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

Question

Deployed a WSP in sharepoint 2007 and am now getting this error on every page, even after retracting the WSP and reverting the web.config file to a previous version, any ideas?

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() +1483857 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) +1436

Answer 1

The most common and useless error in SharePoint 2007.

Point 8 is the usual task that solves the issue for me.

So I have this bookmarked which usually solves the issue.

Answer 2

Same exception occurred in one of my organization's production SharePoint server and after simply recycling the app pool that host the web application and restarting the site from IIS Manager, I got this issue resolved.

Only that web application and site must be recycled or restarted in which above exception is occurring.