Resolving WinCC Flexible 2008 Project Version Incompatibility Error

The "The project was created with an incompatible or beta version of WinCC flexible" error is a long-standing issue reported by automation engineers who maintain legacy SIMATIC WinCC Flexible 2008 installations. The symptom is well-defined: the same .hmi project opens without complaint when launched directly from the file system but refuses to load from SIMATIC Manager as an integrated component of the STEP 7 project. This article documents the root causes, the engineering rationale, and a complete remediation procedure, including the in-place reset, the Siemens Cleanup Support tool, and project-file repair techniques.

1. Problem Statement and Observed Symptoms

The reported behavior is reproducible and survives reinstall attempts. Two independent launch paths are tested:

1. Integrated launch path (fails): SIMATIC Manager → right-click on the HMI station → Open Object. WinCC Flexible 2008 is invoked as a STEP 7 sub-application. The following dialog appears:

   The project was created with an incompatible or beta version of WinCC flexible.
   It was last opened with WinCC flexible 2008 (V 1.3 SP 1.0 (1.67.2)).
   Open project with a valid WinCC flexible version.
   If it was a beta version, use the official release version.

2. Standalone launch path (succeeds): Double-click C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\...\PROJECT.hmi or launch WinCC flexible 2008 directly from the Start menu and use File → Open → Open from file system. The project opens without the error.

The asymmetry is the diagnostic clue. A corrupted project file would fail in both paths. A failing integrated path only means the integrated-launcher is consulting a different version fingerprint than the file-resident project.

2. Root Cause Analysis

2.1 Why the Same File Passes One Check and Fails Another

WinCC Flexible 2008 maintains its version fingerprint in two locations:

When the project file says it was last saved with build 1.67.2.0 and the registry under the integrated launcher says the highest known build is 1.83.0.1 (because a newer service pack was installed at some point and then rolled back, or because the integrated launcher reads the target version while the file carries the last-saved version), the version comparison logic raises the incompatibility dialog.

2.2 Why "Reinstall" Does Not Fix It

The error is generated from a per-user, per-project state, not from the binary install. A reinstall re-creates the registry keys with whatever build the installer ships, but it does not always rewrite the per-user HKCU keys or the %LOCALAPPDATA% cache that the integrated launcher consults. This is consistent with the field observation that the standalone path works (it reads the file header) and the integrated path fails (it reads the user-specific integrated-launcher cache).

3. Version Compatibility Reference

The following build identifiers appear in real-world deployments of WinCC Flexible 2008. They are useful when matching what the project file says against what the launcher expects.

The build reported in the error dialog (1.67.2.0) corresponds to the SP1 hotfix build. The build reported as "integrated and fully compatible" (1.83.0.1) is the SP2 hotfix distributed with S7 Technology V5.4 SP5. The integrity of the project file is therefore not in question; the question is why the integrated launcher refuses a build it is, in fact, newer than.

4. Pre-Diagnostic Checklist

Run through the following checks before applying the fix. Documenting the as-found state is essential for any customer where the integrity of the project is contractual.

1. Capture the About dialog of WinCC Flexible 2008 (capture the build string verbatim).
2. Capture the About dialog of SIMATIC Manager and STEP 7 (record the STEP 7 version, e.g. V5.4 SP5, V5.5, V5.6).
3. Export the registry branch HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible and HKCU\Software\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible to .reg files. Label them with timestamp and engineering station ID.
4. Copy the HMI project folder HmiEs\<PROJECT> to a safe location. Do not work in place until the cause is confirmed.
5. Note the file modification timestamp of PROJECT.hmi and the last-saved user from the Project → Properties dialog once the project opens standalone.
6. Check the system for any pending Windows Update (KB updates have, in documented field cases, altered the COM registration of WinCC Flexible's integrated launcher).
7. Verify the actual file content: PROJECT.hmi in WinCC Flexible 2008 is a ZIP-compressed archive. Rename to PROJECT.hmi.zip and inspect VERSIONINFO inside the archive before assuming the project-side version is the problem.

5. Solution 1 — Reset WinCC Flexible to the Original Installation State

This is the recommended first-line action. It is non-destructive to the project files; it only resets the per-user integrated-launcher state to what it was immediately after the last installer run.

5.1 Procedure

1. Close all instances of SIMATIC Manager and WinCC Flexible.
2. Open the Windows Control Panel and switch to Classic View.
3. Open Add or Remove Programs (XP) or Programs and Features (Windows 7 and later).
4. Locate SIMATIC WinCC flexible 2008 in the list. Do not double-click to modify. Instead, single-click once to highlight it.
5. Below the program entry, click Click here for support information (Windows XP) or the Support Info link (later Windows versions).
6. A small dialog opens with two buttons. Click Reset to initial installation state (button label varies by Service Pack; some builds show Reset).
7. Wait for the operation to complete. The dialog reports the files that were removed or restored.
8. Reboot the engineering station.
9. Open SIMATIC Manager, navigate to the HMI station, and launch the integrated WinCC Flexible.

5.2 What the Reset Actually Does

The reset operation is the same code path that the Repair option in modern installers would use, but it is exposed as a single button for legacy WinCC Flexible builds. It performs the following:

• Re-registers the WinCC Flexible COM servers (HmiRT.dll, WcfEs.dll, WcfEsIntegration.dll).
• Rebuilds the HKCU\Software\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible tree with default values.
• Removes the user-specific RecentProjects list (this is why a previously-working project can start failing after the reset, until it is opened once and added back).
• Restores the default WCFlex.cfg in %ProgramData%.

