Windows error 14039 (ERROR_SXS_XML_E_MISSINGSEMICOLON): meaning

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: Manifest Parse Error : A semi colon character was expected.

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ERROR_SXS_XML_E_EXPECTINGTAGEND	ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNBALANCEDPAREN

ERROR_SXS_XML_E_MISSINGSEMICOLON

ERROR_SXS_XML_E_MISSINGSEMICOLON (0x000036D7) is a Windows Side-by-Side XML parser status for application, assembly, policy, or configuration manifest processing.

XML references that begin with an ampersand have a defined terminator. Named entity references and numeric character references both end with ;; without it, the parser cannot determine where the reference token finishes.

Parser boundary

The XML grammar defines EntityRef and CharRef with a mandatory semicolon. This is why raw query-like text containing an ampersand can trigger a reference error even when no entity was intended.

What to inspect

Find the preceding & and determine whether the text is intended to be an XML entity or ordinary data.
Add the semicolon to a valid reference, or escape a literal ampersand as & when no reference was intended.
Inspect generated file paths, command strings, or metadata values that may have copied ampersand-delimited text directly into XML.

Use the SxS parser location to trace backward to the opening ampersand; changing Side-by-Side policy does not repair an unterminated XML reference.

References

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