Index: xword/XWord/Repositories.cs
===================================================================
--- xword/XWord/Repositories.cs	(revision 19784)
+++ xword/XWord/Repositories.cs	(working copy)
@@ -75,12 +75,12 @@
             catch (InvalidCastException ce)
             {
                 Log.ExceptionSummary(ce);
-                return null;
+                settings = new RepositorySettings();
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
             {
                 Log.ExceptionSummary(ex);
-                return null;
+                settings = new RepositorySettings();
             }
             finally
             {