Resolving TIA Portal V15 HW Config Export Failure for SIMIT

Problem: TIA Portal V15 Hardware Export Fails to Produce SIMIT-Readable Files

Engineers migrating from TIA Portal V14 to TIA Portal V15 frequently encounter a silent failure when attempting to export the hardware configuration (HWCN) for use in SIMIT Simulation Unit (SU). The legacy UnlockHWConfig.exe utility shipped with earlier SIMIT releases performs the export handshake, but no usable configuration file is generated, and no error dialog is raised inside TIA Portal. SIMIT subsequently opens an empty or missing HWCN, and the virtual PLC cannot bind to the simulated I/O.

The symptom is consistent across all S7-1200, S7-1500, ET 200SP, and ET 200MP station configurations. Because the failure surface is silent, the issue is often misdiagnosed as a corrupted TIA project or a SIMIT library registration defect.

Root Cause: UnlockHWConfig.exe Build Is Not Compatible with TIA Portal V15

The UnlockHWConfig.exe tool released with SIMIT Simulation Unit builds prior to V9.1 Update 1 hooks into the TIA Portal Translation and Export Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) introduced with V11 and preserved through V14. TIA Portal V15 introduces a re-architected hardware catalog and a revised internal project store (now backed by *.ap15 workspace files rather than the older *.ap14 schema). The legacy utility cannot bind to the V15 export provider, the API call returns E_NOINTERFACE, and the export pipeline silently aborts before serializing the HWCN to disk.

Two operational cues confirm this root cause:

• The same project opens and exports cleanly under TIA Portal V14 with the original UnlockHWConfig.exe.
• The Windows event log records Application Error entries from UnlockHWConfig.exe referencing an inaccessible TIA Portal API pointer when process tracing is enabled with Process Monitor.

There is no patch to the original UnlockHWConfig.exe; Siemens replaced the function with the updated Simulation Unit Software V9.1 Update 1, which embeds a V15-compatible export provider.

Compatibility Matrix: TIA Portal / SIMIT / UnlockHWConfig Versions

Solution: SIMIT Simulation Unit V9.1 Update 1 with Administrator Rights

Siemens published SIMIT V9.1 Update 1 specifically to add export-provider support for TIA Portal V15. The build can be retrieved from the official Siemens Industry Online Support entry 109746192. The release replaces the V14-era UnlockHWConfig.exe hook with a COM-based export provider that is auto-registered during installation and is visible to TIA Portal V15's plug-in catalog.

Two equally valid paths resolve the failure:

1. Reinstall the Simulation Unit software after installing TIA Portal V15 (preferred for clean workstations).
2. Register without reinstall by running UnlockHWConfig.exe with administrator rights. Registration triggers a path change for the export target.

Beginning with TIA Portal V15, Siemens has explicitly required elevated rights for all export hooks. Missing the privilege escalation produces the silent-failure mode described above rather than a UAC prompt, because the utility is launched out-of-process from the TIA Portal shell.

Step-by-Step Procedure: Exporting Hardware Configuration for SIMIT from TIA Portal V15

Prerequisites

• TIA Portal V15 (any service pack) installed and licensed.
• SIMIT Simulation Unit Software V9.1 Update 1 (build referenced in Siemens entry 109746192) downloaded.
• Local Administrator credentials on the engineering workstation.
• A TIA project containing at least one fully compiled S7-1200 / S7-1500 station with hardware configured (not just a PLC tag placeholder).

Procedure

1. Close all open instances of TIA Portal V15 and any SIMIT components.
2. Run Setup.exe of SIMIT_V9.1_Upd1.exe (or the self-extracting installation package) by right-clicking and selecting Run as administrator.
3. Follow the installer wizard. Accept the default component selection; the installer registers the V15 export provider into the TIA Portal plug-in directory at %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\Portal V15\PlugIns.
4. Restart the workstation if the installer prompts for it. (Skipping the reboot occasionally leaves the COM registration stale for the first launch of TIA Portal.)
5. Re-open the TIA Portal V15 project.
6. In the project tree, right-click the target PLC station → Compile → Hardware (rebuild complete). This step is the critical full retranslation that triggers the export hooks to write the HWCN file.
7. Confirm the HWCN file appears in one of the locations listed in the File Locations and Export Path Behavior table below.
8. Import the HWCN into the SIMIT project using Project → Import → HWCN. SIMIT then mirrors the topology into the virtual rack.