Project files on disk are not touched. The HmiEs folder is untouched.

6. Solution 2 — Full Reinstall via the Siemens Cleanup Support Tool

If Solution 1 does not clear the error, or if the About dialog still shows a build inconsistent with the installed Service Pack, perform a clean reinstall.

6.1 Order of Operations

1. Back up the project tree (mandatory, contractual, and for rollback).
2. Uninstall WinCC flexible 2008 through Programs and Features.
3. If Programs and Features reports an uninstall error, or if the entry is missing, run the Siemens SIMATIC Cleanup Support Tool. This tool removes orphaned registry keys, COM registrations, and leftover directories that the standard uninstaller will not touch.
4. Reboot.
5. Manually verify that the following directories are gone:
   • %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible
   • %ProgramData%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible
   • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Siemens\WinCC flexible
6. Reinstall WinCC flexible 2008 with the same Service Pack level that the customer was using before.
7. Reboot.
8. Reinstall the matching STEP 7 Service Pack if the customer uses the integrated launcher (STEP 7 V5.4 SP5 is the recommended pairing for the SP2 hotfix build 1.83.0.1).
9. Re-import the backed-up project and re-establish the integrated HMI station link.

6.2 Cleanup Tool Caveats

The Cleanup Support Tool is invasive. It does not stop at WinCC Flexible; it will also clean STEP 7, WinCC, and other SIMATIC installations on the engineering station. If the station has STEP 7 V5.5 or later installed, perform the WinCC Flexible-only cleanup mode if the tool supports it. Always run the tool with the /report switch (if available) to log every registry key removed.

7. Solution 3 — Project File Header Repair (Last Resort)

If the project file's embedded version token is genuinely corrupt and Solution 1 and 2 do not resolve the issue, the project file header can be edited. This is an advanced procedure and is not recommended when the project is under version control with a different baseline available.

1. Make a full backup of the HmiEs folder.
2. Rename PROJECT.hmi to PROJECT.hmi.zip.
3. Open the archive and locate the file that contains the version string. In WinCC Flexible 2008, the version token is stored in PROJECT.xml as the attribute version of the <Project> root element, and it is mirrored in a binary file VERSION in the archive root.
4. Extract both, edit the version string to match the installed build (e.g. 1.83.0.1), and re-pack the archive at the same compression level (Deflate, level 6).
5. Verify the file size delta is small (typically less than 1 KB).
6. Open the modified project both standalone and through SIMATIC Manager. If both paths succeed, the project is recovered.

8. Field-Engineering Diagnostics Matrix

The following matrix maps symptoms to causes and to the recommended first action. Use it to triage a customer call without an on-site visit.

9. STEP 7 / WinCC Flexible Version Pairing

The integrated launcher is a tight coupling between the STEP 7 version and the WinCC Flexible version. Pairing the two correctly is the single most effective preventive measure.

10. Preventive Maintenance Best Practices

1. Document the build of every engineering station in the customer CMMS. Include the SIMATIC Manager version, the STEP 7 SP, and the WinCC Flexible build string. Build mismatches between stations are the most common cause of the integrated-launcher failure.
2. Never mix Service Pack levels on the same engineering station across multiple technicians. Standardize on one pairing per project.
3. Keep a copy of the WinCC Flexible installer for the customer's exact SP on a network share, with the original .iso and its .md5. Reinstalls are then deterministic.
4. Avoid Save As from a project opened through SIMATIC Manager onto a network share, then reopening it from a different engineering station with a different build. This is the most common way a project acquires a "beta or incompatible" version token.
5. Use the standalone path for project maintenance when the integrated launcher is misbehaving, but treat the symptom as a station-level issue, not a project-level issue.

11. Verification Steps After Remediation

Once any of the solutions above has been applied, run the following verification sequence. Each step must succeed before moving to the next.

1. Open the project through SIMATIC Manager. The error dialog must not appear.
2. Open the project standalone. It must open with the same error-free behavior.
3. Perform a compile (Project → Compiler → All) and a consistency check. The result must be "No errors".
4. Download the compiled RT to a target device or to the RT simulator. The transfer must complete without the version-mismatch dialog.
5. Re-open the project a second time through SIMATIC Manager to confirm the fix persists. The RecentProjects list in the registry should now contain the project path; if it does not, the integrated launcher will not see the project on the next session even if it opened once.
6. Have a second technician on a different engineering station open the same project. If their station has a different WinCC Flexible build, the asymmetry may now appear from their side, and their station must be brought to the same build.

12. When to Escalate

If the integrated launch still fails after the reset, the clean reinstall, and the version pairing check, escalate through the official Siemens support channel with the following bundle:

• Both registry exports (HKLM and HKCU branches).
• About-dialog screenshot of WinCC Flexible and SIMATIC Manager.
• STEP 7 Help → About output.
• The first 20 lines of the WinCCflexible.log file in the project directory.
• The output of msinfo32 /report capturing the COM registrations of WcfEsIntegration.dll.
• The MD5 of the .hmi archive.

Do not modify the project file header before escalating if the project is under a customer support contract; the modification may void the warranty.