Resolving WinCC V5.1 HRESULT Errors 0x80004005 and 0x80046204

Problem Overview

WinCC V5.x runtime installations on legacy Siemens Panel PCs (notably the Panel PC 670 with Windows 2000 Professional SP2) can fail with a chain of HRESULT errors that block project loading, tag logging, and alarm logging. The most commonly reported codes in this scenario are:

The error chain typically presents in the following sequence at WinCC Explorer startup:

1. WinCC runtime restarts, Windows reports "CCTlgserver.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows. You will need to restart the program."
2. AutoStart freezes, requiring manual cancellation.
3. On opening WinCC Explorer the user is prompted with 0x80004005 Unspecified error → 0x2 The system can not find the file specified → 0x80046204 : (null).
4. WinCC Explorer dialog "Die Projektdaten konnten nicht gelesen werden" (English: "The project data could not be read") appears.
5. Trend and Alarm Window controls in runtime show no database connectivity.

Affected Platforms and Versions

The Panel PC 670 was shipped with Windows 2000 / Windows XP Embedded depending on order code. Always cross-check the OS service pack level before attempting a repair; mismatched SP levels between OS and WinCC are a documented source of COM initialization failures.

Root Cause Analysis

Siemens documents the HResult error class in WinCC V5.x as a symptom of either a corrupt project, an incorrect installation, or a missing/incompatible runtime component. The official Siemens support article (ID 6836122) attributes the HResult error to:

1. Incorrectly installed WinCC — partial MSI packages, interrupted setup, or DLL version mismatches after applying an OS service pack without a matching WinCC service pack.
2. Corrupted project database — the data manager cannot read the project file, triggering the cascade of COM exception codes (0x80004005 → 0x2 → 0x80046204).
3. Incompatible or obsolete runtime components — early V5.1 builds (pre-SP2) had known defects in the CCTlgserver.exe taglogging server that caused it to terminate on startup.

The diagnose folder provides the definitive evidence. The following entries were captured from a real Panel PC 670 install before the fix was applied:

255,25.10.2007,16:40:27:133,1003051,2,Administrator,CT-KRAFT,Alarm Logging RT,
  Quittiervariable(Bit) schon von Einzelmeldung belegt
255,23.10.2007,09:32:44:045,0,4,Administrator,CT-KRAFT,CCDmTagProviderMux,
  Provider : CCDmTagLocal throws Exception in Method : ICCDmAsoEnum::GetCount()
255,25.10.2007,16:40:46:671,0,4,Administrator,CT-KRAFT,CCDmTagProviderMux,
  Provider : CCDmTagLocal throws Exception in Method : ICCDmAsoEnum::EnumData()

Interpretation:

• "Quittiervariable(Bit) schon von Einzelmeldung belegt" — the acknowledgement variable (bit) is already occupied by a single-message reference. This is a project-configuration conflict in Alarm Logging Runtime, not a system error, but it generates log noise that masks the underlying COM failures.
• "CCDmTagProviderMux ... ICCDmAsoEnum::GetCount() / EnumData() throws Exception" — the multiplexed tag provider cannot enumerate the local data source. This is the structural fault that produces 0x80046204 in the Explorer.

The combined symptom set points to a project that was migrated or edited on a different WinCC V5.x build and then deployed to a runtime machine that has not been kept at a matching service pack level. The fix must be applied at the runtime host, not in the project source.

HRESULT Code Map for WinCC V5.x

The HRESULT codes surfaced in V5.x originate from layered components. Use the map below to triage which subsystem is failing:

Pre-Diagnosis: Collecting Evidence

Before any remediation, capture the WinCC diagnose log. On a Panel PC 670 the path is:

C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC\Diagnose

The folder contains rolling logs of every WinCC subsystem. Filter for the strings below to isolate the fault:

findstr /S /I "CCDmTagProviderMux" "C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC\Diagnose\*.log"
findstr /S /I "CCTlgserver"         "C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC\Diagnose\*.log"
findstr /S /I "0x8004"              "C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC\Diagnose\*.log"

Additionally, the Windows Application event log (eventvwr.msc) records process termination events for CCTlgserver.exe. Cross-reference the timestamp of the Explorer error with the event log to confirm that the taglogging server is the source of the cascade. For Panel PC 670 deployments, the touch driver layer ("SIMATIC HMI Touch Input") should also be checked: a wedged touch driver can hold the WinCC Explorer window non-responsive and produce false-positive HRESULT errors on shutdown.

