diff --git a/src/classes/PFitter.cpp b/src/classes/PFitter.cpp
index 520f1615..1dd5d747 100644
--- a/src/classes/PFitter.cpp
+++ b/src/classes/PFitter.cpp
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ bool PFitter::DoFit()
   SetParameters();
 
   bool status;
+  bool minosUsed = false;
   for (unsigned int i=0; i<fCmdList.size(); i++) {
     switch (fCmdList[i]) {
       case PMN_INTERACTIVE:
@@ -148,6 +149,7 @@ bool PFitter::DoFit()
         break;
       case PMN_MINOS:
         status = ExecuteMinos();
+        minosUsed = true;
         break;
       case PMN_PLOT:
         cout << endl << "**WARNING** from PFitter::DoFit() : the command PLOT is not yet implemented.";
@@ -180,6 +182,13 @@ bool PFitter::DoFit()
     }
   }
 
+  // if minos was not used, there are NO valid positive errors
+  if (!minosUsed) {
+    for (unsigned int i=0; i<fParams.size(); i++) {
+      fRunInfo->SetMsrParamPosErrorPresent(i, false);
+    }
+  }
+
   return true;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/classes/PMsrHandler.cpp b/src/classes/PMsrHandler.cpp
index a0215d61..d5655858 100644
--- a/src/classes/PMsrHandler.cpp
+++ b/src/classes/PMsrHandler.cpp
@@ -683,6 +683,28 @@ bool PMsrHandler::SetMsrParamStep(unsigned int i, double value)
   return true;
 }
 
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// SetMsrParamPosErrorPresent (public)
+//--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+/**
+ * <p>
+ *
+ * \param i
+ * \param value
+ */
+bool PMsrHandler::SetMsrParamPosErrorPresent(unsigned int i, bool value)
+{
+  if (i > fParam.size()) {
+    cout << endl << "PMsrHandler::SetMsrParamPosErrorPresent(): i = " << i << " is larger than the number of parameters " << fParam.size();
+    cout << endl;
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  fParam[i].fPosErrorPresent = value;
+
+  return true;
+}
+
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // SetMsrParamPosError (public)
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/classes/PMusrCanvas.cpp b/src/classes/PMusrCanvas.cpp
index 554939cc..ff0838d4 100644
--- a/src/classes/PMusrCanvas.cpp
+++ b/src/classes/PMusrCanvas.cpp
@@ -62,7 +62,9 @@ PMusrCanvas::PMusrCanvas()
 /**
  *
  */
-PMusrCanvas::PMusrCanvas(const char* title, Int_t wtopx, Int_t wtopy, Int_t ww, Int_t wh)
+PMusrCanvas::PMusrCanvas(const char* title, Int_t wtopx, Int_t wtopy, Int_t ww, Int_t wh,
+                         const PIntVector markerList, const PIntVector colorList) :
+                         fMarkerList(markerList), fColorList(colorList)
 {
   fValid = false;
 
diff --git a/src/classes/PRunDataHandler.cpp b/src/classes/PRunDataHandler.cpp
index dbdcfe61..5a141c16 100644
--- a/src/classes/PRunDataHandler.cpp
+++ b/src/classes/PRunDataHandler.cpp
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ using namespace std;
  * <p>
  *
  */
-PRunDataHandler::PRunDataHandler(PMsrHandler *msrInfo)
+PRunDataHandler::PRunDataHandler(PMsrHandler *msrInfo, const PStringVector dataPath) : fDataPath(dataPath)
 {
 //  cout << endl << "in PRunDataHandler::PRunDataHandler()";
 
@@ -63,6 +63,10 @@ PRunDataHandler::PRunDataHandler(PMsrHandler *msrInfo)
     fAllDataAvailable = false;
   else
     fAllDataAvailable = true;
+
+/*for (unsigned int i=0; i<fDataPath.size(); i++)
+  cout << endl << i << ": " << fDataPath[i].Data();
+cout << endl;*/
 }
 
 //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -236,18 +240,26 @@ bool PRunDataHandler::FileExistsCheck(PMsrRunStructure &runInfo)
   }
 
   // check if the file is found in the directory given in the startup file
-  // ** STILL MISSING **
+  if (pathName.CompareTo("???") == 0) { // not found in local directory search
+    for (unsigned int i=0; i<fDataPath.size(); i++) {
+      str = fDataPath[i] + TString("/") + runInfo.fRunName + TString(".") + ext;
+      if (gSystem->AccessPathName(str.Data())!=true) { // found
+        pathName = str;
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+  }
 
