Resolving COM Profibus Missing GSD File Import Errors

1. Problem Overview

When importing a SIMATIC memory card or a project archive into Siemens COM Profibus (versions V5.0 and V5.1), the tool verifies the PROFIBUS device descriptions of every slave present in the project. If a slave references a Device Master File (GSD) that the local COM Profibus installation cannot locate, the import aborts immediately with a dialog reporting that the import is not possible. This failure blocks both the import of legacy COM Profibus projects and the upload of master configurations from older SIMATIC S5 / S7 memory cards used with CP5611, CP5613, CP5614, CP5621, or CP5511 PROFIBUS interfaces.

The same error is also reported when the COM Profibus installation directory has been moved, partially uninstalled, or when a third-party slave such as an SEW-Eurodrive MOVIMOT, MOVIDRIVE, or MOVIAXIS inverter references a GSD that was never copied into the project tree. The dialog always names the exact missing GSD file, so the file name is the only reliable lead to a fix.

2. Exact Error Text and Failure Path

The dialog produced by COM Profibus reads:

"Import not possible, because a device master file is missing. Copy the missing file to the directory containing the device master files, read the file in and start the function again. Missing device master file: <filename>.gsd"

Typical filenames reported in this dialog include:

• SIEM80b3.gsd — Siemens SIMATIC S7 DP slave (IM 308-C, IM 308-B, ET 200M, ET 200S, ET 200X, ET 200pro, ET 200iSP families).
• SEW_3100.gsd — SEW-Eurodrive MOVIDRIVE / MOVIAXIS / MOVITRAC PROFIBUS gateway modules.
• SEW_8021.gsd and SEW_9021.gsd — Older MOVIMOT 32-bit / 16-bit DFP gateways.
• SI0180B3.gsd — Siemens MICROMASTER 4 / SINAMICS G120 DP-V0 fallback identifier.

The import fails before any slave is added to the COM Profibus master view, so the tool cannot be coaxed into continuing by skipping the missing file. The only supported recovery path is to install the GSD first and then re-issue the import.

3. Root Cause Analysis

COM Profibus maintains a flat, file-based GSD repository inside the installation directory. The tool does not query any online catalog; it only reads the GSDs that physically exist in the configured directory tree. When a project references a slave identifier (Prm-Data, Ident_Number, or Vendor_Name) that does not match any of the locally cached GSDs, the importer cannot validate the slave's I/O layout, diagnostic structure, or DP-V1 slot configuration, and it terminates.

The root cause is one of the following:

1. No GSD has ever been installed. The device was added to a project on another workstation, but the current PC has a clean COM Profibus install.
2. GSD was installed for a different tool. It is present in the STEP 7 / TIA Portal GSD directory but not in the COM Profibus gsd subdirectory. STEP 7 stores GSDs in S7DATA / GSD; COM Profibus uses an independent tree under CPBV51\gsd.
3. WinCC flexible was used as the importer. WinCC flexible stores GSDs in a separate tree and uses them for HMI-side PROFIBUS diagnostics, not for COM Profibus master configuration. Operators often confuse the two directories.
4. Compressed file not extracted. A downloaded .zip or .exe was placed in the GSD folder, but the actual .gsd and .bmp files were never extracted into the directory root.
5. Vendor-specific revision mismatch. The slave requires a newer GSD revision (e.g. PROFINET profile 4.2) than the COM Profibus version supports. In this case even after installation, the import will continue to fail with a different error code.

4. Prerequisites

Before installing GSDs and re-running the import, verify the following:

• COM Profibus is installed and you can launch the application (Start → Siemens → COM Profibus V5.1).
• You have local administrator rights on the Windows workstation. Writing into the C:\Siemens\CPBV51\gsd directory requires elevation.
• You know the manufacturer, product family, and PROFIBUS DP version of the slave. This identifies the correct GSD revision and prevents installing the wrong file.
• You have access to the Siemens Industry Online Support portal and / or the SEW-Eurodrive support portal to download the GSD archives.
• For HMI-related imports, you have access to the WinCC flexible GSD tree as well, so that the device becomes visible in the panel's PLC browser.

5. Solution — Step-by-Step GSD Installation in COM Profibus V5.1

The recovery is a four-step procedure: download, extract, copy, and register. Each step is mandatory.

Step 1 — Identify and download the missing GSD

From the import dialog note the exact GSD filename (e.g. SIEM80b3.gsd). Search the Siemens Industry Online Support entry that references this file. Entry ID 18797552 in the Siemens support database is a common landing page for SIMATIC DP master / slave GSD collections. The official portal is reachable at https://support.industry.siemens.com.

For SEW-Eurodrive drives, obtain the GSD from the SEW support portal at https://www.sew-eurodrive.de/support/ and select the device family, firmware generation, and DP-V0 / DP-V1 variant that matches the inverter's nameplate.

