Resolving HmiRTm.exe 0xc0000005 Crash in WinCC Flexible 2008

Problem Overview

After deploying Microsoft Office 365 client packages on a workstation running SIMATIC WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 Runtime, the runtime process HmiRTm.exe terminates immediately on launch. The Windows Event Viewer records an Application Error (Event ID 1000) with the following fault signature:

The same fault is generated at every launch, regardless of project content. A simple uninstall/reinstall of the runtime package does not resolve the issue. The fault is triggered the moment the WinCC flexible runtime framework initializes its graphical UI layer, which is implemented in FwGui.dll.

Root Cause Analysis

Exception code 0xC0000005 is a Windows NT status code meaning STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION: the process attempted to read from, or write to, a virtual address for which it does not have the appropriate access. Combined with the faulting module FwGui.dll, this points to one of the following root causes:

1. Shared dependency corruption: FwGui.dll links against a set of Windows and Office shared components (COM, OLE, GDI+, MSVCR/CRT, MFC redistributables). When Office 365 deployment replaces or updates these shared components (notably ole32.dll, combase.dll, msvcrt.dll, and the Visual C++ runtimes), the WinCC flexible runtime may load a newer ABI that the FwGui 7.4.307.6 layer was not compiled against.
2. Component Object Model (COM) re-registration mismatch: Office 365 installers frequently reset COM proxy/stub DLL registrations and MUI language packs. WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 relies on a static COM initialisation sequence during HmiRTm startup. If a required CLSID or proxy DLL is no longer registered (or is now registered against a different InprocServer32), the framework's first call into the GDI/COM subsystem faults at offset 0x0001b898 of FwGui.dll.
3. Data Execution Prevention (DEP) trip: The fixed offset 0x0001b898 falls inside the body of an indirect-dispatch path used by FwGui to call into the Win32 GDI subsystem. If Office 365 deploys updated GDI client DLLs that relocate export thunks to memory pages flagged non-executable under hardware-enforced DEP (OptIn / OptOut policy), the indirect call faults as a STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION.
4. Manifest / side-by-side assembly failure: WinCC flexible 2008 uses a hard-coded activation context for the Visual C++ 2005/2008 runtimes (msvcr80.dll, msvcr90.dll). When Office 365 installs an updated side-by-side policy or a new binding policy, the loader may resolve a runtime DLL whose manifest is incompatible with the version FwGui 7.4.307.6 was linked against.

The fault stamp 0x571e1fda places HmiRTm.exe build 7.4.307.6 (the file shipped with Update 7 for WinCC flexible 2008 Service Pack 3), which is the last publicly released cumulative update for the WinCC flexible 2008 line.

Affected Versions and Environment

Prerequisites for Resolution

• Local Administrator rights on the runtime workstation.
• Original WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 installation media.
• The latest cumulative update package — Update 7 for WinCC flexible 2008 Service Pack 3 (Entry ID 58860033).
• Sysinternals Process Monitor v3.90+ for stack-trace capture.
• Windows Debugging Tools (WinDbg) for crash-dump inspection if initial steps fail.
• A clean point-of-restore snapshot prior to Office 365 deployment.

Diagnostic Procedure

Step 1 — Confirm the Fault Signature

Open eventvwr.msc and inspect Windows Logs → Application. Confirm the Event ID 1000 record matches the offsets, version stamps, and module names listed in the table above. A different faulting module (e.g. ole32.dll or ntdll.dll) indicates a different root cause and requires different remediation.

Step 2 — Capture a User-Mode Crash Dump

1. Configure WER (Windows Error Reporting) to retain full dumps:

   reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps\HmiRTm.exe" /v DumpType /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f
   reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps\HmiRTm.exe" /v DumpFolder /t REG_SZ /d "C:\Dumps" /f

2. Launch HmiRTm.exe; a dump is written to C:\Dumps.
3. Open the dump in WinDbg, set the symbol path to SRV*C:\Sym*https://mssymbols.blob.core.windows.net/symbols plus the Siemens symbol package, and run !analyze -v. The resulting FAULTING_IP and STACK_TEXT confirm whether the fault is inside FwGui or in a downstream GDI/COM call.

Step 3 — Trace the DLL Load Order

1. Launch procmon, set a filter for Process Name is HmiRTm.exe and Operation is Load Image.
2. Start HmiRTm and capture the complete DLL load sequence. Pay close attention to combase.dll, ole32.dll, gdi32.dll, gdiplus.dll, msvcp80.dll, msvcr80.dll, msvcp90.dll, msvcr90.dll, and any VCRUNTIME140*.dll.
3. Compare the loaded versions against the snapshot taken on a known-good workstation running the same SP3 Update7 build. Any deviation in major version (e.g. msvcr80.dll jumping from 8.0.50727.6195 to 8.0.50727.9033, or combase.dll differing on Windows 10 builds) is the most common root cause.

Step 4 — Validate COM Registration

reg query "HKCR\CLSID" /s /f "FwGui" 2>nul
reg query "HKCR\TypeLib" /s /f "{F4E2D7B8-...}" 2>nul

Inspect the HmiRTm and FwGui CLSID and TypeLib GUIDs. Missing or mismatched InprocServer32 / Typelib entries cause CoCreateInstance to fault inside FwGui 0x0001b898 with a STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION. Re-register the WinCC flexible COM components (see Solution 3 below).