   // check if the file is found in the directories given by WKMFULLDATAPATH
   const char *wkmpath = gSystem->Getenv("WKMFULLDATAPATH");
-  if (pathName.CompareTo("???") == 0) { // not found in local directory search
+  if (pathName.CompareTo("???") == 0) { // not found in local directory and xml path
     str = TString(wkmpath);
     // WKMFULLDATAPATH has the structure: path_1:path_2:...:path_n
     TObjArray *tokens = str.Tokenize(":");
     TObjString *ostr;
     for (int i=0; i<tokens->GetEntries(); i++) {
       ostr = dynamic_cast<TObjString*>(tokens->At(i));
-      str = ostr->GetString() + "/" + runInfo.fRunName + TString(".") + ext;
+      str = ostr->GetString() + TString("/") + runInfo.fRunName + TString(".") + ext;
       if (gSystem->AccessPathName(str.Data())!=true) { // found
         pathName = str;
         break;
@@ -276,7 +288,7 @@ bool PRunDataHandler::FileExistsCheck(PMsrRunStructure &runInfo)
 
   // no proper path name found
   if (pathName.CompareTo("???") == 0) {
-    cout << endl << "ERROR: Couldn't find '" << runInfo.fRunName << "' in any standard path.";
+    cout << endl << "**ERROR** Couldn't find '" << runInfo.fRunName << "' in any standard path.";
     cout << endl << "  standard search pathes are:";
     cout << endl << "  1. the local directory";
     cout << endl << "  2. the data directory given in the startup XML file";
diff --git a/src/classes/PStartupHandler.cpp b/src/classes/PStartupHandler.cpp
index 34d8e581..d722d882 100644
--- a/src/classes/PStartupHandler.cpp
+++ b/src/classes/PStartupHandler.cpp
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ void PStartupHandler::OnCharacters(const char *str)
     case eDataPath:
       // check that str is a valid path
       // add str to the path list
+      fDataPathList.push_back(str);
       break;
     case eMarker:
       // check that str is a number
diff --git a/src/include/PMsrHandler.h b/src/include/PMsrHandler.h
index 156b6d82..90538db1 100644
--- a/src/include/PMsrHandler.h
+++ b/src/include/PMsrHandler.h
@@ -32,11 +32,6 @@
 #ifndef _PMSRHANDLER_H_
 #define _PMSRHANDLER_H_
 
-/*
-#include <vector>
-using namespace std;
-*/
-
 #include <TString.h>
 #include <TComplex.h>
 
@@ -72,6 +67,7 @@ class PMsrHandler
 
     virtual bool SetMsrParamValue(unsigned int i, double value);
     virtual bool SetMsrParamStep(unsigned int i, double value);
+    virtual bool SetMsrParamPosErrorPresent(unsigned int i, bool value);
     virtual bool SetMsrParamPosError(unsigned int i, double value);
 
     virtual void SetMsrStatisticMin(double min) { fStatistic.fMin = min; }
diff --git a/src/include/PMusr.h b/src/include/PMusr.h
index ea2586b2..91ae6ccd 100644
--- a/src/include/PMusr.h
+++ b/src/include/PMusr.h
@@ -110,6 +110,12 @@ typedef vector<double> PDoubleVector;
  */
 typedef vector<TComplex> PComplexVector;
 
+//-------------------------------------------------------------
+/**
+ * <p> typedef to make to code more readable.
+ */
+typedef vector<TString> PStringVector;
+
 //------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 /**
  * <p>Predominantly used in PRunBase.
diff --git a/src/include/PMusrCanvas.h b/src/include/PMusrCanvas.h
index 8688607e..d3f236db 100644
--- a/src/include/PMusrCanvas.h
+++ b/src/include/PMusrCanvas.h
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ class PMusrCanvas : public TObject, public TQObject
 {
   public:
     PMusrCanvas();
-    PMusrCanvas(const char* title, Int_t wtopx, Int_t wtopy, Int_t ww, Int_t wh);
+    PMusrCanvas(const char* title, Int_t wtopx, Int_t wtopy, Int_t ww, Int_t wh, 
+                const PIntVector markerList, const PIntVector colorList);
     virtual ~PMusrCanvas();
 
     virtual Bool_t IsValid() { return fValid; }
@@ -82,6 +83,9 @@ class PMusrCanvas : public TObject, public TQObject
     PMsrLines     fTheoryList;
     PMsrLines     fFunctionList;
 
+    PIntVector    fMarkerList;
+    PIntVector    fColorList;
+
   ClassDef(PMusrCanvas, 1)
 };
 
diff --git a/src/include/PRunDataHandler.h b/src/include/PRunDataHandler.h
index ac0160be..e390184b 100644
--- a/src/include/PRunDataHandler.h
+++ b/src/include/PRunDataHandler.h
@@ -43,14 +43,15 @@ using namespace std;
 class PRunDataHandler
 {
   public:
-    PRunDataHandler(PMsrHandler *msrInfo);
+    PRunDataHandler(PMsrHandler *msrInfo, const PStringVector dataPath);
     virtual ~PRunDataHandler();
 
     virtual bool IsAllDataAvailable() { return fAllDataAvailable; }
     virtual PRawRunData* GetRunData(TString runName);
 
   private:
-    PMsrHandler *fMsrInfo;
+    PMsrHandler   *fMsrInfo;
+    PStringVector fDataPath;
 
     bool fAllDataAvailable; ///< flag indicating if all data sets could be read
     TString fRunName;       ///< current run name
diff --git a/src/include/PStartupHandler.h b/src/include/PStartupHandler.h
index c008a011..97729e1e 100644
--- a/src/include/PStartupHandler.h
+++ b/src/include/PStartupHandler.h
@@ -56,13 +56,17 @@ class PStartupHandler : public TObject, public TQObject
     virtual void OnFatalError(const char*); // SLOT
     virtual void OnCdataBlock(const char*, Int_t); // SLOT
 
