Resolving WinCC 6.2 User Archive Runtime Errors and Job Tag

Resolving WinCC 6.2 User Archive Runtime Errors and Job Tag Failures

Siemens WinCC V6.2 ships with the User Archive option as part of the runtime database layer. The archive stores user-defined records (recipes, batch logs, alarm annotations, equipment IDs, validation tables) and exposes them to the runtime via the UserArchiveControl ActiveX control and four mandatory control tags: JOB, ID, FIELD, VALUE. When one or more of these tags is missing, mis-wired, or the underlying Jet/MDB project database is corrupted, the runtime either returns the placeholder error code -1 in the JOB tag, refuses to open the "Runtime data" view inside the User Archive Editor, or raises a generic project manager exception at start-up.

This reference collects every documented failure mode that has been reported against WinCC V6.2 SP3 / V6.2 SP4, the diagnostic workflow Siemens support engineers recommend, and the verified field procedure that recovers the archive without rebuilding the entire SCADA project.

1. Problem Overview

Three reproducible symptoms appear when the User Archive configuration is broken:

1. Editor warning ("error 1"). Opening User Archive Editor > Run time data raises a WinCC project manager warning. The editor cannot enumerate the active archive because the linked MDB file is unreadable, the archive has been deleted from disk but the project still references it, or the ODBC data source name (DSN) for the User Archive runtime database is missing.
2. Runtime exception ("error 2 / error 3"). The runtime process PDLRT.exe stops processing UserArchiveControl tag updates and logs a project manager error. This is the most common symptom of a damaged project database (corrupt *.UDM, *.LDB, or the central WinCC_proj.mdb).
3. JOB tag returns -1. After invoking a control operation through I/O fields (for example, JOB = 7 with ID = 0 to select a data record by ID), the JOB tag is immediately overwritten by -1, indicating that the UserArchiveControl could not match the requested ID or that no record was selected.

The combination of all three is the classic fingerprint of a damaged User Archive and an incomplete tag wiring.

2. Root Cause Analysis

Each symptom maps to a discrete root cause. Treat them as a checklist; fix the first cause before continuing.

2.1 Where the User Archive Stores Its Data

The User Archive runtime database lives under the active WinCC project path. By default this is:

C:\Siemens\WinCC\WinCCProjects\<ProjectName>\Database\UserArchive\
C:\Siemens\WinCC\WinCCProjects\<ProjectName>\Database\UserArchive\<ArchiveName>.udm
C:\Siemens\WinCC\WinCCProjects\<ProjectName>\Database\UserArchive\<ArchiveName>.ldb

The .udm file is a Jet/Access MDB; the .ldb is its lock file. If the runtime is not stopped cleanly the .ldb remains and the project manager refuses to reopen the archive.

3. Required Control Tag Configuration

The UserArchiveControl ActiveX cannot read or write records unless its four internal interface tags exist in the WinCC tag database. The tags must be created with the exact data types listed below; do not substitute BYTE for WORD or you will see overflow on JOB code writes.

If any of these tags is missing the runtime falls back to a sentinel return value of -1 in the JOB tag regardless of which JOB code you write. This is the behaviour observed when the engineer used only FIELD and VALUE tags and omitted JOB.

3.1 Wiring the Tags to I/O Fields

Drag a UserArchiveControl onto the picture, open Configuration > Connect, and bind:

JOB   <--> Tag UA_JOB   (Word)
ID    <--> Tag UA_ID    (DWord)
Field <--> Tag UA_FIELD (Text tag, length 32)
Value <--> Tag UA_VALUE (Text tag, length 64)

Place four I/O fields on the same picture and link them to the same four tags. Setting UA_JOB = 7 and UA_ID = 0 with UA_FIELD = "RecipeNo" triggers a Select by ID; the runtime overwrites UA_JOB with 0 on success, with -1 on failure.

4. Job Tag Value Reference

The WinCC Information System lists the JOB code values implemented by the UserArchiveControl for V6.2. The codes below are taken from the official WinCC V6.2 help under Options > User Archive > Configuration > Job Tag.

The return value -1 is intentionally reused for every failure mode. To disambiguate it you must inspect the CCUASvr.log diagnostic file written into the project diagnostics directory.

5. Database Recovery Procedure

When the Editor warning ("error 1") and the runtime exception ("error 2/3") appear together, the project database is the prime suspect. The recovery workflow below preserves the archive content while repairing the project metadata.

5.1 Pre-conditions

• WinCC runtime must be deactivated on the affected server.
• The WinCC Project must not be opened in any other WinCC Explorer session (lock file conflict).
• Take a file-system backup of \<project>\ before touching the database directory.

5.2 Step-by-Step

1. Stop WinCC Runtime via WinCC Explorer > Computer > Stop Runtime. Verify PDLRT.exe has terminated in Task Manager.
2. Delete the .ldb lock file in Database\UserArchive\ for the affected archive. The lock file is auto-generated when the runtime opens the archive; an orphaned .ldb always indicates an unclean exit.
3. Verify the ODBC DSN. Open Start > Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC) > System DSN. Confirm the DSN named CC_UA_<ProjectName>_<ServerName> exists and points at the .udm file with Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb).
4. Compact the .udm file. Open it in Microsoft Access (Office 2003 / 2007 is the supported Jet version for WinCC V6.2) and run Tools > Database Utilities > Compact and Repair Database. This rebuilds the index and frees unused pages.
5. Re-link the archive. In User Archive Editor, right-click the archive » Properties > Path; verify the path matches the compacted file.
6. Re-activate Runtime and confirm the "Runtime data" view opens cleanly.

