Recovering STEP 7 V5.3 Floating License from Floppy Disk

When a SIMATIC STEP 7 V5.3 installation is moved to a replacement laptop, engineers frequently encounter a situation in which the original floating-license floppy disk is reported as empty by the Automation License Manager (ALM). The floppy drive still reports that approximately 123 kB is used, but Windows Explorer shows no files and ALM returns a "no valid license found" message. This article documents the root cause, the legal recovery paths, and the verified field procedure for restoring the license, including recovering the license from a crashed hard disk before contacting Siemens for a replacement.

1. Problem Statement

An automation engineer on a vessel-based S7-300 installation experienced the following sequence:

1. The original laptop, which held a working STEP 7 V5.3 SP3 and STEP 7 Professional Edition 2004 SR2 installation with a floating license on a 3.5" floppy disk, suffered a hard-disk failure.
2. A replacement laptop equipped with an internal floppy drive was prepared. STEP 7 V5.3 SP3 was installed, followed by STEP 7 Professional Edition 2004 SR2.
3. When the floating-license floppy was inserted and the Automation License Manager (ALM) was launched, the program reported that no valid license could be located.
4. Windows Explorer displayed the floppy as containing 123 kB of data but showing no visible files. Hidden and system files are present, which is why the space is consumed.

The label on the disk read 6ES7810-4CC07-0YA5 (the floating-license media part number), while the CD jewel case for the software was labeled 6ES7810-4CC07-0YA7 (the corresponding software package part number). The engineer also needed a non-floppy solution for a 10" field laptop already running the license successfully.

2. Affected Products and Versions

The same root cause applies to any STEP 7 V5.x floating-license floppy issued under MLFB 6ES7810-4CC07-0YA5 and to legacy S7-400, C7, and WinCC floating licenses delivered on the same media type. Subsequent versions (V5.4, V5.5, V5.6) replaced the floppy with USB stick media under different MLFBs, but the recovery workflow remains analogous.

3. Root Cause Analysis

Siemens floating licenses are protected by the CodeMeter/Wibu-Systems runtime, embedded on the license floppy. The visible 123 kB of used disk space corresponds to the protected license container, but the file system hides the actual .wibucm / CodeMeter payload when viewed from Windows Explorer. This is by design: the file is only enumerable through the Automation License Manager or the CodeMeter control center, never through standard file APIs.

The "ALM cannot find a license" message after a STEP 7 install is most often caused by one of the following conditions:

1. Original license is on the crashed HDD, not on the floppy. Floating licenses are installed to the local hard disk at first activation. The floppy is only the delivery medium. After a license has been moved to a hard disk, the floppy becomes a re-installation source and ALM will not find an active license if the hard disk portion is missing and the floppy has not been "returned" to it.
2. ALM version mismatch. V5.3 SP3 SP3 of STEP 7 requires an ALM compatible with that release. Installing V5.3 SP3 first and then the Professional Edition 2004 SR2 can leave the ALM in a transitional state where it cannot read V5.3-era media. The SIMATIC Manager opens, but the license check fails.
3. USB stick recognized as a floppy-class drive. When ALM is told to "transfer the license to USB stick," the USB stick is often enumerated by CodeMeter as a removable floppy-style target. The transfer dialog refuses to move a license from floppy media to a device that is also classified as a floppy, producing a silent no-op.
4. Read errors on aging media. 3.5" floppies from the early 2000s are notorious for magnetic degradation. The 123 kB payload reports as used but cannot be fully read by the CodeMeter runtime, so the license binding is incomplete.

4. Solution Path Overview

Three recovery paths are available, in order of preference:

4.1 Path A – Recover the License from the Crashed Hard Disk

This is the path that the original engineer ultimately used, and it is the most reliable when the failed laptop is still accessible.

1. Remove the HDD from the failed laptop.
2. Mount the HDD in an external USB enclosure or attach it to a working desktop as a secondary drive.
3. Run a low-level disk-repair tool against the partition to recover directory structure. SpinRite, TestDisk, or chkdsk from a Windows PE boot media are typical options. Do not initialize or format the disk.
4. Once the partition is mounted read-only, browse to C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\WinCCflexible\ or C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\ – the license container is stored in the CodeMeter local license vault, normally at C:\ProgramData\CodeMeter\ or the protected per-user store referenced by the CodeMeter runtime.
5. Boot the original HDD (or attach it to a running machine with the original ALM/CodeMeter runtime installed) and let the Automation License Manager detect the existing local license.
6. From the running ALM, use License Management > Transfer License to move the license to the new laptop's hard disk.
7. Verify by launching SIMATIC Manager on the new laptop and opening an S7-300 project. The title bar should no longer display "No valid license found".

