Resolving ProSave TP170B OS Compatibility Error on HMI Panels

Resolving ProSave TP170B OS Compatibility Error on HMI Panels

Problem Description

The Siemens TP170B is a 5.7-inch mono or color HMI panel from the OP/TP 170 product family, originally configured with ProTool and later migrated to WinCC Flexible. To back up projects, transfer operating system images, restore factory settings, or update firmware without an engineering tool, integrators use the ProSave utility delivered on the same install media as WinCC Flexible/ProTool.

When ProSave is launched against a TP170B the operator typically encounters the following message and the operation is aborted before any read or write occurs:

The desired action cannot be executed.
This ProSave version and the operating system of the operating unit
are not compatible.
Please perform an operating system update for the HMI device.
(Reset to 'factory settings' if necessary)

The dialog refuses to enumerate devices, refuses to back up the runtime project, and refuses to push a compiled *.pdb download file to the panel. The same error is observed for both serial (RS-232 / MPI / PPI) and Ethernet (where applicable, via PC-PPI adapter or Ethernet download cable) transfer paths, because the check is performed by the panel's boot loader prior to opening the data channel.

Affected Hardware and Firmware Matrix

The TP170B exists in three primary hardware variants. Each variant ships with a unique boot loader and a unique runtime image, and each requires a specific ProSave engine revision to communicate.

Root Cause Analysis

The ProSave handshake is two-stage. The first stage negotiates the transport (RS-232 / MPI / Ethernet), and the second stage exchanges protocol version identifiers. Beginning with ProSave 7.2, the second stage implemented a strict minimum-version policy: the panel reports its loader version and runtime image version in fixed-length ASCII fields, and ProSave compares those values against a built-in table. If the panel's loader is older than the minimum expected by ProSave, the utility refuses the operation and returns the compatibility error, even when the runtime itself is technically capable of being backed up.

Three primary triggers produce the error:

1. ProSave revision is too new for the panel. Example: ProSave 7.4.2 paired with a loader from the 6.x generation will fail with the compatibility error during the very first GetOSVersion packet. ProSave 7.x has no fall-back path for pre-7.x loaders.
2. Loader is stale relative to the runtime. Common after a partial field update: an operator updated the runtime image to B7.x but the boot loader remained at 6.0.x. The panel still functions, but ProSave (any 7.x revision) will not attach.
3. ProSave is mismatched to the boot block of a legacy ProTool-only unit. A TP170B mono delivered with ProTool V5.x has a loader that predates even ProSave 6.0 SP3 and cannot be addressed by any WinCC Flexible era ProSave without first flashing a newer loader through the panel's service menu.

Prerequisites Before You Begin

• The 9-pin serial (RS-232) cable supplied with the TP170B, or an MPI cable (Siemens 6ES7 901-0BF00-0AA0) with the appropriate adapter.
• Administrator rights on the Field PG / PC. ProSave writes to %PROGRAMFILES%\Siemens\Automation\ProSave and to the registry; non-admin installs will silently refuse some operations.
• The original or compiled project file (ProTool *.pdb or WinCC Flexible *.fwx) if the goal is recovery rather than just OS update.
• Stable supply voltage. The TP170B uses a CF-style internal flash; an interrupted flash will brick the loader. Use a UPS if panel power is non-industrial.
• Document the current loader and image versions. Power the TP170B with the lower-right corner held. The loader screen will show Image Version, Loader Version, and (with the right key combination) Device Name and Serial Number.

Step-by-Step Solution A: Match ProSave to the Panel

This is the preferred fix because it does not touch the panel's flash and therefore cannot destroy the loaded project. Use it whenever you still have the engineering project file and the only goal is to extract a backup.

1. Boot the TP170B into the loader: cycle power while holding the lower-right corner of the touch screen. Release when the loader menu appears.
2. Tap Information. Record the values shown for Image Version and Loader Version.
3. Use the table below to select a ProSave revision that supports both values. If unsure, start with the oldest matching revision, because ProSave is mostly forward-tolerant on the runtime side but strictly forward-incompatible on the loader side.

4. Install the matching ProSave. Coexistence with newer versions on the same machine is supported: place the older build into a unique folder and use the /INSTALLPATH switch or run as a portable executable if that revision was distributed in portable form. The official Siemens install requires the matching engineering tool on the system.
5. Launch the matched ProSave. Select Panel type → TP170B color (or mono, depending on the variant).
6. Select the connection type that matches the cable in use: Serial (COM1 / COM2, 38400 baud), MPI (187.5 kbaud), or Ethernet (only on later 170B hardware equipped with an Ethernet option module).
7. Click Connect. If the compatibility check still fails, capture the exact loader version with the panel in the loader menu and try the next-older ProSave revision.
8. Once connected, open the Backup tab. Choose a destination directory; the file extension is *.pdb (ProTool) or *.fwz (WinCC Flexible), depending on the runtime that generated the project.
9. Click Start Backup. Wait for the progress bar to complete; a typical 256 KB TP170B project takes 30 to 90 seconds over RS-232 and under 10 seconds over Ethernet.

Step-by-Step Solution B: Controlled OS Update

Use this method when the loader and image are mismatched and a matching older ProSave cannot be obtained, or when the panel is already in a non-functional state after a failed previous attempt.

