Resolving Drive ES Basic 5.5 SIMOTION DeviceOM Install Failure

Overview

Siemens Drive ES Basic 5.5 is the entry-level configuration tool for integrating SIMOTION motion controllers, SINAMICS drives, and MICROMASTER / SIMOVERT MASTERDRIVES units into a SIMATIC Step 7 project. The installer bundles several optional components; the one most often reported as failing is the SIMOTION DeviceOM (Device Object Manager) module, which provides the COM/DCOM interface that Step 7 uses to enumerate and parameterize SIMOTION devices.

When this component fails, the setup rolls back the whole transaction and returns a generic "installation failed" dialog. The installer rarely surfaces a numeric error code, which forces engineers to read the support log files by hand. This article consolidates the diagnosis procedure, the most frequent root causes, and a clean reinstall workflow that restores Drive ES Basic 5.5 on a supported Windows host.

Problem Symptoms

The reported symptom set is consistent across affected workstations:

• The Drive ES Basic 5.5 setup dialog reports "Install component: SIMOTION DeviceOM" as failed and aborts.
• No MSI error code is displayed in the wizard UI. The only guidance is a pointer to the ReadMe file.
• The ReadMe file lists the published prerequisites, none of which appear to be missing on the host.
• After exiting setup, the SIMATIC Manager tree shows no drive objects and the Drive ES entry is absent from Start » Programs » Siemens Automation.
• Re-running the installer in verbose mode produces no additional UI feedback.

Two diagnostic log files are produced by every Drive ES Basic 5.5 install attempt and must be inspected before changing any system configuration:

Supported Environment and Prerequisites

Before changing the system, verify that the host is inside the published compatibility envelope. The matrix is enforced silently and a mismatch produces the exact failure described above.

Cross-check the installed host against the official Drive ES Basic V5.5 ReadMe and the SIMOTION DeviceOM compatibility list. If the host is outside the matrix, the fix is to move to a supported OS, not to chase the log file further.

Root Cause Analysis

When the matrix is satisfied, the SIMOTION DeviceOM install failure almost always traces to one of the following root causes. Each is reproducible and the remedy is deterministic.

1. Blocked DCOM registration on 64-bit Windows

The DeviceOM sub-installer calls regsvr32 against a 32-bit COM DLL. On x64 Windows, the call is redirected through the WOW64 file system redirector but the DCOM application entry must still be registered under HKCR\AppID. If the installer is not elevated, the write to AppID fails silently and the InstallSimotionDeviceOMLog.txt ends with "0x80070005 - Access is denied".

2. Stale registry from a previous Drive ES or SIMOTION Scout

A previous, partially uninstalled version of SIMOTION Scout or Drive ES leaves DCOM AppIDs, Windows Installer patches, and protected registry keys. The new setup detects the version mismatch and aborts. The relevant keys are:

• HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\AutSW\DriveES
• HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID\{B...SIMOTION DeviceOM GUID}
• HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall entries whose DisplayName contains SIMOTION or Drive ES

3. UAC or anti-virus intercepting the elevation token

On Windows 7 with UAC at the default level, the DeviceOM setup requires the explicit consent prompt. If a host-based anti-virus or application control driver suppresses the consent UI (or strips the elevation token), the sub-installer runs as a standard user and the COM registration fails.

4. Missing MSXML 6.0 or DCOM dependencies

The DeviceOM stores drive device descriptions in XML; without MSXML 6.0 parser registered, the validation step returns "0x800736B3 - The referenced assembly is not installed". The error is buried two layers deep in the log and is easy to miss.

5. Concurrent install of a different Siemens setup

Step 7 Setup, WinCC flexible Setup, and Drive ES Setup share a single-instance mutex named SiemensCommonSetup. A second Setup that holds the mutex blocks the Drive ES sub-installers and produces a timeout error in the SC log.

Reading the Log Files

Open the two log files in a text editor that handles LF/CRLF correctly (Notepad++ or the ReadMe-shipping Drive ES LogViewer). Drive ES Basic 5.5 logs are ASCII, one event per line, prefixed with a timestamp and severity tag.

Work the SC log from the bottom up. The last successful line is the install point that failed; the lines after it are the rollback. Cross-reference any line that contains a hex return code to the table below.

In the InstallSimotionDeviceOMLog.txt, the decisive line is usually:

MSI (s) (BC:34) [12:01:44:123]: Component: SIMOTION_DeviceOM
MSI (s) (BC:34) [12:01:44:124]: Action: RegisterComPlus
CustomAction RegisterComOm returned actual error code 1603

The actual error code 1603 is the MSI fatal-install catch-all. The real cause is the hex value on the preceding ReturnValue line in the SC log.

