Resolving WinCC V6.0 Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 Installation Conflict

Background: WinCC V6.0, PCS7 V6.1, and Web Navigator V6.1 SP1

SIMATIC PCS 7 V6.1 Service Pack 1 is delivered with WinCC V6.0 SP3a as the integrated HMI/SCADA runtime. The optional SIMATIC WinCC/Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 is an add-on package that publishes the active WinCC project over HTTP/HTTPS so that thin clients and Internet Explorer can operate the plant picture remotely. According to the official Siemens support release notice (entry ID 22453248), the Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 is released for delivery and requires WinCC V6.0 SP4 as its host runtime.

This creates a structural conflict in PCS 7 V6.1 environments: the base station install of PCS 7 V6.1 SP1 places WinCC V6.0 SP3a, while the Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 installer performs a build-level prerequisite check that demands SP4. Technicians who attempt to upgrade only the WinCC layer to SP4 from the standalone WinCC DVD supplied with the system (instead of the matching PCS 7 DVD) see the install routine abort with the message that "WinCC V6.0 SP3a is not installed" - because the SP4 upgrade patch re-checks the baseline SP3a package and fails when the PCS 7 stack has been layered on top.

The same configuration also produces a second, runtime-level failure: a successful first connection between Web Navigator client and server, followed by a permanent "Connecting to Server" loop on every subsequent launch, combined with the Web Configurator losing its bound server IP and reverting to "all not assigned" whenever WinCC is restarted. Both symptoms originate from the same root cause: a mis-paired WinCC/Web Navigator build combination layered over a PCS 7 V6.1 base.

Identifying the Dependency Conflict

Use the matrix below to confirm the exact build pairing that produced the abort. The matrix is derived from the Siemens release notice and the PCS 7 V6.1 compatibility documentation.

Diagnostic identifiers on the failing station:

• Installer log file: %TEMP%\Siemens\WinCC_WebNav_Setup.log with the literal string WinCC V6.0 SP3a is required or component not found.
• Registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Siemens\Automation\WinCC\Versions\WebNavigator - the RequiredBase value is 6.0.4.0 when the SP4 build is mandated.
• Windows Installer MSI return code: 0x80070643 (fatal install error) when the SP3a check fails.

Prerequisites Before Installation

Verify the following before re-attempting the Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 install on a PCS 7 V6.1 SP1 station:

1. Logged in as a member of the local SIMATIC HMI group (or the Administrators group during install).
2. All WinCC and PCS 7 components closed; services CCArchiveMgr, CCAlgHelpSrv, CCConnect, CCEventMgr, CCLicenseServer, CCMsgMgr, CCProjectMgr, CCRTLoader, CCSysdiag, CCTimeSync, and CCWinGraph stopped.
3. Microsoft IIS installed and started. The Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 install requires IIS 5.1 (Windows XP Professional), IIS 6.0 (Windows Server 2003), or the IIS 6 compatibility layer on later OS versions with the WebNavigator ISAPI filter registered.
4. Firewall inbound rules allowing TCP 80 and TCP 443 for the WinCCWebDeployer and the CCHttpServer service identity. Add a rule for C:\Siemens\WinCC\WebNavigator\Server\bin\CCHttpServer.exe.
5. At least 500 MB free on the system drive and 1 GB on the partition hosting the WinCC project directory.
6. Matching media: either the PCS 7 V7.0+ DVD set (which contains WinCC V6.0 SP4 and Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 in a tested combination) or the legacy pairing of WinCC V6.0 SP3a plus Web Navigator V6.0 SP3.

Resolving the Installer Abort: Two Valid Paths

Path A - Stay on PCS 7 V6.1, downgrade Web Navigator to V6.0 SP3

This is the path with the lowest risk for production PCS 7 V6.1 SP1 plants because the WinCC runtime build remains at SP3a (the verified baseline).

1. Open Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and uninstall Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 if a partial install exists.
2. Insert the PCS 7 V6.1 SP1 Toolset DVD and run Setup.exe.
3. Select Web Navigator V6.0 SP3 from the add-on menu. The installer recognizes the existing WinCC V6.0 SP3a runtime and completes without the prerequisite check failing.
4. Reboot the server.
5. Launch the Web Configurator from Start > SIMATIC > WinCC > Web Navigator > Web Configurator and bind the server to the dedicated network interface (do not leave it on "all not assigned").

Path B - Migrate the project to PCS 7 V7.0 or later with WinCC V6.0 SP4 and Web Navigator V6.1 SP1

Use this when new Web Navigator features (improved plug-in signing, additional diagnostics) are required and the plant is in a planned migration window.

