Fixing Simotion Scout V5.1 Windows 8.3 File Naming Error

Problem Description

During the installation of SIMOTION SCOUT V5.1 (including the SCOUT Stand-alone and SCOUT TIA variants) on Windows 10, a warning dialog is displayed referencing Windows 8.3 file naming compatibility. The installation process itself completes successfully, but the message indicates that an operating-system feature required by SCOUT and its supporting tools is disabled. The dialog text typically reads along the lines of "8.3 short names (compatibility) is disabled".

This is not a fatal installation error. It is a compatibility tip issued by the SCOUT setup routine. If ignored, certain archive operations in the SCOUT context—particularly the create-archive and retrieve-archive functions that rely on legacy PKZIP toolchains—will not work correctly. Once a SCOUT install is completed in this state, a standard Repair from the Windows Control Panel will not resolve the issue. The Windows 8.3 support must be enabled before SCOUT is installed or repaired.

Root Cause: Windows 8.3 File Naming

The Windows NTFS file system historically supported two name formats for every file and directory:

• The long file name (LFN), up to 255 characters, used by virtually all modern applications.
• The 8.3 short file name (SFN), a DOS-compatible name of the form FILENAME~1.TXT, eight characters, a tilde, a digit, and a three-character extension.

Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft disabled 8.3 short-name generation by default on new NTFS volumes to improve file-system performance and reduce the metadata overhead of maintaining both name forms. The behavior is controlled by the registry value NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation located at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem.

SIMOTION SCOUT V5.1, along with many legacy Siemens engineering tools (STEP 7 V5.x, SIMOTION IT, SCOUT add-ons, and certain archive utilities such as the embedded PKZIP-based packaging used for project archives), is compiled against older Win32 APIs that call GetShortPathName() and depend on a valid short-name counterpart to the long installation path. When 8.3 creation is disabled, the short-name lookup returns ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND, the archive operations fail, and the SCOUT setup surfaces the compatibility warning shown during install.

Why SCOUT and PKZIP Need 8.3

SCOUT's project archive and restore features use a Windows-ports of the classic PKZIP/PKUNZIP utility that is built against the DOS long-name API surface. The archive toolchain calls the Win32 short-path API to canonicalize paths before reading or writing compressed project ZIP files. The toolchain fails in the following sequence when 8.3 is disabled:

1. User issues Project > Archive or Retrieve Archive in SCOUT.
2. SCOUT constructs a long path such as C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\SIMOTION\work\MyProject.
3. The PKZIP wrapper calls GetShortPathNameW() to obtain C:\PROGRA~1\Siemens\....
4. Windows returns ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND because the volume has no 8.3 names.
5. The archive operation aborts with a generic archive error that does not name the underlying NTFS issue.

The 8.3 compatibility check in the SCOUT installer is a defensive guard installed by the Siemens setup team to surface this condition up front rather than fail silently inside the archive tools months later.

Prerequisites

Before modifying the 8.3 setting and reinstalling SCOUT, confirm the following on the engineering workstation:

• Local Administrator account credentials (changes to FileSystem registry key and NTFS volume metadata require elevation).
• Windows 10 build 1607 or later (LTSC 2019 / 21H2 / 22H2 / 23H2 confirmed compatible with SCOUT V5.1 HF1).
• All SCOUT processes terminated (Scout.exe, s7oiehsx64.exe, CCAgent.exe, simotion_oa_loader.exe).
• Read/write access to the installation volume; the fsutil operation rewrites volume metadata and can be briefly I/O-bound.
• Uninstall any prior SCOUT V5.1 / V5.1 HF1 instance before re-enabling 8.3 and reinstalling.
• Download all SCOUT V5.1 HF1 package parts to a single folder. The delivery is split across multiple files; only the .exe in the package is the launch entry point. See the Siemens support entry 109749385 — SIMOTION SCOUT, SCOUT Stand-alone and SCOUT TIA V5.1 HF1 for the exact download layout and part count.

Step-by-Step: Enable Windows 8.3 File Naming via fsutil

The fsutil utility is the lowest-friction method to enable 8.3 name generation on a target NTFS volume. Run the commands from an elevated Command Prompt (Run as administrator).

1. Open Start → type cmd → right-click Command Prompt → Run as administrator.
2. Confirm the current global default:

   fsutil 8dot3name query

   Output will report one of 0 (enabled system-wide), 1 (disabled system-wide), 2 (per-volume), or 3 (system volume only). Windows 10 defaults to 2 on new installations.
3. Set the system-wide default to enabled:

   fsutil 8dot3name set 0

   Setting 0 is the recommended value for any Siemens engineering workstation.
4. Enable 8.3 name generation on the SCOUT installation volume (replace C: with the actual drive letter):

   fsutil 8dot3name set C: 0

   If SCOUT is to be installed on a secondary data volume, repeat this command for each drive letter. The change is applied without reformatting.
5. Reboot the workstation. NTFS applies the 8.3 generation flag at mount time; the setting has no effect on files written before the boot.

