What does Windows error code 14071 (ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNEXPECTED_STANDALONE) mean?

ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNEXPECTED_STANDALONE

ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNEXPECTED_STANDALONE (0x000036F7) is a Windows Side-by-Side XML parser status for application, assembly, policy, or configuration manifest processing.

The XML standalone declaration belongs to the XML declaration of the document entity. External parsed entities use a text declaration form and do not carry a standalone declaration, so the same pseudo-attribute is not legal there.

XML rule involved

XML distinguishes XMLDecl from TextDecl. XMLDecl can contain SDDecl, while the external-entity TextDecl production contains optional version information and required encoding information but no standalone field.

What to inspect

• Identify whether the failing bytes are being parsed as an external entity rather than the main manifest document entity.
• Remove standalone from an external entity text declaration instead of changing its value to yes or no.
• Inspect XML-generation libraries that reuse one declaration template for both the main document and external parsed entities.

Use the SxS trace to determine the manifest context and parser location; this status is about declaration placement, unlike ERROR_SXS_XML_E_INVALID_STANDALONE, which concerns the value itself.

References

• Microsoft: System Error Codes 12000-15999
• Microsoft: Side-by-Side manifest files reference
• Microsoft: sxstrace
• W3C: XML 1.0