Resolving ALM V4.0 Startup Failure with STEP 7 V5.4 SP4

Problem Overview

The Automation License Manager (ALM) V4.0 ships bundled with STEP 7 V5.4 SP4 and WinCC flexible 2008 and is installed automatically by both setup routines. On affected engineering stations, ALM V4.0 installs without error, the service is registered, but it refuses to start when invoked. STEP 7 V5.4 and WinCC flexible 2008 subsequently launch in license-missing mode and demand re-licensing on every restart. Downgrading to ALM V3.0 SP1 restores normal operation, masking the real defect and delaying its true identification.

The reproducible failure is not a corruption of the ALM installer itself; it is a service-start collision with legacy Siemens Teleservice components that the ALM V4.0 setup does not preempt. This article documents the symptom, the diagnostic workflow, the actual root cause, and the official remediation path that is stable in the field.

Affected Software Stack

Both Teleservice V5.1 and Teleservice V6.1 (pre-SP2) have been confirmed in the field to break the ALM V4.0 service. A workstation that has either Teleservice version installed will exhibit the failure, while a clean workstation installing only STEP 7 V5.4 SP4 + WinCC flexible 2008 will not.

Symptom Matrix

Root Cause Analysis

ALM V4.0 is implemented as a Windows service plus a thin MFC client. The service hosts the license broker that the engineering tools query for floating or node-locked keys. When ALM V4.0 setup runs, it registers the service under the local system account and creates the registry path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Siemens\AutomationLicenseManager.

The defect is not in the ALM binary. It is an IPC / shared-resource conflict with Teleservice V5.1 and Teleservice V6.1 pre-SP2. Both Teleservice versions register background components and socket endpoints that ALM V4.0 attempts to claim on service start. The collision prevents the service control manager from completing the start sequence, and ALM is reported as failed.

The defining clue is the reproducibility across users: two engineers on identical Dell Latitude D620 hardware running Windows XP Professional V2002 SP3 observed the same failure when Teleservice 5.1 or 6.1 (pre-SP2) was present. Removing only ALM (not Teleservice) and installing ALM V3.0 SP1 worked, because ALM V3.x uses a different service implementation that does not conflict with the older Teleservice endpoint stack.

Siemens documented the symptom family in the SiePortal knowledge base under the search topic Automation License Manager - SiePortal support entry, which describes how drivers of other installed products, in particular mobile telephone software and older Siemens remote-maintenance components, can block ALM startup by holding conflicting handles or socket ports during boot.

Pre-Diagnostic Checklist

Before changing any installation, capture the following state. It is required both for Siemens support escalation and for verifying the fix once applied.

1. Record the installed version of ALM via Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs. Note ALM V4.0 (xx.xx.xx).
2. Record the installed version of Teleservice via the same applet. Note the exact build and service pack (e.g., SIMATIC Teleservice V6.1 + SP1).
3. Open services.msc. Locate the entry for ALM (display name Automation License Manager) and the entries belonging to Teleservice. Note each service's startup type and current state.
4. Export HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Siemens\AutomationLicenseManager via regedit for a baseline.
5. Open eventvwr.msc and clear the Application and System logs, then attempt to start the ALM service once and capture every event that lands during the failure.
6. Check the host for third-party software that binds the same named pipes or TCP ports as ALM (commonly port 4410 for the ALM service, 22350 for the license daemon in some builds). Use netstat -ano | findstr :4410 and netstat -ano | findstr :22350.

Step-by-Step Resolution

The verified remediation is to bring the SIMATIC Teleservice stack to V6.1 SP2 or newer before relying on ALM V4.0. The original reporter confirmed that applying Teleservice 6.1 SP2 on the affected D620 + XP Pro V2002 SP3 workstation resolved the failure and ALM V4.0 began starting and serving licenses to STEP 7 V5.4 SP4 and WinCC flexible 2008 immediately.

1. Stop dependent engineering tools. Close STEP 7, WinCC flexible 2008, and any HMI runtime that may hold ALM handles.
2. Confirm ALM V4.0 is present. If it is not, install it from the STEP 7 V5.4 SP4 or WinCC flexible 2008 setup (it is a bundled component; do not attempt to install ALM V4.0 from a separate download unless the engineering tool setup is unavailable).
3. Stop the Teleservice services. In services.msc, stop every service whose executable name starts with TeleService or that is published by Siemens AG in that category. Set the startup type to Manual for the duration of the upgrade.
4. Apply Teleservice 6.1 SP2. Launch the SP2 setup with administrator rights. Accept the default service reconfiguration; the SP includes corrected endpoint handling that no longer collides with ALM V4.0.
5. Reboot. The reboot is mandatory. The Teleservice stack binds ports at boot; live patching of the binding is not reliable on Windows XP V2002 SP3.
6. Set Teleservice services back to their original startup types (typically Automatic).
7. Start ALM. Launch the Automation License Manager from Start > SIMATIC > Automation License Manager. The main window must appear and the status bar must show the local license search path without a red banner.
8. Validate STEP 7 and WinCC flexible. Start STEP 7 V5.4 and WinCC flexible 2008. Both must recognize the licenses on the local USB dongle or on the network license server without prompting for re-activation.