5.3 Field-Proven Workflow for Persistent Corruption

If the Editor still warns after compaction, the archive definition is broken even if the file is intact. Apply the rebuild workflow:

1. In User Archive Editor, create a new archive with a temporary name (e.g. Archive_New). Recreate every column with the same data types and field names as the original.
2. Open both archives in the runtime and use a WinCC Global Script action to copy each record from the old archive to the new archive (read with JOB=0..3, write with JOB=4).
3. Delete the old archive file and remove it from the project tree.
4. Rename Archive_New to the original archive name so any script or HMI reference that points at the original name still resolves.
5. Restart runtime.

6. View Configuration

A View in the User Archive sense is not a SQL view; it is a filtered, ordered projection exposed to a UserArchiveControl for display in a WinCC Picture Window. The View can hide columns, apply a WHERE filter, and define a sort order. A view is not mandatory if the picture only needs to enumerate the full archive through the standard table control; it becomes mandatory when you want to filter or reorder columns without writing a script.

6.1 Creating a View

1. Open User Archive Editor > Views tab.
2. Right-click » New View.
3. Bind the view to an archive, name it (e.g. RecipeView), and select the columns to expose.
4. Define the sort order and any filter on column values.
5. Save the view. It is stored inside the project database, not as a separate file.

6.2 Common View Errors

• View opens but is read-only. The view filter references a column that has been deleted from the underlying archive. Recreate the column or relax the filter.
• View does not appear in the runtime control. The view is named but the UserArchiveControl in the picture is bound to the archive directly, not to the view. Re-bind the control's View property.

7. Runtime Configuration

The archive must be opened for runtime; otherwise every JOB write will return -1 with no log entry. Open Computer > Properties > Startup in the WinCC Explorer and add the archive to the User Archive start-up list. The archive is then loaded automatically when the runtime starts.

For redundancy configurations (WinCC Redundancy option), the start-up list must be identical on both servers. A mismatch causes the standby server to fail opening the archive on failover, producing the same -1 return code on its JOB tags.

8. Verification Procedure

After applying the recovery workflow, run the following verification sequence in the runtime. Each step has a pass criterion you can record in the SAT (Site Acceptance Test) report.

1. Open the runtime picture. The four I/O fields display the current values of UA_JOB, UA_ID, UA_FIELD, UA_VALUE without warning icons. Pass: no warning.
2. Write JOB = 0. The first record loads; UA_FIELD shows a column name and UA_VALUE shows the corresponding value. Pass: UA_JOB returns to 0 within 200 ms.
3. Write JOB = 1 three times. The next three records load in order. Pass: UA_JOB returns 0 after each write.
4. Write JOB = 4. A new record is inserted; UA_ID returns the new primary key. Pass: new ID > previous max ID.
5. Write JOB = 7 with the new ID. The just-inserted record is selected. Pass: UA_JOB returns 0, not -1.
6. Write JOB = 6. The current record is updated. Pass: UA_JOB returns 0; changes are visible in the Editor.
7. Stop runtime and restart. No "Runtime data" warning in the Editor. Pass: warning absent.

9. Diagnostic Logging

WinCC V6.2 writes the User Archive diagnostics to a file named CCUASvr.log in \<project>\Diagnostics\. Increase the log verbosity via Computer > Properties > User Archive > Trace. The trace levels are:

Set trace level to 3 when troubleshooting JOB returns -1; the trace prints the actual ODBC error code (for example ODBC error 3010: table not found) immediately after the failure event.

10. Flow Diagram: From Fault to Recovery

11. Migrating to WinCC V7.x

If you are planning to upgrade a V6.2 installation to V7.0 or later, take a project backup, perform the upgrade through the WinCC Project Migrator, and then run Project > Migrate User Archive. The migration preserves every .udm file but rebuilds the project metadata in the new SQL Server–backed runtime database. The JOB code semantics (0–10) are unchanged; only the ODBC driver switches from Jet to SQL Native Client.

If you skip the Migrate User Archive step, the runtime will continue to find the .udm files in the project tree but will fail to map the UserArchiveControl's tag references, which produces the same -1 return code reported in V6.2.

12. Practical Tips from the Field

• Always include the JOB tag in the picture's I/O field set; it is the only tag that returns a verification code.
• If you read a record using JOB = 0 and UA_FIELD is empty afterwards, the archive opened but has no rows — insert at least one row with JOB = 4.
• The runtime never deletes the .ldb file on a normal stop; an orphaned .ldb is therefore diagnostic of a crash. Run Microsoft Access Compact and Repair on every .udm after such a crash before re-activating the runtime.
• Avoid mixing WinCC V6.2 archive editors between SP levels. The SP3 and SP4 UserArchiveControl share the same JOB semantics but the SP4 build adds an internal version stamp that the SP3 editor cannot read. Stick to one SP level across the engineering team.
• If the runtime is on a 64-bit Windows host, register the 32-bit ODBC administrator explicitly (%systemroot%\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe) to manage the User Archive DSN. The default 64-bit ODBC admin will not show the Jet-based DSNs that V6.2 requires.

FAQ