+    virtual const PStringVector GetDataPathList() const { return fDataPathList; }
+    virtual const PIntVector    GetMarkerList() const { return fMarkerList; }
+    virtual const PIntVector    GetColorList() const { return fColorList; }
+
   private:
     enum EKeyWords {eEmpty, eComment, eDataPath,
                     eRootSettings, eMarkerList, eMarker, 
                     eColorList, eColor};
     EKeyWords       fKey;
 
-    vector<TString> fDataPathList;
+    PStringVector   fDataPathList;
     PIntVector      fMarkerList;
     PIntVector      fColorList;
 
diff --git a/src/musrfit.cpp b/src/musrfit.cpp
index 90f69b56..f7432086 100644
--- a/src/musrfit.cpp
+++ b/src/musrfit.cpp
@@ -33,10 +33,11 @@
 #include <fstream>
 using namespace std;
 
-#include "TString.h"
-#include "TFile.h"
-#include "TCanvas.h"
-#include "TH1.h"
+#include <TSAXParser.h>
+#include <TString.h>
+#include <TFile.h>
+#include <TCanvas.h>
+#include <TH1.h>
 
 #include "PMusr.h"
 #include "PStartupHandler.h"
@@ -501,7 +502,25 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
   }
 
   // read startup file
+  TSAXParser *saxParser = new TSAXParser();
   PStartupHandler *startupHandler = new PStartupHandler();
+  saxParser->ConnectToHandler("PStartupHandler", startupHandler);
+  status = saxParser->ParseFile("musrfit_startup.xml");
+  // check for parse errors
+  if (status) { // error
+    cout << endl << "**ERROR** reading/parsing musrfit_startup.xml. Fix it.";
+    cout << endl;
+    // clean up
+    if (saxParser) {
+      delete saxParser;
+      saxParser = 0;
+    }
+    if (startupHandler) {
+      delete startupHandler;
+      startupHandler = 0;
+    }
+    return PMUSR_WRONG_STARTUP_SYNTAX;
+  }
 
   // read msr-file
   PMsrHandler *msrHandler = new PMsrHandler(argv[1]);
@@ -524,7 +543,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     musrfit_debug_info(msrHandler);
 
   // read all the necessary runs (raw data)
-  PRunDataHandler *dataHandler = new PRunDataHandler(msrHandler);
+  PRunDataHandler *dataHandler = new PRunDataHandler(msrHandler, startupHandler->GetDataPathList());
   bool success = dataHandler->IsAllDataAvailable();
   if (!success) {
     cout << endl << "Couldn't read all data files, will quit ..." << endl;
diff --git a/src/musrfit_startup.xml b/src/musrfit_startup.xml
index 20eebbe9..bf3b8264 100644
--- a/src/musrfit_startup.xml
+++ b/src/musrfit_startup.xml
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
         $Id$
         Defines default settings for the musrfit package
     </comment>
-    <data_path name="/mnt/data/nemu/his"/>
-    <data_path name="/mnt/data/nemu/wkm"/>
+    <data_path>/mnt/data/nemu/his</data_path>
+    <data_path>/mnt/data/nemu/wkm</data_path>
     <root_settings>
         <marker_list>
             <!-- Root marker numbers -->
diff --git a/src/musrview.cpp b/src/musrview.cpp
index 690148c7..7c690cc6 100644
--- a/src/musrview.cpp
+++ b/src/musrview.cpp
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
   }
 
   // read all the necessary runs (raw data)
-  PRunDataHandler *dataHandler = new PRunDataHandler(msrHandler);
+  PRunDataHandler *dataHandler = new PRunDataHandler(msrHandler, startupHandler->GetDataPathList());
   success = dataHandler->IsAllDataAvailable();
   if (!success) {
     cout << endl << "**ERROR** Couldn't read all data files, will quit ..." << endl;
@@ -157,7 +157,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     // generate Root application needed for PMusrCanvas
     TApplication app("App", &argc, argv);
 
-    PMusrCanvas *musrCanvas = new PMusrCanvas(msrHandler->GetMsrTitle()->Data(), 10, 10, 800, 600);
+    PMusrCanvas *musrCanvas = new PMusrCanvas(msrHandler->GetMsrTitle()->Data(), 10, 10, 800, 600,
+                                  startupHandler->GetMarkerList(), startupHandler->GetColorList());
     if (!musrCanvas->IsValid()) {
       cout << endl << "**SEVERE ERROR** Couldn't invoke all necessary objects, will quit.";
       cout << endl;