1. Back up the full WinCC project directory and the PCS 7 multiproject.
2. Uninstall Web Navigator V6.0 SP3 / V6.1 SP1 (whichever is present).
3. Uninstall WinCC V6.0 SP3a from the PCS 7 V6.1 base.
4. Run Setup.exe from the PCS 7 V7.0 (or later) DVD. The PCS 7 setup will install WinCC V6.0 SP4 in the same transaction.
5. From the same DVD, install Web Navigator V6.1 SP1. Because both packages are now sourced from a single media build, the prerequisite check passes.
6. Re-import the project and run a PCS 7 OS project migration.

Resolving the "Connecting to Server" Hang and the Web Configurator IP Reset

When the Web Navigator client connects once successfully and then hangs on subsequent launches, and the Web Configurator reverts the bound server IP to all not assigned every time WinCC is restarted, the root cause is a write-protection on the configuration file WebNav.cfg in combination with the WebConfigurator service running under an account that loses the binding on logout.

Symptom-to-cause mapping

Step-by-step repair procedure

1. Stop all WinCC and Web Navigator services. From an elevated command prompt:
   net stop CCHttpServer && net stop CCMsgMgr && net stop CCProjectMgr
2. Reset the WebNav.cfg ownership and ACL. The file lives at %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC\WebNavigator\Server\WebNav.cfg. Set the owner to the SIMATIC HMI group and grant the SIMATIC HMI and SYSTEM accounts Modify + Read & Execute:
   icacls "WebNav.cfg" /setowner "SIMATIC HMI" /T /C
icacls "WebNav.cfg" /grant "SIMATIC HMI:(M,RE)" /T /C
icacls "WebNav.cfg" /grant "SYSTEM:(F)" /T /C
3. Re-bind the IP address inside the Web Configurator and click Apply (do not just close the window). Verify that the IP is written to disk by reopening the configurator; the field should retain the value.
4. Confirm the CCHttpServer service identity. Open services.msc, locate CC HTTP Server, and set the log-on account to a dedicated domain user that is a member of SIMATIC HMI. Restart the service.
5. Allow the CCHttpServer through Windows Firewall with an inbound rule:
   netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="WinCC Web Navigator" dir=in action=allow program="%ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC\WebNavigator\Server\bin\CCHttpServer.exe" enable=yes
6. On the client, re-install the Web Navigator Client and both plug-ins (Basic Process Control and Advanced Process Control) from the same media used on the server. Mismatched plug-in versions are a common cause of the "Connecting to Server" hang after the first successful connect.
7. Publish the project on the server from WinCC Explorer > Web Navigator > Web View Publisher. A published project is the only one the client can load.
8. From the client browser, browse to http://<server>/WebNavigator/WebClient.htm and log in with a WinCC user that has at least the Web Navigator - Operator authorization.

IIS, DCOM, and Network Configuration

The Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 install registers an ISAPI filter and a virtual directory in IIS. Misconfiguration of these elements reproduces the "Connecting to Server" loop even when the WinCC side is healthy. Validate the following:

Client Plug-in Requirements and Cache Hygiene

The Web Navigator client loads two plug-ins on first connect:

• Basic Process Control - alarm logging, tag forcing, and standard picture navigation. Always required.
• Advanced Process Control - SFC visualization, batch views, and PCS 7-specific add-ons. Required only when the published project contains these picture types.

After any server-side change (project republish, plug-in upgrade, server IP change), the client must clear the Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files and the Downloaded Program Files folder. The WebClient.cab ActiveX control caches aggressively; a stale cabinet will sit in the "Connecting to Server" loop because the version it expects no longer matches the server handshake.

Diagnostic Checklist and Verification

After applying the corrective procedure, walk through the following verification matrix on the server, then on the client.

Edge Cases and Field-Proven Caveats

• Antivirus interaction. Some endpoint security suites quarantine CCHttpServer.exe or inject a TLS-inspection shim that breaks the Web Navigator handshake. Add the WinCC installation directory and the CCHttpServer binary to the AV exclusion list and test again.
• Domain vs. local user accounts. If the CCHttpServer service is set to run as a local system account while the IIS anonymous user is a domain account, the Web Configurator IP will reset on every restart. Use a single service identity for both IIS and CCHttpServer.
• Time skew. The Web Navigator session token uses the Windows time stamp. A client clock more than 5 minutes off the server's clock will hang at "Connecting to Server". Enable CCTimeSync or an NTP source on both ends.
• Multilingual project paths. Project directories with non-ASCII characters occasionally fail to publish; keep WinCC project paths in pure ASCII to avoid obscure path-resolution errors in the Web View Publisher.
• Concurrent OS client sessions. WinCC/Web Navigator V6.1 SP1 licenses concurrent client connections, not named users. Exceeding the licensed count produces a login dialog that never completes; it can be mistaken for a network hang.

FAQ