Step 2 — Extract the archive

Most GSDs are distributed as self-extracting .exe installers or as .zip archives. Extract them into a temporary directory, e.g. D:\Temp\GSD\. The extraction must produce:

• One or more .gsd text files (the actual device master data).
• One or more .bmp bitmap files used by COM Profibus and STEP 7 to draw the slave icon.
• Optionally .dib device-independent bitmaps and .ico icon files for the HMI catalog.

Do not copy the .zip into the GSD directory. The importer scans file extensions and ignores compressed archives.

Step 3 — Copy files into the COM Profibus tree

For COM Profibus V5.1 the default installation tree is:

The COM Profibus installer path C:\Siemens\CPBV51 applies to the standard 32-bit install. If the tool was installed on a custom drive, locate the equivalent gsd and bitmaps subfolders under the same root.

Step 4 — Register the GSD inside COM Profibus

1. Launch COM Profibus V5.1.
2. Open the File menu.
3. Select "Read in GSD files" (German UI: GSD-Dateien einlesen).
4. Wait for the parser to scan CPBV51\gsd and CPBV51\bitmaps. The dialog reports the number of new GSDs registered.
5. Click OK to close the import dialog. The new slave is now visible in the device catalog under the correct vendor folder.

If the tool does not pick up the GSD after a manual file copy, close the application fully and re-launch it; some GSDs are only registered at startup.

6. HMI-Specific GSD Layout (WinCC flexible Cross-Check)

The WinCC flexible documentation states explicitly that "GSD files are located in the WinCC flexible Support\PlcProg\GSD directory. Different GSD files must be used depending on the particular HMI device". If the operator is also configuring a TP 177, OP 177, MP 277, MP 377, or Comfort Panel that browses the PROFIBUS slaves, the same GSD must additionally be installed in the WinCC flexible catalog so that the panel can display the diagnostic buffer of the slave. The relevant Siemens Help entry is documented under the COM Profibus V5.1 manual page 208.

7. Vendor-Specific GSD Sources

7.1 Siemens SIMATIC slaves

For Siemens slaves, the GSD is bundled with the STEP 7 / COM Profibus installation media and additionally published on the Siemens Industry Online Support. The base SIMATIC DP GSD package contains the most common slave identifiers: SIEM80B3, SIEM80F4, SIEM8100, SIEM8101, SIEM8110, SI0180B3, SI0181A6, and the ET 200 variants. Always cross-check the Ident_Number printed in the slave's parameter assignment against the GSD_Revision / Ident_Number fields in the .gsd text file before installing.

7.2 SEW-Eurodrive drives

SEW-Eurodrive GSDs are versioned per drive generation and per PROFIBUS profile. The most common naming convention is SEW_<part number>.gsd or SEW<model><revision>.gsd. For example:

• SEW_3100.gsd — MOVIAXIS / MOVIDRIVE MDX 61B DP-V1 module (current generation).
• SEW_8021.gsd — MOVIMOT DFP 32-bit gateway.
• SEW_9021.gsd — MOVIMOT DFP 16-bit gateway (legacy).
• SEW_3041.gsd — MOVITRAC LTX / LTP inverter.

SEW ships the GSDs together with the device firmware package; the GSD must match the firmware generation. Installing a newer GSD than the firmware supports results in slot configuration errors at bus start-up, not in import errors, but it is the most common follow-on failure after the import is unblocked.

8. Verification Procedure

After registering the GSD, repeat the import:

1. In COM Profibus open File → Import → Memory Card (or import the project archive).
2. Select the source path and click Import.
3. Confirm that the dialog no longer references the previously missing GSD.
4. Open the master view and verify that the slave appears in the device tree with the correct vendor icon.
5. Double-click the slave and inspect the DP slave diagnostics tab — the Ident_Number must match the physical device (e.g. 0x80B3 for SIEM80B3 family, 0x3100 for SEW_3100 family).
6. Go online with the bus (CP5611 / CP5621) and confirm the slave reaches Data Exchange state (DX) within the configured watchdog time (typically 10 s for SEW drives, 1.6 s for ET 200 stations).

If the import still fails, the next most common root cause is that a second GSD is also missing. COM Profibus reports one missing file per import attempt, so the procedure may need to be repeated iteratively until all referenced GSDs are installed.

9. Troubleshooting Matrix

10. Field-Proven Best Practices

• Maintain a single shared gsd repository on the engineering server, and use a startup script to synchronize it with each engineering workstation's CPBV51\gsd folder.
• Keep a CSV log of every GSD installed per station, with revision, vendor, and import date. This dramatically reduces the diagnostic cycle when a new slave is added.
• When migrating from COM Profibus to STEP 7 V5.x or TIA Portal, retain the legacy GSD repository for at least one year. Field devices often have older firmware that still references legacy Ident_Numbers.
• When a slave refuses to come up on the bus despite the import succeeding, verify that the Prm-Data in the GSD matches the physical DIP-switch / address-assignment of the slave.
• Always read the GSD file in plain text before installing. The header lists GSD_Revision, Vendor_Name, Model_Name, Ident_Number, and the Revision string, which must all match the connected device.

11. FAQ