Resolving WinCC 7 SP1 Installation Failure: Web Navigator Block

Problem Details: WinCC V7.0 SP1 Setup Refuses to Continue

When upgrading from SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 to WinCC V7.0 SP1 (or installing SP1 onto a workstation that previously hosted Web Navigator 7.0), the Setup wizard halts with an error dialog stating that a newer version of WinCC/Web Navigator 7.0 is already present. The error persists after the user has already removed Web Navigator through Control Panel → Programs and Features and after one or more reboots. The component no longer appears in Add/Remove Programs, yet Setup still detects it. This is a classic orphaned-installation symptom: Setup reads registry keys, IIS metabase entries, or MSI source databases that were not cleaned up by the standard uninstaller.

The exact error variants seen in the field include:

• "Setup has detected that a newer version of WinCC/Web Navigator 7.0 is installed on this computer. You must uninstall it before running Setup."
• "Installation of WinCC V7.0 SP1 is not possible: WinCC/Web Navigator V7.0 is installed."
• "A reboot is pending from a previous installation" (when a Windows Installer pending-file rename key still exists from the aborted setup).

Affected builds include WinCC V7.0 (6.0.x branch) and SP1 (typically 7.0.1.x) running on Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003, or Windows 7 32-bit. The component causing the conflict is virtually always WinCC Web Navigator and, less commonly, WinCC/DataMonitor or WinCC/Connectivity Station.

Root Cause Analysis

WinCC V7 Setup does not rely solely on the Windows Installer product list (ARP) to determine what is installed. It also inspects:

1. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\WinCC and the 32-bit mirror under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Siemens\WinCC for component registration keys.
2. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall GUID entries for WinCC Web Navigator and the DataMonitor add-on.
3. IIS 6.0/7.0 metabase (C:\WINDOWS\system32\inetsrv\MetaBase.xml on IIS 6) for virtual directories such as /WebNavigator and /WinCCWeb.
4. Pending file rename operations in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager (value: PendingFileRenameOperations).
5. MSI installer source databases cached under %WINDIR%\Installer as .msi patches referencing the Web Navigator feature.

When the standard uninstaller runs, it can leave behind orphaned Uninstall registry subkeys, unmerged Web Navigator MSI patches, or an IIS configuration tree pointing to a removed physical path. Setup's launch condition evaluator sees these and reports the component as "present." The presence of the Web Navigator add-on is the single most common cause of the SP1 install block because SP1 ships a different MSI package that cannot co-exist with V7.0 RTM of the add-on on the same machine.

Pre-Diagnostic: Capture the System State

Before modifying the system, record the existing state so the configuration can be rolled back if necessary.

1. Open an elevated command prompt and run msinfo32 /report %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\sysinfo.nfo.
2. Export the two registry branches that Setup inspects:

   reg export "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\WinCC" "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\WinCC_Siemens.reg" /y
   reg export "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Siemens\WinCC" "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\WinCC_Siemens_wow.reg" /y
   reg export "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\Uninstall_master.reg" /y

3. Save a list of installed WinCC-related MSI products:

   wmic product where "name like '%%WinCC%%'" get name,version,identifyingnumber /format:list > %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\WinCC_WMI.txt
   wmic product where "name like '%%Web Navigator%%'" get name,version,identifyingnumber /format:list >> %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\WinCC_WMI.txt

4. Confirm the exact Service Pack and Hotfix level using winver and the WinCC About box (if it opens): Start → SIMATIC → WinCC → WinCC Explorer → Help → About.

Solution 1: Clean the Windows Installer Pending-Reboot Key

If a previous Setup run was interrupted, the Windows Installer leaves a pending-reboot marker. Setup V7.0 SP1 detects this marker and refuses to continue.

1. Open regedit.exe as Administrator.
2. Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager.
3. Examine the value PendingFileRenameOperations. If it contains references to Siemens, WinCC, WebNav, DPMon, or ~df temp files, export the value for backup, then delete the entire multi-string entry.
4. Reboot the workstation. Setup will no longer detect a pending state.

Solution 2: Remove Orphaned Web Navigator and DataMonitor Registry Keys

The standard uninstaller frequently leaves Uninstall subkeys behind. Use the following procedure to remove them.

1. Run regedit.exe as Administrator.
2. Search the Uninstall branch for Web Navigator:

   reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall" /s /f "Web Navigator"

3. For each key returned (each looks like {GUID} with DisplayName SIMATIC WinCC/Web Navigator V7.0), export it first, then delete the entire GUID key.
4. Repeat the search for DataMonitor and Connectivity Station.
5. Inspect the WinCC configuration root:

   reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\WinCC\WebNavigator" /s

   If the subkey exists with version data 7.0.0.0, export and delete it. Setup will recreate it during a clean install of the SP1 add-on.