Step-by-Step: Enable Windows 8.3 File Naming via Registry

For environments where fsutil is locked down by group policy, the equivalent change can be made directly in the registry. This approach also documents the change for audit purposes, which is valuable in validated production environments.

1. Open Start → type regedit → press Enter. Accept the UAC prompt.
2. Navigate to:

   HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

3. Double-click the value NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation.
4. Set the Value data to 0 and click OK.
5. Close the Registry Editor and reboot the workstation.

To enforce the setting through Group Policy on multiple engineering workstations, configure Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates &r System &r Filesystem &r NTFS &r Do not allow creation of 8.3 short file names to Disabled. This writes the same registry value and prevents a re-elevation of the policy during future Windows feature updates.

Step-by-Step: Verify 8.3 File Naming is Active

After the reboot, verify that 8.3 name generation is actually in effect for the target volume before installing SCOUT:

fsutil 8dot3name query C:

Expected output: Based on the registry setting of 0, 8dot3 name creation is enabled on C:

Test the short-name API on a known path:

cmd /c for %I in ("C:\Program Files") do @echo %~sI

Expected output: C:\PROGRA~1. If the command echoes the full long path unchanged, 8.3 generation is still not active on the volume.

Repair / Clean Reinstall Simotion Scout V5.1

Once 8.3 is verified, the SCOUT V5.1 installation must be repaired or cleanly reinstalled. A Windows Installer Repair of an SCOUT install that was placed when 8.3 was disabled will not fix the problem. Follow the clean-reinstall path:

1. Open Control Panel &r Programs and Features.
2. Uninstall every entry that begins with SIMOTION SCOUT, including SCOUT, SCOUT TIA, SCOUT Stand-alone, and any associated add-ons (e.g., CamTool, DCC).
3. Reboot the workstation to release file handles and registry locks.
4. Confirm 8.3 is still enabled (use the verification commands above).
5. Place all SCOUT V5.1 HF1 package parts in a single empty folder.
6. Right-click the .exe entry-point and choose Run as administrator. Per Siemens support entry 109749385, only the executable with the .exe extension is the install launcher; the other parts are data and must reside in the same folder.
7. Proceed through the setup wizard. The 8.3 compatibility warning should no longer appear.
8. After install completes, reboot once more before launching SCOUT for the first time.

Verification Checklist

Troubleshooting Matrix

Best Practices for Siemens Software on Windows 10

• Enable 8.3 short-name creation before installing any Siemens engineering tool, including STEP 7 V5.x, WinCC flexible, TIA Portal, SIMOTION SCOUT, and Starter/Startdrive. This avoids a class of obscure archive, project, and licensing errors that are otherwise difficult to diagnose months after deployment.
• Document the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation value in the workstation build sheet so that future re-imaging of the engineering PC preserves the configuration.
• Keep SCOUT installations on a dedicated, non-system data volume when the engineering environment is large. This isolates the metadata change and simplifies backup.
• Apply the V5.1 HF1 hotfix pack on top of base V5.1 to pick up Siemens-issued fixes for archive, license handling, and Windows 10 compatibility. The HF1 package layout is described in Siemens support entry 109749385.
• Avoid running registry cleaners or "Windows 10 debloaters" on engineering workstations; these tools routinely reset NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation to 1.
• Schedule a post-installation archive round-trip test (Project &r Archive &r Retrieve Archive) as a standard commissioning step for every SCOUT workstation. This catches 8.3 issues before the engineer encounters them on a customer site.

Related Windows Configuration Notes

Beyond the 8.3 setting, SCOUT V5.1 has other Windows 10 environment requirements that should be satisfied in parallel to avoid follow-on issues:

• Disable Fast Startup (a hybrid hibernate mode) to prevent file-system lock issues that can corrupt the SCOUT registry hive. Control Panel &r Power Options &r Choose what the power buttons do &r Change settings currently unavailable &r uncheck Turn on fast startup.
• Disable Core Isolation / Memory Integrity if SCOUT's PC-based controller coupling drivers are unsigned on the workstation.
• Add the SCOUT install directory and the user's project directory to the Windows Defender Controlled folder access exclusion list, otherwise project saves can be blocked silently.
• Set the power plan to High performance to prevent USB-CP1616 / CP1613 / Ethernet-IE-AS-i link timeouts during long online sessions.

FAQ