Fixing WinCC Runtime Advanced No Configuration File Specified

Problem Overview

When launching WinCC Runtime Advanced on a PC or panel — either through the StartCenter, the legacy Runtime Loader, the Windows Start menu shortcut, or the Windows Autostart folder — the runtime executable HmiRtm.exe aborts immediately and the following dialog appears:

No configuration file was specified on the command line or in the "HmiRTm.ini" file.
Do you want to load a configuration file?

If the operator clicks No, the runtime closes without loading any HMI project. If the operator clicks Yes, the StartCenter project view opens so a project can be selected, but the runtime itself does not start until a project is loaded and the start button is pressed again. The error reproduces in:

• WinCC Runtime Advanced V13 / V14 / V15 / V15.1 / V16 / V17 / V18 (TIA Portal).
• WinCC flexible 2008 SP5 and WinCC flexible 2008 Runtime on a PC (legacy entry point, same HmiRtm.exe architecture).
• Both Windows 7 SP1 / Windows 10 / Windows 10 LTSC / Windows 11 environments that meet the SIMATIC HMI installation requirements.

The error is purely a runtime launch-time fault — the TIA Portal project itself compiles cleanly and the generated .fwx runtime file is not corrupt. The fault is in the launcher path, the registry / shortcut used to start the runtime, or the HmiRTm.ini initialization file.

Root Cause Analysis

WinCC Runtime Advanced on a PC is a two-tier architecture:

1. The launcher — StartCenter (TIA Portal generations) or Runtime Loader (WinCC flexible / older TIA Portal) — is a thin GUI that manages project lists, transfer directories, and the autostart configuration.
2. The runtime engine — HmiRtm.exe — is the actual HMI display and tag I/O engine. It cannot be started without a project file argument.

When the launcher invokes HmiRtm.exe, it must pass the absolute path of a compiled WinCC Runtime project file (typically Project.fwx) either as a command-line argument or via the HmiRTm.ini file in the runtime working directory. HmiRtm.exe checks in this exact order:

1. Command-line argument (e.g. HmiRtm.exe "C:\Projects\Line1.fwx").
2. The HmiRTm.ini file located next to the executable (default: C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRTm.ini), specifically the [Configuration] / ProjectFile entry.

If both lookups fail, HmiRtm.exe raises the "No configuration file was specified..." message and exits. The launcher itself is not at fault — it cannot find a valid .fwx in its configured search path or in the PDATA.* user data directory. The four most common root causes observed in field service are:

Runtime File and INI Architecture

Understanding the file layout is essential before editing anything. The default TIA Portal installation places runtime files in:

C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\
├── HmiRtm.exe                  (runtime engine)
├── HmiRTm.ini                  (initialization file)
├── HmiRtmCore.dll
├── StartCenter.exe             (TIA V14+ launcher)
├── RuntimeLoader.exe           (WinCC flexible / TIA V13 launcher)
├── Bin\
├── Lib\
└── ...

The default installation directory can be checked at runtime from a command prompt:

reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced" /v InstallPath

The HMI project data, including the compiled runtime, is kept in:

%ProgramData%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRTm\
├── Line1.fwx                  (compiled runtime, generated by TIA Portal / WinCC flexible)
├── Line1.PDATA                (runtime user data, persistent tags, recipes, logs)
└── ...

For WinCC flexible, the equivalent path is %ProgramData%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible\.

HmiRTm.ini Structure

The HmiRTm.ini file is a plain text INI file. The minimum contents required to autostart a single project look like this:

[Configuration]
ProjectFile=C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRTm\Line1.fwx

[Security]
EnablePasswordProtection=0

Do not hand-edit this file unless absolutely required. The StartCenter / Runtime Loader overwrites the file on every change of the active project, so a hand-edit is wiped on the next GUI change. Use the launcher GUI to manage the autostart entry — see the procedure below.

PDATA.XXX and Online Transfer

When a TIA Portal engineer performs an online load (transfer via Ethernet, PROFIBUS, USB, or MPI) to a PC Runtime, the loader writes the compiled project to a versioned user-data directory named PDATA.001, PDATA.002, etc. The StartCenter keeps a project list pointing to these directories. The next manual start of the StartCenter reads the PDATA.* and launches HmiRtm.exe with the active entry as a parameter.

If Windows maintenance (Disk Cleanup, Storage Sense, third-party cleaners) or a misconfigured backup tool deletes the PDATA.* folder, the StartCenter can no longer start the project. The error then appears on the next reboot.

Fix 1 — Manual Launch with Command-Line Parameter

Use this method to verify the runtime file itself is intact and reachable. It bypasses the launcher and INI completely.