Alternative Workflow: Export from TIA Portal V14 and Use the File Under SIMIT V9.1

For sites that cannot immediately deploy SU V9.1 Update 1, Siemens documents a transitional workflow: build the project once under TIA Portal V14, export the HWCN using the proven UnlockHWConfig.exe, and import the result into SIMIT V9.1 Update 1 as if it were a V15 export. The HWCN schema for the station descriptors (rack, slot, module order number, submodules) is unchanged between V14 SP1 and V15 for the S7-1200/1500 families covered by SU V9.1.

1. Open the same TIA project under TIA Portal V14 SP1.
2. Compile the hardware fully.
3. Run UnlockHWConfig.exe (no admin elevation required under V14).
4. Copy the resulting HWCN from C:\TIAExports.
5. Import the HWCN into SIMIT V9.1 Update 1; bind it to the virtual PLC.

HWCNExport Standalone Workflow (SIMIT V10 and Later)

For workstations running TIA Portal V16 through V20 alongside SIMIT "New" (V10 and later), the legacy UnlockHWConfig.exe hook is deprecated in favor of the HWCNExport standalone application bundled with SIMIT. The procedure is described in Siemens support attachment HWCN_export_manual.pdf and summarized below:

1. Start the HWCNExport.exe application (location: %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\SIMIT\HWCNExport\ after SIMIT installation).
2. In TIA Portal, open the project and click Options → Settings → General → Import/export settings → Export as described in the TIA Portal settings export documentation. Confirm the export path and module filter.
3. In HWCNExport, point Source project to the TIA Portal *.ap<version> file and choose the target PLC station.
4. Click Export. The tool writes a V&H schema HWCN compatible with the active SIMIT version.
5. Import the resulting file into SIMIT via the project browser.

File Locations and Export Path Behavior

Required Post-Install Step: Full Hardware Retranslation

After installing SIMIT SU V9.1 Update 1 or after elevating UnlockHWConfig.exe, the TIA Portal project must be retranslated completely at least once before any HWCN file appears. A simple Compile → Software is insufficient because the export provider listens to the Hardware rebuild event. If the engineer only edits STL/FBD logic and recompiles the software, the HWCN is not regenerated and SIMIT keeps the prior (stale) topology. Always execute:

Confirm the operation completes with Compile finished without errors; warnings about unsupported GSD revisions do not block export.

Verification Checklist After Export

1. Verify the HWCN file exists at the path documented in the table above and the file size is > 0 bytes.
2. Open the HWCN in a text editor; the first 16 bytes should be the ASCII tag HWCNEXPORT_V followed by the schema version (for example, 1.4).
3. In SIMIT, open the project and confirm Hardware catalog → Imported topologies contains the imported station with the correct rack width.
4. Start the simulation; the virtual PLC should transition to RUN within 5–10 s without "Hardware configuration mismatch" diagnostics in the SIMIT log.
5. From the SIMIT perspective, view the imported I/O addresses match the TIA Portal hardware configuration by exporting both tag tables and diffing them.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Field-Proven Caveats

• Virtualization: Running TIA Portal inside a VM with redirected file systems is a common cause of silent export failure. Confirm the export path resolves to a physical NTFS volume with write permissions for the elevated process.
• Anti-virus interference: Some endpoint security suites quarantine UnlockHWConfig.exe on first execution. Pre-approve the binary under %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\SIMIT\ or the legacy C:\TIAExports folder.
• Concurrent SIMIT versions: Installing SU V9.1 Upd1 over an older SU 9.0 build on a workstation also hosting SIMIT "New" V10 may revert the newer export provider. Run setup.exe in Modify mode and keep both providers registered.
• Multi-user workstations: The admin path C:\Users\Public\Documents\TIAExport is shared across users; coordinate access through a controlled share.

Related Siemens Documentation

For further reading on the SIMIT export workflow and the broader TIA Portal settings export framework, consult the following official resources:

• SIMIT V9.1 Update 1 download & release notes (Siemens Industry Online Support, entry 109746192)
• HWCN_export_manual.pdf (Siemens support attachment 109770995)
• Exporting settings — TIA Portal (V20 documentation set)

FAQ