Resolving TIA Portal Automation Software Updater Startup Crash

Problem Summary: Automation Software Updater Does Not Start

The Siemens Automation Software Updater (ASU) is the TIA Portal component that contacts the Siemens update server, enumerates installed support packages, hotfixes, and Add-Ons, and pulls new binaries into the engineering workstation. On a healthy installation it is invoked from Help > Installed software > Check for updates inside the TIA Portal, from the Siemens entry in the Windows Start menu, or as a standalone shortcut under %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Siemens Automation.

The failure mode reported in the field is consistent: the user launches ASU, the splash window appears briefly, the process exits without a dialog, and Windows logs an Application Error event referencing Siemens.Automation.SoftwareUpdater.exe. The TIA Portal itself continues to function, so this is not a TIA Portal crash; it is an isolated failure of the updater subsystem that prevents the engineer from receiving support packages, HSP (Hardware Support Packages), and firmware updates. The root cause for the majority of these incidents is not corruption of the updater itself but a Windows service dependency that has been disabled.

Affected TIA Portal Versions and Operating Systems

The crash pattern is independent of the TIA Portal major version because ASU has shipped as a shared component since the V13 release line. The versions confirmed to be affected include:

The issue has been reproduced on physical machines and on VMware Workstation / Hyper-V virtual machines. Virtualization platforms are a frequent trigger because their optimization or "prepare for shrink" routines disable Windows services that the guest OS no longer uses by default; BITS is one of the services that is frequently disabled during such operations.

Root Cause: Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) Disabled

The Automation Software Updater does not use a direct HTTPS connection to the Siemens update service. It routes all file transfers through the Microsoft Background Intelligent Transfer Service (internal name BITS, display name Background Intelligent Transfer Service, German display name Intelligenter Hintergrundübertragungsdienst). BITS is the Windows job scheduler that downloads files in the background using otherwise-idle network bandwidth, supports throttling, and is the same service that Windows Update relies on.

When BITS is set to Disabled or to Manual with the service not running, ASU cannot enumerate the available update jobs and aborts in the COM initialization phase, which is why the window disappears within a second of being launched. The Windows Application event log records an event such as:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        Application Error
Event ID:      1000
Faulting application name: Siemens.Automation.SoftwareUpdater.exe
Faulting module name:    KERNELBASE.dll
Exception code:           0xe0434352

The CLR exception 0xe0434352 is the generic managed-code (.NET) exception code. The actual inner exception, visible in the ApplicationError report or in a captured dump, is a System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException raised by the BITS IBackgroundCopyManager interface.

Diagnostic Procedure

Before modifying the system, confirm that BITS is the actual cause. The diagnostic takes less than 30 seconds:

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, press Enter.
2. Scroll to the entry Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
3. Inspect the Startup Type column.
4. Inspect the Status column.

You can also verify the service state from a command line, which is useful for scripts and for documenting the issue:

sc query bits
sc qc bits

A healthy response shows START_TYPE : 2 AUTO_START (or 3 DEMAND_START for manual) and STATE : 4 RUNNING. A START_TYPE : 4 DISABLED line is the indicator that the cause is BITS and not an ASU installation fault.

Solution 1: Reconfigure BITS to Automatic Startup

This is the canonical fix and resolves the issue in the overwhelming majority of reported cases.

1. Open services.msc as Administrator (right-click the Start menu entry > Run as administrator).
2. Double-click Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
3. In the Startup type dropdown, select Automatic. If your environment uses delayed start (recommended on Windows 10/11 22H2 and later for boot performance), use Automatic (Delayed Start).
4. Click Start if the service is currently stopped. Wait for the Service status to read Running.
5. Click Apply, then OK.
6. Close services.msc and start the Automation Software Updater.

Equivalent command-line form, suitable for deployment through Group Policy, Intune remediation, or PDQ Deploy:

sc config BITS start= delayed-auto
sc start BITS

If the service refuses to start (event ID 7024 or 7034 in the System log), the next two dependencies must also be running:

• Remote Procedure Call (RPC) — RpcSs
• COM+ Event System — EventSystem

Verify dependencies from the command line:

sc enumdepend BITS

Solution 2: Reinstall Automation Software Updater from the TIA Portal DVD

If ASU still does not start after the BITS service is restored, or if the service starts but the updater reports that the component is missing, the next step is to repair the ASU installation directly from the TIA Portal installation media.

1. Mount the TIA Portal DVD or ISO. The Siemens ISO is a multi-volume image; if the autorun opens, cancel it.
2. Open File Explorer and navigate to <DVD>\InstData\ASU\Media. The directory contains Setup.exe together with the Data1.cab and language-specific MSI packages.
3. Right-click Setup.exe and choose Run as administrator.
4. Follow the ASU installer wizard. The product name displayed is Siemens Automation Software Updater.
5. When the installer finishes, restart the engineering workstation to clear any locked files.

