Resolving WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 HmiES.exe Launch Error

Problem Overview

When attempting to open a WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 project from inside SIMATIC Manager (STEP 7 V5.5), the engineering station fails to launch the HMI editor and instead displays a modal dialog containing the following text:

Utah-SOM-Error !
File: ObjCreator.cpp
Line: 3715
Text: Can not create process:
C:/Program Files (x86)/Siemens/SIMATIC WinCC flexible/WinCC flexible 2008/HmiES.exe

If the operator double-clicks the HMI station directly inside the SIMATIC project tree, the error pops as a system message. If the same project is opened by launching the WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 shortcut from the Windows Start menu, the main window does not appear; only a blank grey splash with the "WinCC flexible" caption shows. The HmiES.exe process never reaches its message loop, and the editor stays unresponsive until killed via Task Manager.

The fault occurs even on freshly restored projects that compiled cleanly the previous day, which confirms the problem is integration-layer rather than project-layer. A project-side recovery is still documented below for completeness.

Environment & Affected Versions

Error Details Decoded

The "Utah-SOM-Error" string is a self-identification label used by the WinCC flexible SOM (Siemens Object Manager) layer that brokers calls between STEP 7, the WinCC flexible project database, and the HmiES.exe editor executable. When STEP 7 invokes CreateProcess on the HmiES path stored in the registry, the SOM layer raises this dialog and aborts.

The numeric error from GetLastError() is not surfaced in the dialog. Capture it with Sysinternals Process Monitor if the path-based diagnosis is inconclusive.

Root Cause Analysis

The dialog text points to one of four distinct failure conditions, in order of frequency observed in support cases:

1. STEP 7 / WinCC flexible integration has been desynchronised. The SIMATIC Manager COM plug-in registration for WinCC flexible 2008 has been removed, replaced, or never installed. STEP 7 knows that an HMI object should be opened, but cannot resolve the HmiES.exe path through the registered SOM server.
2. The HmiES.exe binary is missing or has been quarantined. Antivirus products, Windows Defender, or third-party file-integrity tools have moved the executable to a quarantine vault, breaking the call. Verify the file is present at the exact path quoted in the error message.
3. The installation is corrupted. A partial uninstall, interrupted Windows update, or disk fault has removed only some of the files inside %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Siemens\SIMATIC WinCC flexible\WinCC flexible 2008\. The remainder of the install is intact, but a referenced DLL is missing.
4. Permission or UAC virtualization issue. The current user lacks write access to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible 2008 or to the project working folder. The SOM layer cannot register the COM object and falls back to CreateProcess with a path it cannot fully resolve.

Diagnostic Steps

Run these checks before applying the repair to confirm the root cause and avoid an unnecessary full reinstall.

1. Verify the executable. Open Windows Explorer and confirm the file C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\SIMATIC WinCC flexible\WinCC flexible 2008\HmiES.exe exists. Right-click → Properties → Digital Signatures. The signature must show "Siemens AG" with a valid timestamp. If the file is missing, jump to Solution B.
2. Inspect registry entries. Launch regedit as Administrator and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Siemens\Automation\WinCC flexible 2008. Confirm the value InstallPath equals the path quoted in the error dialog. If the key is missing, the integration is broken.
3. Check COM registration. From an elevated command prompt, run:
   

   reg query "HKCR\CLSID" /f "WinCC flexible" /s

   The following entries must be present:
   • {B5C9E1A2-...} for the WinCC flexible Project Manager (HmiES.Application)
   • {D7F2B3C4-...} for the WinCC flexible 2008 SOM Server
   If either GUID is missing, the STEP 7 integration DLL was unregistered.
4. Review Windows Event Log. Open eventvwr.msc and inspect Windows Logs → Application. Look for Source = "Application Error", Event ID 1000, referencing HmiES.exe. The faulting module name will identify the missing DLL (commonly SOMGR10.dll, HMIESRT.dll, or MSVCR90.dll).
5. Disable antivirus temporarily. Quarantine HmiES.exe and rerun. If the launch succeeds, add the WinCC flexible install path to the AV exclusion list and re-enable real-time protection.
6. Capture Process Monitor trace. Download Sysinternals Process Monitor, set a filter on Process Name is HmiES.exe, and reproduce the launch. The last CreateFile with result NAME NOT FOUND or ACCESS DENIED reveals the missing dependency.

Solution A — Re-Integrate WinCC flexible with STEP 7 (Recommended)

Use this procedure when HmiES.exe exists on disk and the SIMATIC Manager integration is the suspected cause. The steps restore the WinCC flexible plug-in for STEP 7 without touching the existing projects.

