Backing Up eMMC on SIMATIC Industrial PCs and HMI Panels

Overview

eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard) storage on Siemens SIMATIC industrial PCs, Unified Comfort Panels, and IoT gateways such as the SIMATIC IOT2050 holds the operating system, SIMATIC runtime, TIA Portal project archives, recipes, and user data on a single soldered flash device. Because the eMMC is not user-replaceable like an SD or CFast card, a corrupt filesystem, failed firmware update, or accidental parameter wipe cannot be recovered by simply swapping media. A verified offline image is the only reliable way to return a SIMATIC device to a known state in the field, and that image must be captured before commissioning — not after a failure.

Three documented backup paths exist for SIMATIC eMMC hardware:

1. The Siemens Industrial OS Service Stick Image — a bootable USB stick that presents a menu for backup and restore of the internal eMMC (and the emuMMC on supported platforms).
2. A bootable Example Image on SD card combined with the dd utility to clone the eMMC block device to a USB-attached target.
3. SIMATIC ProSave, the Siemens engineering tool used primarily for HMI panel backups but capable of image-level operations on supported IPC firmware.

This reference covers each path end-to-end: prerequisites, command-line and GUI procedure, restore sequence, and verification checks.

Supported Hardware and Firmware

The eMMC backup procedures described here apply to SIMATIC devices that boot from internal eMMC and expose USB boot or SD boot as a fallback. Representative platforms include:

Always confirm the firmware/BIOS version on the target device supports USB boot or SD boot before choosing a method. On platforms where USB boot is disabled in UEFI, only the SD-card method is viable without re-enabling boot options.

Prerequisites

• A USB flash drive of at least 8 GB for the Service Stick or as the dd target. Use an industrial-grade USB stick where the panel is installed in an environment with vibration or temperature stress.
• An SD card (≥ 4 GB) pre-flashed with the platform's Example Image when using the dd method. The Example Image is published on the Siemens Industry Online Support portal under the device's firmware/downloads section.
• SIMATIC ProSave V15 or later installed on the engineering station. ProSave is part of the TIA Portal toolchain or available as a standalone installer on the Siemens support site.
• Ethernet connectivity between the engineering station and the SIMATIC device if ProSave is used. Set both endpoints in the same subnet or configure a static route.
• Terminal access (HDMI/DisplayPort plus USB keyboard, or serial console where available) to interact with the boot menu.
• Sufficient free space on the target — a typical SIMATIC Industrial OS image is 4–8 GB compressed and up to 16 GB uncompressed.

Method 1 — Industrial OS Service Stick (Recommended)

The Industrial OS Service Stick Image is a Siemens-supplied bootable image that boots a SIMATIC device into a minimal Linux environment with a TUI menu exposing backup and restore of the eMMC (and emuMMC where present). It is the recommended path because it requires no host operating system and works when the on-device eMMC is partially corrupted.

Obtaining the Image

The Service Stick Image is not available as a public download. It must be requested through the official Siemens Industry Online Support channel:

1. Open a support request via the Siemens Industry Online Support portal, category "Industrial PCs" or "HMI / Operator Control".
2. Reference the device's MLFB (order number) and BIOS/firmware version. Include a short justification ("eMMC backup prior to firmware update").
3. Siemens support delivers the image as a signed archive over the support ticket reply channel.

Do not redistribute the image. Use only the build Siemens provides for your firmware version — older builds may not detect the on-device eMMC geometry correctly.

Writing the Stick

1. Extract the delivered archive to a working directory on a Windows or Linux engineering station.
2. Insert the USB flash drive. Confirm the device letter (/dev/sdX on Linux, E: on Windows) — double-check, because the wrong target will be destroyed.
3. Run the included writer script. On Linux: sudo ./write_service_stick.sh /dev/sdX. On Windows: launch write_service_stick.bat from an elevated command prompt and select the target drive.
4. Wait for the writer to report "Image written successfully" and to sync. Remove the stick only after the OS releases it.