Alternative Workarounds (Use Only When SP2 Is Unavailable)

If Teleservice 6.1 SP2 cannot be sourced, the following field-proven workarounds allow operation with ALM V4.0, at the cost of losing the Teleservice features that conflict with ALM.

• Uninstall Teleservice entirely. Use Add or Remove Programs. Reboot. Install ALM V4.0 (or let STEP 7 V5.4 SP4 install it) and verify. Note that you lose remote maintenance for the S7 station until you reinstate Teleservice at a compatible level.
• Disable the colliding Teleservice services rather than uninstalling. Set the SIMATIC Teleservice and any TeleService Routing service to Disabled startup type. The binaries remain on disk for later upgrade, but no port binding occurs at boot.
• Reinstall ALM V4.0 after a clean boot. Some engineers reported success by uninstalling ALM V4.0, restarting, and reinstalling with all third-party firewalls and endpoint-protection software temporarily disabled. The principle is the same: remove anything that might be holding a port or named pipe that ALM V4.0 needs at startup.

Service and Registry Verification

After remediation, confirm the service is registered correctly and reachable. Run the following commands in an elevated command prompt.

sc query "ALM"
sc qc "ALM"
netstat -ano | findstr :4410
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\AutomationLicenseManager" /s

Expected results:

• sc query "ALM" returns STATE: 4 RUNNING.
• sc qc "ALM" shows BINARY_PATH_NAME pointing to the ALM V4.0 executable (typically almsrvx.exe under %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\AutomationLicenseManager\bin).
• netstat -ano | findstr :4410 shows a LISTENING entry bound to the ALM service PID.
• The registry key contains Version set to 4.0.x.x and at least one LicensePath entry.

Event Log Analysis

If the ALM service still refuses to start after applying the remediation, the Windows event logs are the authoritative source. The events to look for and how to interpret them:

To capture a definitive trace, run Process Monitor from Sysinternals with a filter on the ALM executable name (almsrvx.exe or alm.exe) and on the Teleservice executable names, then attempt the start. The trace will show exactly which file, registry key, or named pipe the service fails on, and the process that already owns the conflicting resource.

Migration Considerations from ALM V3.x to V4.0

The downgrade-to-V3.0-SP1 workaround is a regression trap. Plan the move to ALM V4.0 deliberately.

1. Inventory existing licenses. ALM V4.0 supports the modern .lic and .zip container formats. ALM V3.x uses an older .zip-style format. All licenses are re-issued by Siemens on a License Key Disk or transferred through the ALM V4.0 online portal. Back up existing license keys via ALM V3 > Edit > License Backup before uninstalling V3.
2. Coexistence. ALM V3.x and V4.0 cannot run side by side. Uninstall V3.0 SP1 before installing V4.0. The setup of STEP 7 V5.4 SP4 will do this automatically if V3.x is detected, but on legacy images it may fail silently and leave V3.x installed. Verify via Add or Remove Programs.
3. Network license servers. If the license is served from a dedicated server, upgrade the server first. Engineering stations querying the server must be on a compatible ALM version; mixing V3.x and V4.0 on the same subnet can be done in some configurations but is not recommended in production.
4. USB dongle hardware. The physical USB license stick is the same for V3.x and V4.0. No hardware swap is required.

Field-Proven Diagnostic Flowchart

Verification Procedure

1. Start ALM V4.0. The status bar must read OK with no red banner.
2. Start STEP 7 V5.4 SP4. Open any project. The toolbox icons must be active, and the title bar must not display the Missing License indicator.
3. Start WinCC flexible 2008. Open a project. Transfer and compile operations must succeed without license prompt.
4. From a second engineering station, open ALM and connect to the affected station's license server. The remote view must list every active license.
5. Reboot the workstation. Verify that ALM is started automatically by the service control manager and that STEP 7 / WinCC flexible find their licenses without user interaction.

When to Escalate to Siemens Support

If ALM V4.0 still fails to start after applying Teleservice 6.1 SP2 and ruling out port and handle collisions, escalate through official channels with the following package:

• Complete Windows event logs (Application + System) covering the failed start attempts.
• Process Monitor trace filtered to ALM and Teleservice executables.
• Output of sc query "ALM" and sc qc "ALM".
• Complete Add or Remove Programs export from the workstation.
• The two license key disk images (or USB stick content) of the affected installation.

Open the request via Siemens Industry Online Support and reference the entry found under the Automation License Manager support page.