Fix ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNCLOSEDSTRING (0x000036EE) manifest error

When this error hits you

You're trying to launch an application — maybe a freshly installed game, a developer tool, or even a Windows update — and instead of the program window, you get a popup with the error ERROR_SXS_XML_E_UNCLOSEDSTRING (0x000036EE). The message says something like "A string literal was not closed" and points to a side-by-side (SxS) manifest file. I've seen this most often after a botched custom theme install, a third-party app that ships with a malformed manifest, or when a Windows Update partially fails and leaves a .manifest file in a bad state.

This error is infuriating because it stops everything dead. But the fix is straightforward — once you know which file is the problem.

What's actually happening

Windows uses XML manifest files (.manifest extension) to tell applications and components which DLLs to load, which dependencies they need, and how to run in different compatibility modes. Think of them as a recipe that the Windows SxS (side-by-side) loader reads before starting any app.

The error 0x000036EE translates to a simple XML syntax mistake: a string value — like a version number, a path, or a description — is missing its closing double quote. For example, you might see something like <description>My App</description> where the quote after My App is missing, or a name attribute that ends with just a single quote.

This happens most often when a human (or a sloppy script) edited the manifest manually and accidentally deleted a quote mark. Other times, a corrupted registry entry can point the loader to a manifest that's actually fine, but the system misreads it.

Skip the registry dive — the real fix is almost always in the manifest file itself or in the component store.

Fix it step by step

Step 1: Find the offending manifest

The error popup usually includes a file path. If it doesn't, check the Windows Event Viewer under Application or System logs. Look for events with source SideBySide and event ID 33 or 59. These show the exact .manifest file path that failed.

Common locations include:

• C:\Windows\WinSxS\Manifests\
• C:\Windows\System32\ or C:\Windows\SysWOW64\
• The application's install folder, often under app.manifest or App.exe.manifest

Step 2: Open the manifest in a text editor

Use Notepad++ or VS Code — plain Notepad works too, but syntax highlighting helps spot the problem. Make a backup copy first. I can't stress this enough — one wrong save and you could break something else.

Step 3: Look for the unclosed string

In the manifest XML, every attribute value must be wrapped in double quotes. For example:

<assemblyIdentity name="MyApp" version="1.0.0.0" />

A broken version might look like:

<assemblyIdentity name="MyApp" version="1.0.0.0 />

Notice the missing closing quote after 1.0.0.0.

Other common culprits:

• Strings inside <description> or <trustInfo> tags
• supportedOS GUID values
• File paths in <file> elements

If you have a long manifest, search for =" and then look at each pair. The one that doesn't have a matching closing quote is your culprit.

Step 4: Fix the missing quote

Add the closing double quote at the end of the string. Save the file.

Example fix:

<assemblyIdentity name="MyApp" version="1.0.0.0" />

Step 5: Reinstall or rebuild the manifest

If the manifest is part of a system component (inside WinSxS), you can't just edit it — Windows protects those files. In that case, run these commands as Administrator:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

These commands replace corrupted system files from the Windows image store. If the error was caused by a bad manifest in the store, this will fix it.

Step 6: For third-party apps, reinstall the app

If the manifest is in an app folder, uninstall the app completely (use Settings > Apps > Apps & features), then download a fresh installer from the official source. The corrupted installer is the problem, not your system.

If it still fails

Sometimes the manifest is fine but the registry key that points to it is wrong. Check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SideBySide\ for stray keys. But honestly, this is rare — I've only seen it twice in 6 years of help desk work.

Another possibility: the XML file might have an encoding mismatch. Save the manifest as UTF-8 with BOM. If you're editing on an old system that defaults to ANSI, the file can become unreadable to the XML parser.

Finally, if you're dealing with a custom-built app from your own team, check their build pipeline. I've had developers commit .manifest files with manual edits that had missing quotes. It's almost never a Windows bug — it's always a typo.

If nothing above helps, post the exact manifest snippet (sanitized) on a tech forum like Stack Overflow or Reddit's r/sysadmin. Someone will spot the missing quote in seconds. Been there, done that.