diff --git a/qubes/app.py b/qubes/app.py
index b78731eb..d0829a39 100644
--- a/qubes/app.py
+++ b/qubes/app.py
@@ -837,7 +837,7 @@ class Qubes(qubes.PropertyHolder):
 
         if 0 not in self.domains:
             self.domains.add(
-                qubes.vm.adminvm.AdminVM(self, None, qid=0, name='dom0'),
+                qubes.vm.adminvm.AdminVM(self, None),
                 _enable_events=False)
 
         # stage 3: load global properties
diff --git a/qubes/vm/__init__.py b/qubes/vm/__init__.py
index 1feffb35..70d77c35 100644
--- a/qubes/vm/__init__.py
+++ b/qubes/vm/__init__.py
@@ -354,6 +354,9 @@ class BaseVM(qubes.PropertyHolder):
         del self.tags
 
     def load_extras(self):
+        if self.xml is None:
+            return
+
         # features
         for node in self.xml.xpath('./features/feature'):
             self.features[node.get('name')] = node.text