Step 5 — Verify DEP and ASLR Policy

wmic os get DataExecutionPrevention_SupportPolicy
bcdedit /set nx OptIn

A change from OptIn to AlwaysOn is a known trigger for FwGui faults. Restore to OptIn as a first mitigation.

Solution Procedure

Solution 1 — Repair the WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 Update7 Installation

1. Download the cumulative Update 7 for WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 (Entry ID 58860033). The package is delivered as a ZIP; extract the contents to a local folder (do not run from a network share).
2. Stop all Siemens services:

   net stop "S7TraceService" 2>nul
   net stop "CCAgent" 2>nul
   net stop "SIMATIC WinCC flexible Runtime" 2>nul

3. Close any HmiRTm.exe instance and verify via tasklist /m fw*.
4. Run the Update 7 installer with elevated privileges: right-click → Run as administrator. Accept the UAC prompt.
5. Reboot and re-launch the runtime. If the same Event ID 1000 occurs, proceed to Solution 2.

Solution 2 — Restore Pre-Office 365 Dependency State

1. Use a restore point captured prior to the Office 365 deployment. Open System Protection → System Restore → select the most recent restore point dated before the Office 365 push.
2. After rollback, verify Office 365 components have been removed via Get-AppxPackage *Office* and Get-Package | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*Office*365*"}.
3. Confirm the runtime launches successfully. If yes, the dependency delta is now isolated — proceed to Solution 3 to stabilise the coexistence.

Solution 3 — Re-register COM and Re-apply Activation Context

1. Open an elevated command prompt and re-register the WinCC flexible runtime binaries:

   cd /d "C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\SIMATIC WinCC flexible\WinCC flexible 2008 Runtime"
   regsvr32 /u FwGui.dll
   regsvr32 FwGui.dll
   regsvr32 HmiRTm.exe
   regsvr32 HmiEsGraph.dll
   regsvr32 HmiEsBase.dll

2. Re-pair the application manifest:

   cd /d "C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VC"
   for %a in (*.manifest) do mt.exe -manifest "%a" -makecat:"%~nxa.cat"
   echo. > "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\VCExpress\10.0\1033\devenv.config"

3. Reboot and re-launch HmiRTm.exe.

Solution 4 — Isolate the WinCC flexible Runtime from Office 365 Conflicts

If Office 365 must remain installed alongside the runtime, isolate their DLL resolution paths by changing the WinCC flexible Runtime shortcut to launch with a clean loader snapshot:

1. Right-click the runtime shortcut → Properties → Shortcut tab.
2. Modify the target to launch inside a clean process:

   "C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\SIMATIC WinCC flexible\WinCC flexible 2008 Runtime\HmiRTm.exe" -clean:dlldir="C:\WinCC_RT_DLLs"

3. Mirror the original FwGui.dll, HmiRTm.exe, and Microsoft.VC90.CRT.manifest into C:\WinCC_RT_DLLs and add a local HmiRTm.exe.local redirection file to force load-from-application-directory semantics. The application-local activation context bypasses any global SxS policy injected by Office 365.

Solution 5 — Disable Hardware-DEP for HmiRTm

1. Open System Properties → Advanced → Performance Settings → Data Execution Prevention.
2. Select Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select.
3. Add C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\SIMATIC WinCC flexible\WinCC flexible 2008 Runtime\HmiRTm.exe to the exception list.
4. Reboot and re-test.

Verification

1. Launch HmiRTm.exe as the configured runtime user. The process must remain resident (verify via tasklist /fi "imagename eq HmiRTm.exe").
2. Confirm no new Event ID 1000 records are generated in the next 15 minutes of operation.
3. Open the configured WinCC flexible project, navigate every screen, and trigger every scheduled tag. No new faulting events should appear.
4. Run procmon for 60 seconds to confirm no NAME NOT FOUND or ACCESS DENIED results on the WinCC flexible installation directory.
5. From PowerShell, validate the loaded modules:

   Get-Process HmiRTm | Select-Object Modules | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Modules | Where-Object {$_.ModuleName -like "*Siemens*" -or $_.ModuleName -like "Fw*"} | Format-Table ModuleName, FileVersion

6. All loaded Siemens modules must report version 7.4.307.6 (or later hotfix).

Fault Code Reference

Long-Term Recommendation

WinCC flexible 2008 reached the end of its standard Siemens product support cycle. The combination of modern Windows 10 / 11 builds, .NET Framework 4.8, and Office 365 Click-to-Run updates will continue to introduce regressions into the FwGui 7.4.307.6 code path. For any production system that has not yet been migrated, plan a controlled migration to TIA Portal WinCC (TIA V16 or later). The TIA WinCC runtime uses a modernised C++/WPF/OPC UA stack that is not affected by the COM/OLE DLL conflicts described above, and is fully compatible with Office 365 deployments. Converting a WinCC flexible 2008 project to TIA Portal WinCC uses the migration tool included in SIMATIC WinCC (TIA Portal) with no manual screen-by-screen translation required.

FAQ