1. Open Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) as Administrator.
2. Locate the .fwx file using Windows Explorer or:

   dir /s /b "C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation" *.fwx

3. Launch the runtime directly with the project file as the argument:

   "C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRtm.exe" "C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRTm\Line1.fwx"

If the runtime starts, the project file is healthy. The fault is in the launcher configuration — proceed to Fix 2.

Fix 2 — Configure StartCenter / Runtime Loader

This is the correct long-term fix. The StartCenter stores the active project and the autostart path in its project list. The procedure is identical in TIA Portal V14+ StartCenter and in the WinCC flexible / TIA V13 Runtime Loader.

1. Launch StartCenter.exe (or RuntimeLoader.exe) from the Start menu under Siemens Automation > WinCC Runtime Advanced.
2. If the project list is empty, click Add Project and browse to the .fwx file. Typical paths:

   C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRTm\<ProjectName>.fwx
   C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible\<ProjectName>.fwx

3. Right-click the project and select Set as Active Project (StartCenter) or Start as Runtime (Runtime Loader).
4. Press the Start button on the toolbar. HmiRtm.exe should now launch with the project as parameter and the HMI screen should appear.

The configuration path must lead to the directory where the Runtime file is stored. Do not point to a network share if the runtime PC is not always connected — the runtime will fail to start when the share is offline.

Fix 3 — Configure Autostart via the Built-in Wizard

The StartCenter and Runtime Loader include a built-in Autostart wizard. The first time the runtime is started, the dialog "No configuration file was specified... Do you want to load a configuration file?" is in fact the wizard entry point. Clicking Yes opens the StartCenter settings where the autostart path is configured.

1. From the StartCenter menu, choose Settings > Runtime Autostart (WinCC flexible: Tools > Autostart Settings).
2. In the Configuration path field, enter the absolute path of the .fwx file:

   C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRTm\Line1.fwx

3. Optionally enable Auto-login at Windows startup and Start Runtime after Auto-login.
4. Click Apply, then OK. The StartCenter writes the path to the HmiRTm.ini file and creates a Windows shell Autostart entry.

Refer to the official Siemens FAQ Entry ID 58565180 — "How do you configure the WinCC Autostart for WinCC flexible Runtime?" for the full reference procedure, including screenshots and registry interaction.

Fix 4 — Registry / Shell Autostart Inspection

On Windows 10/11, the StartCenter registers an Autostart entry in the registry. If this entry is missing or points to a non-existent path, the runtime fails at logon.

1. Open regedit.exe as Administrator.
2. Inspect the following keys:

   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

3. Look for entries such as Siemens WinCC Runtime Advanced or HmiRtm. The default value should resemble:

   "C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\StartCenter.exe" /AutoStart "C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRTm\Line1.fwx"

4. Verify the path exists and the file is reachable. Correct any path that has changed (e.g. after a move from D:\ to C:\).

Fix 5 — Restore a Missing PDATA Directory

If online-transferred projects have disappeared from the StartCenter list, the PDATA.* directory was probably cleaned. Restore it before changing the launcher configuration.

1. Reconnect the engineering station and re-run Online > Load to device from the TIA Portal project.
2. Alternatively, copy a backup of the PDATA.* folder from the last known good state and paste it into:

   %ProgramData%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC RT Advanced\HmiRTm\

3. Re-open the StartCenter and confirm the project is listed.

After the PDATA is restored, the StartCenter can resume autostarting the project on the next reboot.

Verification Checklist

After applying any of the fixes above, run through this checklist to confirm the runtime is healthy.

1. Open StartCenter.exe; the project list shows the .fwx with a green status indicator.
2. Click Start; the runtime window appears within 5–10 s; the start screen displays the configured initial screen.
3. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and confirm HmiRtm.exe is running under the expected Windows user (not SYSTEM).
4. Reboot the PC. The runtime starts automatically after logon with no error dialog.
5. Open the Windows Event Viewer under Applications and Services Logs > Siemens Automation and confirm no error from the last boot.
6. Test process diagnostics: trigger a tag change in the PLC, confirm the value updates on the runtime screen, and that logging continues.

Related Errors and Edge Cases

Compatibility and Version Notes

• The HmiRtm.exe / HmiRTm.ini architecture is consistent from WinCC flexible 2007 through TIA Portal V18. The error string is identical across all generations.
• WinCC Runtime Professional uses CCStart.exe / RTILtraceViewer.exe and a different project format. The error described in this article does not apply to WinCC Professional — refer to the WinCC Professional diagnostics manual if the error appears there.
• The procedure is not changed by Windows 10 LTSC 2019 / 2021 / Windows 11; only the default installation path may differ under Program Files (x86) on x64 systems, which is a 32-bit component.
• On a multi-user system with UAC enabled, each user must configure the autostart independently. Configuring for User A does not autostart for User B.

Field Commissioning Tip

FAQ