Step-by-Step Resolution

1. Capture both log files before changing anything. Copy InstallSimotionDeviceOMLog.txt and DriveESBasic_SC.log out of %TEMP% and %WINDIR% into a working directory. Rename with a timestamp suffix; subsequent attempts overwrite them.
2. Validate the host. Open winver and confirm a 32-bit, supported edition. Open the Programs and Features control panel and confirm SIMATIC Step 7 V5.4 SP5 or V5.5 is installed. Do not continue if either check fails.
3. Disable UAC and anti-virus. On Windows 7 set UAC » Notify level = Never notify and reboot. Stop the third-party anti-virus real-time scan and disable the agent service. Do not leave these disabled longer than the install window.
4. Remove prior Drive ES and SIMOTION Scout. Run Programs and Features » Drive ES Basic » Uninstall. If the entry is missing or the uninstall fails, run the bundled DriveESBasic\_Setup\Deinstall.exe from the original media.
5. Clean residual registry and files. Use the official SIMATIC clean-up tool for Step 7 / Drive ES residues. Manually delete %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\SIMOTION and %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\DriveES if they remain. Reboot.
6. Confirm prerequisites. Open Windows Features and enable .NET Framework 3.5 (includes 2.0 and 3.0). Install MSXML 6.0 from the Microsoft redistributable if the parser is missing. Confirm Component Services » Computers » My Computer has DCOM enabled with default permissions.
7. Install Drive ES Basic 5.5 as administrator. Right-click Setup.exe on the install media, choose Run as administrator. Do not launch from a network share; copy the media locally to avoid path-length and signing issues.
8. Re-read the logs. If the install fails again, the two log files will now reflect the cleaned environment. Re-apply the return-code table above.

Clean Reinstall Procedure (Recovery Image)

When the SC log shows a DCOM GUID conflict (0x80004015) or the cleanup tool leaves residuals, a clean reinstall is faster than chasing individual keys. The procedure below has been validated on Windows 7 32-bit and Windows XP SP3 hosts.

1. Image or back up the workstation; this procedure deletes application state.
2. Boot into Safe Mode with Command Prompt (msconfig » Boot » Safe boot » Minimal, reboot).
3. Delete the install hives:

   reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\AutSW\DriveES" /f
   reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID" /f /v "SIMOTION DeviceOM"
   reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{GUID of Drive ES}" /f
   

4. Delete the install folders:

   rmdir /s /q "%ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\SIMOTION"
   rmdir /s /q "%ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\DriveES"
   rmdir /s /q "%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Siemens\SIMOTION"
   

5. Unregister any orphan COM DLLs from a previous Scout install:

   regsvr32 /u "%ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\SIMOTION\bin\simoDeviceOM.dll"
   

6. Reboot to normal mode. Re-enable the .NET Framework 3.5 feature. Run the Drive ES Basic 5.5 setup as administrator.

Verification

After a successful install, confirm Drive ES is fully registered before opening a project.

1. Open Start » Programs » Siemens Automation » Drive ES Basic. The shortcut must launch without error.
2. Open SIMATIC Manager and create a new S7 project. Right-click the project, choose Insert New Object » SIMOTION Device. The SIMOTION DeviceOM selector must populate with at least one device type.
3. Open Component Services » Computers » My Computer » DCOM Config. Locate SIMOTION DeviceOM in the list. Open Properties » Identity; the tab should show the local user or service account chosen by the installer, not Launching User.
4. From a command prompt, run:

   dcomperm -ma set "%USERNAME%" "%COM_MACHINE_ACCESS%" permit
   dcomperm -ml set "%USERNAME%" "%COM_MACHINE_LAUNCH%" permit
   

   This is the same test the installer runs; a non-zero return code means the registration is incomplete.
5. Generate a fresh DriveESBasic_SC.log by re-running the install with /v"/l*v \"%TEMP%\drivesext.log\"". The final line must read Installation completed successfully.

Prevention and Best Practices

• Maintain a dedicated Windows 7 32-bit image for Drive ES commissioning. Mixing Drive ES with newer TIA Portal installations on the same host is a common trigger for the DeviceOM failure.
• Document the host image (Step 7 SP, .NET version, anti-virus, UAC level) alongside the Drive ES install media. When the next engineer inherits the workstation, the diagnosis is reduced to a log-file review.
• Always install Drive ES Basic 5.5 from local media, not a network share, and always as administrator.
• Disable UAC and the anti-virus real-time scan only for the duration of the install. Re-enable both before commissioning the drive.
• Keep the Drive ES Basic V5.5 ReadMe and the SIMOTION DeviceOM compatibility list offline on the engineering laptop. The documents are updated when Siemens certifies a new patch level.

Related Configuration Notes

Once Drive ES is installed and the SIMOTION DeviceOM registers cleanly, the engineer will be prompted to set the PG/PC interface for PROFIBUS or PROFINET access. Confirm the interface matches the physical connection to the SINAMICS CU320 or SIMOTION D4x5 controller. A mismatched interface setting is the most common follow-on fault and presents as "Online: Cannot reach target" in the SIMATIC Manager.

For commissioning a SIMOTION D4x5 with SINAMICS S120, the canonical reference is the SIMOTION D4x5 Commissioning Manual. For Drive ES-specific scripting and the SIMOTION device catalog, refer to the Drive ES Basic V5.5 manual.

Frequently Asked Questions