", or
• An exception where the "Source" is listed as "System.Configuration," or
• An "EventType" of "clr20r3," with a number of other values, including "P4" which will say "mscorlib" and "P9" which will have a long string of garbled numbers and letters

TurboLaw Time and Billing will then be unable to open.

Depending on which of the above messages you receive, you may see an error details screen similar to the one shown below.

It is important to note that this is a problem with TurboLaw Time and Billing's settings only. This error does NOT affect the data you have entered into the program.

This problem occurs when the settings file for TurboLaw Time and Billing is damaged or corrupted in some way. This can happen during an upgrade if the process is interrupted, or it can happen for other reasons (disk corruption, interference from anti-virus or other "security" programs, etc.).

To correct this problem, you can delete (or rename) the TurboLaw Time and Billing settings file. Then, the next time you open the program, it will re-create the file with the default settings.

Deleting the settings file will reset the program's "user settings." This may have the following effects:

• The program will re-open the default database (in My Documents\TurboLaw Time and Billing\TurboLawBilling Database.mdb). If you have created a database in a different location, you will have to re-open it by clicking File > Open. If you are not using a different database file name or location, then you do not have to do anything.
• The bill and statement templates you have chosen will be reset to the defaults. If you have chosen different templates, you will have to choose them again.
• The position and size of windows will be reset back to the default.

The location of the "settings" file varies depending on what version of Windows you are using on your computer. However, the name of the file is always "user.config."

When trying to locate the file, be aware that Windows keeps the settings file in a somewhat "random" location. Parts of the location will be random, others will be based on the version of the program you are using - always look for the most recent version number (largest number) folder.

Before attempting to locate or delete the file, make sure that TurboLaw Time and Billing (or the error message you receive when trying to open it) are closed. Additionally, you may wish to rename the file instead of deleting it - for example, you may wish to rename it to "user.config.backup."

Below are the locations of the file for the most common versions of Windows.

Windows Vista (and later)

The file will be located at:

C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Promethean_Software_Corpo\TurboLawBilling.exe_Url_[Random Numbers and Letters]\[Version]

To find this location quickly, click your Start menu and in the search box type:

%UserProfile%\Appdata\Local\Promethean_Software_Corpo

Then press the Enter key on your keyboard. This will take you to the folder in your user profile. You will still have to double-click on the individual folder for the program (which will have random numbers and letters at the end of the name) as well as the folder for the current version of the program (simply pick the largest version number).

Windows XP

The file will be located at:

C:\Documents and Settings\[Your User Name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Promethean_Software_Corpo\TurboLawBilling.exe_Url_[Random Numbers  and Letters]\[Version]

To find this location quickly, click your Start menu and click on Run and then type:

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Promethean_Software_Corpo

Then press the Enter key on your keyboard. This will take you to the folder in your user profile. You will still have to double-click on the individual folder for the program (which will have random numbers and letters at the end of the name) as well as the folder for the current version of the program (simply pick the largest version number).

Further Help

After you have deleted the "user.config" file, you should be able to open TurboLaw Time and Billing normally.

If you cannot find the file, or if you use an older version of Windows not listed here, please contact TurboLaw Tech Support and we will help you locate and delete the file.

More Information

The Microsoft Support article 956762 has more details on this type of error.