Solution 3: Reset Internet Information Services (IIS)

Web Navigator 7.0 publishes its web interface through IIS. Resetting the IIS configuration is often sufficient to break the dependency that Setup detects.

1. Open Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. Right-click the local computer node and select Properties.
3. On the Internet Information Services tab, uncheck "Enable Internet Information Services (IIS)" and click OK. Confirm the warning to uninstall IIS.
4. Reboot. Reinstall IIS from Add/Remove Windows Components with default options, including the World Wide Web Service and Common Files. The reset clears all WinCC virtual directories.
5. Reboot again. Run the WinCC V7.0 SP1 Setup; it should no longer report the Web Navigator conflict.

On Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2 where the IIS Manager uses a different UI, the equivalent procedure is:

net stop w3svc
net stop iisadmin
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd uninstall module WebNavigatorModule

If the appcmd command rejects the module name, the Web Navigator ISAPI filter has already been removed; move on to the next step.

Solution 4: Manually Remove the Cached MSI Source Files

Windows Installer stores a cached copy of every MSI it has installed under %WINDIR%\Installer (hidden). The cached Web Navigator MSI can fool the launch condition evaluator.

1. Open an elevated command prompt and list all WinCC-related cached MSIs:

   dir /b /a "%WINDIR%\Installer\*.msi" | findstr /I /R "WinCC Web Nav"

2. For each match, use msizap (Windows Installer Cleanup Utility) or, on Windows 7+, the built-in msiexec /x {ProductCode} with the matching product code identified in Solution 2.
3. If msizap is not available, you can move the cached .msi file aside. Setup will then re-extract the original from the installation media and re-cache it after a successful install.

Solution 5: Repair the WinCC V7.0 Base Install First

If the previous WinCC 7.0 installation is itself in a partially corrupted state, an in-place repair primes Setup correctly.

1. Insert the original WinCC V7.0 installation DVD (not the SP1 DVD).
2. From Start → Run, launch msiexec /fvecms {ProductCode} where {ProductCode} is the GUID of the WinCC V7.0 RTM core, or use Add/Remove Programs → SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 → Change → Repair.
3. Reboot. Now run Setup from the SP1 DVD. The launch-condition check passes because WinCC is in a known, registered state.

Solution 6: Clean Reinstall (Last-Resort Procedure)

If the five preceding solutions fail, the underlying Windows Installer database is too damaged to recover. The only reliable fix is a clean reinstall of the operating system followed by a properly ordered install of WinCC components.

1. Back up all WinCC projects from C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC\WinCCProjects.
2. Reinstall Windows from a clean image, applying all service packs.
3. Install prerequisites in this exact order: IIS → Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) → SQL Server 2005/2008 (matching the version listed in the WinCC V7.0 SP1 release notes) → WinCC V7.0 RTM → WinCC V7.0 SP1 → Web Navigator 7.0 SP1.
4. Restore the project backups and verify redundancy file synchronization.

Component Dependency Reference

Understanding the component graph prevents the conflict from recurring on rebuilds.

Verification: Confirming a Successful SP1 Install

1. Open SIMATIC WinCC Explorer. From the Help → About dialog, confirm the version reads SIMATIC WinCC V7.0 SP1 followed by the build number (for example, 7.0.1.0 or higher).
2. Verify the Windows Installer package list:

   wmic product where "name like '%%WinCC%%'" get name,version

   All WinCC components should report version 7.0.1.x (or the latest SP1 build applied).
3. Open WinCC Web Configurator from the Start menu. The wizard should launch without prompting for installation, indicating the Web Navigator component is registered.
4. From a second workstation, open Internet Explorer and navigate to http://<server>/WebNavigator. The Web Navigator login page must appear.
5. Run a WinCC project in test mode, trigger an alarm, and verify it propagates to a connected Web Navigator client.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Preventive Measures for Future Upgrades

• Always uninstall WinCC add-ons (Web Navigator, DataMonitor, Connectivity Station) before applying a Service Pack. Use the Add/Remove Programs entry, not manual file deletion.
• Disable antivirus on-access scanning during Setup. Real-time scanners lock the cached MSI files in %WINDIR%\Installer and produce false "file in use" errors.
• Maintain a documented image of the workstation using a tool such as Acronis or Windows AIK so that an emergency rebuild is bounded to 30 minutes rather than half a day.
• Keep the Windows Installer cache under control. Periodically run msizap on confirmed orphan products. Do not delete cached MSIs whose corresponding product is still installed.