4.2 Path B – Transfer from the Existing 10" Field Laptop

The 10" field laptop already has the floating license activated. To use it on a second machine, do the following:

1. On the field laptop, open the Automation License Manager.
2. Select the STEP 7 V5.3 floating license from the local license list.
3. Choose Transfer License > To another computer. ALM offers network, USB, and (where supported) floppy-class removable targets.
4. On the new laptop, insert the destination media or accept the network transfer; the license will be bound to that machine.
5. A floating license, once installed on a second machine, behaves as a single-user license on the new host. To move it back, repeat the transfer.

Siemens' own KB article 23173081 documents the supported transfer paths, including network, USB, and (on legacy versions) floppy. For the older V5.3 ALM, the article 22815988 describes the operator steps for managing licenses once ALM is open.

4.3 Path C – Replacement License from Siemens

If neither the original floppy nor the original hard disk can be read, the official path is to request a replacement license (KHE/CoL update). This is the path that was used in parallel in the original incident, and a replacement on USB stick was eventually issued.

1. Locate the original floppy (red or yellow Siemens license disk) and the original license number from the case.
2. Start ALM and have it generate a hardware fingerprint (HostID / CmActLicense host fingerprint). This number is required by Siemens to bind the new license to the replacement machine.
3. Contact the regional Siemens authorization hotline. The published regional contacts (as of the most recent Siemens Industry Online Support update) are:

4. Provide the KHE number from the floppy, the original license number, the new HostID generated by ALM, and a brief description of the failure. Siemens will return an unlock string (TFS / CoL) that is entered into ALM to bind a fresh license to the new machine.
5. The replacement media can be a USB stick (the modern default) or, on request, another floppy. USB stick is strongly recommended for any laptop that lacks a 3.5" drive.

Reference: Siemens support article 23322349 documents the end-to-end procedure for transferring licenses between PCs and requesting rehosting of damaged or lost media.

5. Automation License Manager Operator Reference

ALM is the only sanctioned tool for license operations. The following operations are required for the workflows above.

6. Why a USB Stick Was Treated as a Floppy

The original engineer's first transfer attempt (floppy → USB stick) failed silently. The reason is that CodeMeter classifies USB sticks formatted with FAT/FAT32 and small block sizes as removable floppy-class targets, and ALM refuses to transfer from one floppy-class device to another. The workaround is:

1. Format the USB stick as NTFS (or use a stick preformatted as a fixed/removable NTFS device).
2. Reinsert the stick and confirm in Disk Management that it shows as a fixed or removable non-floppy target.
3. Re-attempt the transfer. If the stick is still recognized as a floppy, transfer first to the local hard disk, then to the USB stick on the target machine.

This issue is amplified in STEP 7 V5.6 and V5.7 environments where the floating license is delivered on USB. Users upgrading from V5.3 to V5.7 SP1 have reported that ALM cannot re-read the V5.3 floating license on the new target. The solution is to upgrade both the license medium and the ALM at the same time, and use the new ALM to receive the license into the new STEP 7 install rather than mounting the old floppy on the new host.

7. Verification Procedure

After the recovery, run the following checks to confirm that the floating license is properly bound:

1. Open ALM. The STEP 7 V5.3 floating license should appear with a green status and the target hostname.
2. Open the SIMATIC Manager and create or open an S7 project. The title bar should not display "No valid license found".
3. Open an S7-300 hardware catalog and confirm that all option packages (e.g., S7-SCL, S7-Graph, S7-PLCSIM) are listed as licensed.
4. Run a short online test: PG/PC interface → Accessible Nodes → scan for the S7-300 CPU on MPI/PROFIBUS or Ethernet.
5. If any option returns "trial mode" or "missing license," repeat the transfer for the specific option package.

8. Preventive Measures

• Always keep the original license floppy in a protective sleeve, away from magnetic fields and direct sunlight.
• After every STEP 7 install, run ALM and use Return to License Key Disk to write the current license state back to the floppy. This ensures the floppy always holds a valid, current license.
• Maintain a paper record of the MLFB, license number, HostID, and Siemens support contact for the region. The license number is required for any rehosting request.
• If the installation will outlive the original floppy media, request a USB replacement from Siemens before the floppy fails. This avoids the time-critical recovery described above.
• For vessels and mobile installations, store a second copy of the license on a Siemens-issued USB stick in a fireproof safe on board.

9. Troubleshooting Matrix

10. FAQ