Booting and Backing Up

1. Power down the SIMATIC device. Disconnect from the field, leaving only mains power and the USB stick attached.
2. Power on. Enter the BIOS/UEFI setup (typically
3. The Service Stick boots and presents a text menu:

==== Industrial OS Service Stick ====
[1] Backup eMMC to USB
[2] Backup emuMMC to USB
[3] Restore eMMC from USB
[4] Restore emuMMC from USB
[5] Reboot to internal OS
[6] Shell
Select: _

4. Choose [1] Backup eMMC to USB. The menu lists attached USB devices; select the target stick (the script will not write back to the boot stick unless explicitly chosen).
5. Specify an image filename or accept the default, e.g. emmc_2024-05-12.img. The script invokes dd internally and reports progress in blocks copied.
6. When the menu returns to the prompt, choose [5] Reboot to internal OS, remove the stick, and label it with the device MLFB, date, and firmware version.

Restoring from the Service Stick

1. Boot the device from the Service Stick as above.
2. Choose [3] Restore eMMC from USB. Select the source image file.
3. Confirm the target device. The script writes the image back to the eMMC block device, then resyncs and prints "Restore complete".
4. Reboot and verify the OS comes up with the expected runtime and project.

Method 2 — Boot from SD Example Image and Use dd

Where the Service Stick is unavailable, the same outcome is achieved by booting the platform's published Example Image from SD and using dd to clone the internal eMMC to a USB target. The Example Image is a small Linux environment shipped on the Siemens support portal that brings up networking and exposes the eMMC as a block device (commonly /dev/mmcblk0 on IOT2050-class hardware).

Prepare the SD Card

1. Download the Example Image ZIP for your platform from Siemens Industry Online Support.
2. Extract the .img or .wic file. On Linux, write it with: sudo dd if=example_image.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync. Replace /dev/sdX with the SD card device.
3. On Windows, use balenaEtcher or Rufus (DD mode) to write the image.

Backup Procedure

1. Insert the SD card and the destination USB stick into the SIMATIC device. Power on with SD as the first boot device.
2. Log in at the console (default credentials are documented in the Example Image release notes — typically root with no password on first boot, set on first login).
3. Identify the source device and the target: lsblk. Confirm /dev/mmcblk0 is the internal eMMC and /dev/sda is the USB target.
4. Capture a full image including partition table:

dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=/media/usb/emmc_backup_$(date +%F).img bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync,noerror

5. Optionally compress on the fly to save space on the USB stick:

dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=4M status=none conv=noerror | gzip -c > /media/usb/emmc_backup_$(date +%F).img.gz

6. Compute and record the SHA-256 hash for later verification: sha256sum /media/usb/emmc_backup_*.img* > /media/usb/emmc_backup_*.sha256.
7. Sync, unmount the USB stick, power down, and label.

Restore Procedure

1. Boot from the SD Example Image again with the USB stick containing the backup attached.
2. Verify the SHA-256 hash matches the recorded value: sha256sum -c emmc_backup_*.sha256. Do not proceed if the hash does not match.
3. Write the image back:

dd if=/media/usb/emmc_backup_2024-05-12.img of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync,noerror

4. Force a partition table rescan: partprobe /dev/mmcblk0.
5. Reboot without the SD card (or change boot order) and verify the OS and runtime come up.

Method 3 — SIMATIC ProSave (HMI Panels and Supported IPCs)

SIMATIC ProSave is the canonical Siemens tool for backing up HMI project data, runtime images, and recipe archives on Comfort Panels, Unified Panels, and IPCs that present a ProSave-compatible service interface. It works over Ethernet (and historically over USB/MPI/PROFIBUS for older panels), making it the right choice when no physical access to the device is possible — for example, a panel installed behind a sealed fascia.

Connectivity Setup

1. Install ProSave on the engineering station. The installer ships with TIA Portal but is also available as a standalone package on the Siemens support portal.
2. Open ProSave. From the device type dropdown select the exact panel MLFB or IPC model. Selecting a generic "SIMATIC Panel" type often fails handshake.
3. Set the connection mode to Ethernet and enter the panel's IP address. Ensure the engineering station can reach the panel: ping <panel_ip> from a command prompt.
4. Click Connect. ProSave negotiates the firmware version and displays the available operations.