Resolution Procedure

The remediation path follows the Siemens official recommendation for HResult errors in WinCC V5.x. Escalate through the steps in order; stop when runtime starts cleanly.

Step 1 — Apply WinCC 5.1 SP2

1. Close WinCC Explorer and stop all WinCC services: net stop "CCAgent" and net stop "CCProjectManager" from an elevated command prompt.
2. Insert the WinCC 5.1 SP2 installation media. The service pack is a delta installation; WinCC 5.1 base must already be present.
3. Run Setup.exe and accept the maintenance install path.
4. Reboot the Panel PC 670 when prompted. Do not skip the reboot — CCTlgserver.exe caches the older CCDM libraries in memory until restart.
5. Open the project; verify Trend and Alarm windows connect to their databases before proceeding to Step 2.

Service Pack 2 ships the fixed CCDmTagLocal provider and resolves the ICCDmAsoEnum::GetCount() / EnumData() exceptions. In the documented field case the SP2 install alone restored both alarm and trend visibility, with no further project edits required.

Step 2 — Verify COM Registration

Even with SP2 applied, residual COM registration errors can persist if a previous failed install left orphaned registry keys. Re-register the WinCC COM libraries:

cd "C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC\bin"
for %i in (*.dll) do regsvr32 /s %i
regsvr32 /s "C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC\bin\CCDmTagProviderMux.dll"
regsvr32 /s "C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC\bin\CCTlgserver.exe"

Restart the WinCC services. If regsvr32 returns 0x80004005 on a specific DLL, that DLL is corrupt and must be re-copied from the installation media before continuing.

Step 3 — Repair the Project Database

If the project is suspected of corruption (symptom: Explorer errors only on a specific project, not on a new empty project), use the WinCC Project Duplicator or the CCProjectBackup utility to rebuild the project files:

1. Open WinCC Explorer → Tools → Project Duplicator.
2. Duplicate the project to a new directory. The duplicator re-packs the project database and forces the data manager to re-enumerate tag providers.
3. Open the duplicated project and confirm that the Trend and Alarm windows connect.
4. Promote the duplicated project to the runtime directory if successful.

Step 4 — Clean Reinstall (Last Resort)

If Steps 1–3 do not resolve the HResult error chain, perform a full clean reinstall of the runtime host:

1. Back up the project directory and the diagnose folder.
2. Uninstall WinCC 5.1 via Control Panel → Add/Remove Programs.
3. Delete residual directories: C:\Program Files\Siemens\WinCC and C:\Siemens\WinCC\storage.
4. Reboot the Panel PC 670.
5. Reinstall Windows 2000 Pro SP2 from the recovery media (verify the OS image matches the bundled Panel PC 670 driver pack).
6. Reinstall SIMATIC NET, then WinCC 5.1, then WinCC 5.1 SP2 in that order.
7. Restore the project from the backup.

Verification Tests

After remediation, perform the following checks before returning the system to production:

Troubleshooting Matrix

Prevention and Best Practices

• Keep the runtime host on the latest V5.1 service pack available for the Panel PC 670. Siemens' official statement is that service packs ship specifically to fix bugs, and SP2 contains the taglogging server fix that resolves this entire error class.
• Do not mix WinCC V6/V7 documentation with V5.x — the Simatic HMI user group ACL issue that fixes the same-looking error in V6 does not apply to V5. Chasing the wrong remediation wastes hours.
• Always back up the diagnose folder before any service pack application. The diagnose files are the only authoritative source of CCDmTagProviderMux exceptions and will be overwritten.
• Maintain OS service pack parity. Windows 2000 SP2 with WinCC 5.1 SP2 is the last tested combination on Panel PC 670. Do not apply post-SP2 hotfixes to the OS without a WinCC compatibility check.
• Stop the WinCC services before any COM re-registration or service pack install. Hot-patching CCTlgserver.exe in memory is a known source of 0x80010105 server-fault exceptions.
• Document the alarm variable mapping. The German diagnose entry "Quittiervariable(Bit) schon von Einzelmeldung belegt" (acknowledgement bit already assigned to a single message) is a project-design issue that produces recurring log noise. Audit the alarm configuration and assign a unique acknowledgement bit per alarm class.

Official References

• Siemens Support Entry 6836122 — Fix "HResult Error" with WinCC
• Siemens Support PDF — HResult Error in WinCC V5.x (Cause / Remedy)