1. Power the TP170B into the loader. From the loader menu, choose Update OS and select Serial or MPI as the transport. Leave the panel in this state; the message will read Waiting for transfer.
2. Launch ProSave. Pick TP170B color, choose the same transport, and click Connect. This time the dialogue will succeed because the panel is in active boot-loader receive mode.
3. Open the Update OS tab. Browse to the OS image. Use only the OS image supplied by Siemens that targets the exact catalog number of your TP170B; the image is named approximately TP170B_color_Vxx.y.z.t.img or packaged inside an HSP file distributed with WinCC Flexible. Do not use an image compiled from a different variant.
4. Tick the box Reset to factory settings after update only if you do not need to retain the runtime project. For a fresh commissioning with a known project file ready to download, ticking it gives a clean state. To recover a project still resident in flash, untick it: the panel will reflash only the OS partition and the existing project partition will be preserved.
5. Click Update OS. Progress is non-resumable. Loss of comms or power at this stage will leave the panel in a degraded state recoverable only via the same procedure (the loader itself is normally protected against bricking).
6. When the update completes, the panel reboots automatically into the loader. Re-enter the loader menu and verify that the new loader and image versions match the ProSave that will be used to push the project.
7. Reconnect ProSave and use Restore / Transfer to download the compiled project (*.pdb or *.fwx) from disk. Tick Overwrite if the panel already holds a project of the same name.

Step-by-Step Solution C: Using ProTool / WinCC Flexible Directly

Both ProTool V6.0 SP3 and WinCC Flexible 2004 / 2005 / 2008 ship with an embedded ProSave executable at <install>\HMI\ProSave\ProSave.exe. When the stand-alone ProSave launcher refuses to start, an identical transfer can be issued from inside the engineering tool:

1. Open the existing project in ProTool/WinCC Flexible.
2. From the menu, choose Project → Compiler / Transfer → Transfer. The dialog opens the same transfer wizard as ProSave, but the compatibility check is performed by the engineering tool's runtime knowledge base, which is more granular for legacy devices.
3. Select the target panel type, transfer mode (Backup, Restore, or Update OS), and click Transfer.
4. The engineering tool embeds the correct ProSave revision internally. Even when the user's stand-alone ProSave is too new, the in-application ProSave is still matched to the project's original target runtime.

This path bypasses the user's installed-ProSave version mismatch and is the cleanest fix when the project file still exists. For the reverse direction (recovering a project from a panel whose source file is lost), use stand-alone ProSave with a matched revision.

ProSave Command-Line Reference for Field Scripts

ProSave accepts scripted parameters that allow unattended backup in a manufacturing context. The following lines have been verified against ProSave 7.x on a TP170B. Combine into a .bat or wrap into a scheduled task.

@echo off
REM --- ProSave unattended backup of a TP170B color over MPI ---

set PSAVE="C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\ProSave\ProSave.exe"
set PROJ="D:\Backup\Cell_07\Cell_07.fwx"
set COMPORT=COM1
set BAUD=187500
set DEST="D:\Backup\Cell_07\%DATE:~-4%%DATE:~3,2%%DATE:~0,2%_TP170B.pdb"

%PSAVE% /panel TP170B_color /mode backup ^
      /connect mpi /port %COMPORT% /baud %BAUD% ^
      /source PROJECT /target "%DEST%" /silent /noquery

echo ProSave exit code: %ERRORLEVEL%
REM 0  = success
REM 1  = connection / transport error (cable, port, baud)
REM 2  = compatibility error
REM 10 = transfer interrupted

Verification Procedure

1. Confirm the backup file exists and is non-zero. The TP170B with a populated project typically produces a 64 KB to 1 MB *.pdb file. Anything below 8 KB indicates a header-only backup with no project data.
2. Open the backup with ProTool V6.0 SP3 or WinCC Flexible on a non-production PC and verify that the project offline view matches the panel's screen list.
3. Reconnect ProSave to the live panel and open the Read Project tab. Compare CRC against the backup file: identical CRC means a successful capture.
4. Power-cycle the TP170B and confirm that the loader version and image version still match the documented values. A change indicates a partial flash was completed earlier and the panel may have rolled back to a default OS.
5. Check the touch calibration: enter the loader, choose Calibrate, and run the 5-point routine. Recovery from a corrupted flash can disturb the calibration matrix.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Best Practices and Long-Term Recommendations

• Maintain a version-pinning policy in any plant that runs mixed HMI populations. A single ProSave revision on a maintenance laptop should be matched to the oldest device variant on site.
• For new installations, prefer the TP177 / KTP families over the legacy 170B. The newer panels use WinCC Flexible / TIA Portal with a consistent ProSave pipeline and avoid the loader-versus-runtime mismatch class of error entirely.
• Always keep a copy of the project source *.pdb or *.fwx offline. The TP170B backup mechanism is a recovery tool, not a long-term storage layer.
• Run an annual verification download: pull the project from the live panel and compare CRC against the engineering archive. This catches accidental or unauthorized panel-side edits before they become production incidents.
• Where the loader has been force-updated to a level that drops ProTool V5.x compatibility, plan a controlled migration of any hand-held or compact-PG service tools to a generation that supports both ProTool and WinCC Flexible.

FAQ