Backup via ProSave

1. In the ProSave main window select the Backup tab.
2. Choose a target directory on the engineering station. Use a folder named after the device MLFB and date: D:\SIMATIC_Backups\6AV2_1234-1XX01\2024-05-12\.
3. Select the partition scope:
   • Complete image — full eMMC clone, equivalent to the dd method but compressed and checksummed by ProSave.
   • Runtime and project — only WinCC Runtime, project archive, and recipes; faster and smaller, but does not include OS patches.
4. Click Start Backup. Progress is shown in percent. A complete image backup on a 4 GB panel typically takes 5–15 minutes over a 100 Mbit/s link.
5. When complete, ProSave writes a *.psb backup file plus a manifest. Store both — the manifest is required for restore.

Restore via ProSave

1. Reconnect to the panel as in the connectivity setup.
2. Switch to the Restore tab and browse to the *.psb file.
3. Select restore scope to match the original backup (Complete image or Runtime and project).
4. Click Start Restore. The panel reboots into the restore environment, applies the image, and reboots again into the restored runtime.
5. ProSave displays "Restore successful" only after the panel has booted and the runtime service has reported healthy.

Comparison of Methods

Verification After Restore

Do not declare a restore successful until each of the following checks passes:

1. Boot health — the device reaches the configured runtime without entering recovery mode or displaying UEFI errors.
2. Runtime service — WinCC Unified Runtime / TIA Portal runtime reports "Running" on the diagnostic page. On Unified Panels, check Settings > System > Runtime.
3. Project integrity — open the project in TIA Portal on the engineering station and compare the project checksum with the pre-restore value. For WinCC Comfort, use the integrated project compare tool.
4. Recipe and parameter data — if the application stores recipes on the eMMC, load a saved recipe and confirm it matches the last good values.
5. Network identity — confirm the device IP, PROFINET device name, and DHCP/DNS settings survived the restore. Static IP configurations stored only on the host OS are part of the image; those stored on a separate management interface are not.
6. Licenses — Siemens runtime licenses are typically tied to the eMMC hardware and survive a same-device restore; cross-device restore requires license transfer via the SIMATIC License Key Manager.
7. Time and timezone — verify the RTC and timezone. Some images carry UTC and rely on the runtime to apply local time; verify against the controlled time source.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Operational Best Practices

• Store at least the last three successful backups per device on rotation. Retain one offline copy (write-protected USB or optical archive) for disaster recovery.
• Encrypt backups that contain process know-how, recipes, or credentials. Use LUKS on Linux or BitLocker To Go on Windows for the destination stick.
• Record the BIOS/UEFI version, firmware version, and runtime version on the backup label and in the asset management system. Cross-version restores are a leading cause of "boots but does not behave" issues.
• Schedule backups immediately after a successful commissioning sign-off and after every approved parameter change — never after a failed change attempt, because the eMMC may already be in an inconsistent state.
• Test the restore path annually on a bench unit. A backup that has never been restored is not a backup, it is a guess.
• Use only Siemens-published Example Images and Service Stick builds. Third-party images have been observed to mismatch eMMC partition geometry on IOT-class devices, leading to write failures.

Safety and Handling

Backup and restore operations require mains power cycling and in some cases opening the enclosure. Follow the safety instructions in the device's operating manual: de-energize the panel before opening, observe ESD precautions when handling the USB stick near live electronics, and ensure the panel is in a safe state — outputs cleared, drives stopped, controllers in STOP — before a reboot triggered by restore.

On a running production line, schedule the operation during a planned maintenance window. A mid-cycle restore will reboot the device at least twice and may take 15–30 minutes end-to-end including verification.

Field Commissioning Checklist

1. Confirm the device's BIOS version supports the chosen boot path (USB or SD).
2. Create the Service Stick or prepare the SD Example Image, and verify the boot environment loads.
3. Capture a baseline factory backup before any project loading.
4. Load the TIA Portal project and runtime. Verify boot, project, and network identity.
5. Capture a commissioned backup. Label with MLFB, firmware versions, date, and engineer name.
6. Store backups per the site retention policy. Record the SHA-256 hashes in the asset register.
7. Document the chosen restore method (Service Stick / dd / ProSave) in the maintenance manual so on-call personnel follow the same path.