1. Close SIMATIC Manager and any instance of WinCC flexible.
2. Insert the WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 installation DVD (or mount the ISO). If the original media is not available, copy the entire WinCC_flexible_2008_SP3 setup folder from a working engineering station to a local folder.
3. Right-click Setup.exe in the install root and choose Run as administrator. The WinCC flexible 2008 setup launcher will appear.
4. Select Modify in the first setup dialog. The custom installation tree appears.
5. Locate the option labeled Integration in STEP 7 (German: Integration in STEP 7). Clear its check box. If a sub-tree shows "WinCC flexible ES", clear both the parent and the child options.
6. Click Next, then Modify, and complete the modification. The setup removes the SOM plug-in, COM entries, and registry hooks that connect WinCC flexible to STEP 7.
7. Restart the computer. This step is mandatory because the running SOMGR10.dll cannot be unloaded without a reboot.
8. Insert the STEP 7 V5.5 SP4 installation media. Run Setup.exe as administrator and choose Repair installation. The repair re-registers STEP 7 COM servers and rebuilds the project tree providers.
9. Restart the computer again.
10. Re-launch the WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 setup and choose Modify again. This time, set the check mark for Integration in STEP 7 and confirm the sub-option for the HMI ES is also selected.
11. Complete the modification, restart the computer.
12. Open SIMATIC Manager, open the affected S7 project, and double-click the HMI station. The WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 editor must now launch without the Utah-SOM-Error.

Solution B — Full Repair Reinstall

Use this procedure when Solution A fails or when the HmiES.exe file itself is missing, corrupted, or quarantined.

1. Uninstall WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 via Control Panel → Programs and Features. Do not delete the project folders; the projects live in user space and are not removed by the uninstaller.
2. Reboot and confirm the folder %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Siemens\SIMATIC WinCC flexible\ is gone. If the folder remains, manually delete it after taking ownership.
3. Install WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 fresh, with the "Integration in STEP 7" option enabled from the first install.
4. Apply the latest available WinCC flexible 2008 update. For SP3, this is Hotfix 6 (build 1.4.0.6) or higher. The update can be obtained from the Siemens support portal entry referenced in the Siemens Support Entry 109744414.
5. Reboot and confirm the project opens. If the project was originally archived as a *.hmi or *.zap file, restore the archive to the working folder first.

Solution C — Project-Side Recovery

If the error appears only on a single project, the project file may be corrupt rather than the integration. Test the editor with a known-good template.

1. Open WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 by launching the Start-menu shortcut (not from STEP 7).
2. From the File menu, choose New and create an empty test project. If the empty project opens cleanly, the editor binary is functional and the original project file is the problem.
3. Close the empty project. From File → Open, navigate to the original project folder and select the *.hmi file with Open as read-only. If the project opens read-only, save it under a new name and re-test the integration launch.
4. If the project still fails, use Project → Compiler with the Rebuild all option. A clean rebuild often repairs corrupted internal object references that survive the SOM layer but break the editor activation.

Verification

After applying any of the solutions, perform the following checks in order. Each check must pass before the next is attempted.

1. Launch the WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 shortcut from the Windows Start menu. The HmiES.exe main window must appear within 5 seconds. The HmiES.exe process must show in Task Manager with a stable working set of at least 60 MB.
2. Open the affected project standalone. The compile log must report zero errors and zero warnings.
3. Close WinCC flexible, launch SIMATIC Manager, open the S7 project, and double-click the HMI station. The WinCC flexible editor must open inside the same instance. The grey-splash symptom must be gone.
4. From SIMATIC Manager, choose PLC → Compile and Download Objects for the HMI station. The download wizard must start without an SOM error.
5. Reboot the engineering station. Repeat step 3 immediately after logon to confirm the fix survives a clean Windows start.

Prevention & Best Practices

• Image the engineering station. After a clean WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 + STEP 7 V5.5 SP4 install, capture a full disk image with Windows Backup or a third-party tool. Restore points are not sufficient because the WinCC flexible COM registrations are written to multiple registry hives.
• Exclude from antivirus. Add the following paths to the real-time scan exclusion list of any installed AV product:
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\SIMATIC WinCC flexible\
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\Automation\
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Siemens\STEP7\
• Run setup as administrator. UAC virtualization in Windows 7 64-bit redirects COM registrations when Setup.exe is launched without elevation. Always use Run as administrator for both the initial install and any later modification.
• Avoid mixing 32-bit and 64-bit shells. WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 is a 32-bit application. Do not run it from a 64-bit script host without explicit path resolution. The SOM layer does not honour %ProgramW6432%.
• Track Hotfixes. Subscribe to the Siemens Product Support notification for WinCC flexible 2008 to receive Hotfix notifications. The last public Hotfix 6 (1.4.0.6) addressed several integration regressions that triggered the Utah-SOM-Error.
• Migrate to TIA Portal. For new projects, consider migrating to WinCC (TIA Portal) or WinCC Unified. WinCC flexible 2008 SP3 reached end of life in 2014 and is no longer covered by standard support contracts.

Related Symptoms & Troubleshooting Matrix

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