The same directory can also be triggered silently. This is useful when ASU is part of a managed TIA Portal image and needs to be repaired by SCCM or a similar tool:

"X:\InstData\ASU\Media\Setup.exe" /silent /norestart

Solution 3: Force Uninstall with msiexec and Reinstall

When the ASU component is partially installed — for example after a user has moved or deleted the executable by hand — Windows Installer refuses to repair or install it, and Add/Remove Programs does not list it as a stand-alone entry. In this case the component must be unregistered through msiexec, then re-deployed from the TIA DVD.

The product code GUID for the Automation Software Updater is:

{CCC0B7DD-EBDB-4DF1-BC0E-5F37ED239DEA}

Run the following command in a Command Prompt (Admin) to remove the component and capture a verbose uninstall log:

"C:\Windows\SysWOW64\msiexec.exe" /X{CCC0B7DD-EBDB-4DF1-BC0E-5F37ED239DEA} /qn ADS_DEINST=1 /L+*v "C:\ProgramData\Siemens\Automation\Logfiles\Setup\AutomationSoftwareUpdater_log.txt_msi_uninst.txt"

On 64-bit Windows the 32-bit msiexec under SysWOW64 must be used because the ASU MSI is a 32-bit package. Using the native 64-bit msiexec at C:\Windows\System32\msiexec.exe will return 0x80070002 (The system cannot find the file specified) because Windows Installer routes 32-bit product codes through the 32-bit client.

After the uninstall completes, rerun the Setup.exe from InstData\ASU\Media as described in Solution 2.

Solution 4: Run with Elevated Privileges

ASU writes to %ProgramData%\Siemens\Automation, touches the certificate store when validating Siemens-signed updates, and may launch the TIA Portal installer helper with elevation. On a workstation where UAC is enforced and the user is not a member of the local Administrators group, ASU launches the splash, fails to acquire the required token, and exits.

1. Close any running instance of ASU via Task Manager. The process name is Siemens.Automation.SoftwareUpdater.exe; do not confuse it with Siemens.Automation.SoftwareUpdater.Service.exe if it is present.
2. In the Start menu, right-click Siemens Automation Software Updater > More > Run as administrator.
3. Confirm the UAC prompt.

If ASU still does not start, check the integrity of the binary:

where /R "C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens" Siemens.Automation.SoftwareUpdater.exe

The expected location under a 64-bit TIA Portal install is:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\Automation\SoftwareUpdater\Siemens.Automation.SoftwareUpdater.exe

If the file is missing, the component has been removed manually and the reinstall path (Solution 2 or Solution 3) must be followed.

Solution 5: Clean TIA Portal Reinstall as a Last Resort

If the TIA Portal DVD repair option in the Windows Control Panel does not restore ASU — typically because a user has manually deleted the executable or because the TIA Portal itself is broken — a full TIA Portal reinstall is the documented path. Plan for at least 90 minutes for a single engineering workstation, longer if HSP files need to be re-downloaded.

1. Uninstall TIA Portal from Control Panel > Programs and Features. Keep the tick on Remove user data cleared if you want to retain the project archive paths and license bindings.
2. Restart the workstation.
3. Re-run the TIA Portal setup from the DVD. The ASU component is selected by default; do not deselect it.
4. Apply the latest Hotfix and Update (H&U) file over the base install. The H&U file is the cumulative update that brings a TIA Portal DVD release to the current Update level. Without it, ASU will report that no updates are available because the installed product version already matches the DVD baseline.
5. Restart, then test ASU.

Service Dependencies and Registry Considerations

BITS depends on the following Windows components. If any of them is missing or disabled, ASU will fail even with BITS itself set to Automatic:

The BITS service is registered under:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BITS

The Start value determines the startup type:

Editing the registry directly is not recommended for the fix; sc config BITS start= auto performs the same change safely and updates the dependent service ordering. The registry table is included so that the engineer can confirm the state from a WinPE recovery environment or a read-only forensic snapshot when services.msc is not available.

Verification

After applying any of the above solutions, validate the fix in this order:

1. Confirm BITS is running: sc query BITS returns STATE: 4 RUNNING.
2. Launch ASU from the Start menu. The window must remain visible and the Available updates tab must populate within 30 to 60 seconds.
3. From the TIA Portal, choose Help > Installed software > Check for updates. Refer to the official TIA Portal V20 documentation on checking the availability of updates and support packages for the exact menu path on your TIA Portal version.
4. Confirm that ASU can read the local install inventory. The inventory file is at %ProgramData%\Siemens\Automation\Installation\InstallationInfo.xml. If this file is missing or older than 24 hours, the inventory scan is broken even when the updater launches.

If ASU launches but reports No updates available on a workstation that is several updates behind, the inventory file is the next thing to check. Delete the file, restart ASU, and let it rebuild the inventory. This is unrelated to the BITS crash symptom but is a common adjacent issue.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Frequently Asked Questions