The DataSourceID of 'TopNavigationMenu' must be the ID of a control of type IHierarchicalDataSource.

Question

I'm getting this error and I haven't a clue as to what I did....
Server Error in '/' Application.
The DataSourceID of 'TopNavigationMenu' must be the ID of a control of type IHierarchicalDataSource.  A control with ID 'topSiteMap' could not be found.
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.
Exception Details: System.Web.HttpException: The DataSourceID of 'TopNavigationMenu' must be the ID of a control of type IHierarchicalDataSource.  A control with ID 'topSiteMap' could not be found.
Source Error:
An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.
Stack Trace:
[HttpException (0x80004005): The DataSourceID of 'TopNavigationMenu' must be the ID of a control of type IHierarchicalDataSource. A control with ID 'topSiteMap' could not be found.]
System.Web.UI.WebControls.HierarchicalDataBoundControl.GetDataSource() +1415249
System.Web.UI.WebControls.HierarchicalDataBoundControl.ConnectToHierarchicalDataSource() +158
System.Web.UI.WebControls.HierarchicalDataBoundControl.OnLoad(EventArgs e) +16
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +47
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +131
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +131
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +131
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +131
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +131
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +131
System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +1061
Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:2.0.50727.42; ASP.NET Version:2.0.50727.42

Answer 1

i see this today, the lesson learned is that i should reivew the uls log first
http://archive.msdn.microsoft.com/ULSViewer/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=3308 .
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/opal/archive/2009/12/22/uls-viewer-for-sharepoint-2010-troubleshooting.aspx .
first, i found the same entry in uls log view, then going upwards, i can find something like follows:
DelegateControl: Exception thrown while building custom control 'Microsoft.SharePoint.SPControlElement': Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPartPageUserException: This page has encountered a critical error. Contact your system administrator if this problem
persists.   
 at Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationRuntime.SafeControls.IsSafeControl(Boolean isAppWeb, Type type, String& unsafeErrorMessage)   
 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Utilities.SPUtility.CreateServerControlFromAssembly(String sControlAssembly, String sControlClass)   
 at Microsoft.SharePoint.SPControlElement.BuildCustomControl(TemplateControl tctlPage, String sControlAssembly, String sControlClass, String sControlSrc, XmlNode xnElementDefinition, SPFeatureDefinition featdefElement, String sElementId)   
 at Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.DelegateControl.BuildCustomControlResilient(SPControlElement ctlelemDefinition)
The top of callstack suggest me there is something wrong with safe control setting. By comparing the web.config with backup, it seems two safe control entries was added by a custom solution. While the page opens after removing the safe control entry,
i really cannot believe this can be the root cause, because i only know that missing safe control entry can cause error, i had never fixed error by removing safe control entry before.
      <SafeControl Assembly="SharePointProject, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=c221e46652bbe5bb" Namespace="SharePointProject.VisualWebPart" TypeName="*" Safe="True" />
      <SafeControl Assembly="SharePointProject, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=c221e46652bbe5bb" Namespace="SharePointProject.ListVisualWebPart" TypeName="*" Safe="True" />