Resolving WinCC V6.2 SP2 Installation Failure on Windows XP SP3

The SIMATIC WinCC V6.2 SP2 setup routine is hard-coded to verify the presence of Microsoft security update MS_XPSP2_KB319740 before it allows the product to install. On a Windows XP Professional SP3 host this prerequisite check fails with messages such as "The configuration program has detected that the version of the Service Pack installed (SP3) is more recent than the update you are trying to install", even though the underlying patch is already baked into SP3. This article documents the exact registry workaround, the supported alternative (clean SP2 build), and the Siemens compatibility references that justify both procedures.

1. Affected Products and Versions

2. Root Cause Analysis

KB319740 is a Microsoft DirectX security update originally distributed for Windows XP SP2. Its function in the WinCC V6.2 SP2 setup chain is twofold:

1. Patch the DirectX 9.0c runtime that WinCC uses for the Graphics Designer and Alarm Control rendering paths.
2. Register a registry hive under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Windows XP\SP<n>\KB319740 so that subsequent setup routines and inventory tools can confirm the patch level.

When Windows XP SP3 is installed, the binary payload of KB319740 is incorporated into the service pack, but the corresponding registry key is not always written because Microsoft consolidated update metadata during the SP3 rollup. The WinCC setup invokes the Microsoft Update Installer, which detects the existing (newer) file versions and aborts, leaving the registry hive empty. The setup wrapper then concludes that the prerequisite is not satisfied and halts.

Because the file-level content of KB319740 is already present on SP3, the correct engineering action is to manually create only the missing registry hive so that the WinCC prerequisite scanner can satisfy its check. No file copy is required.

3. Prerequisites

• Local administrator rights on the target Windows XP workstation.
• SIMATIC WinCC V6.2 SP2 installation media (DVD or mounted ISO).
• Confirmation that the OS is Windows XP Professional SP3 (build 2600.x at SP3 level). This procedure is not required for SP2 hosts.
• Registry Editor (regedit.exe) – native to Windows XP.
• Verified that HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates either does not contain the Windows XP subkey, or contains it without the SP3\KB319740 leaf.

4. Solution A – Registry Key Workaround (Step-by-Step)

This is the fastest path and is the procedure most engineers use in the field for both physical machines and XP Mode VMs running on Windows 7.

1. Close the WinCC setup if it is still running. Cancel any pending KB319740 install prompt.
2. Click Start → Run, type regedit and press Enter. Approve the UAC-equivalent prompt.
3. In the left-hand tree, navigate to:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft
4. Right-click Microsoft, choose New → Key, and name it Updates.
5. Right-click the new Updates key, choose New → Key, and name it Windows XP.
6. Right-click Windows XP, choose New → Key, and name it SP3.
7. Right-click SP3, choose New → Key, and name it KB319740.
8. Click into the empty KB319740 key. The right-hand pane should be empty – this is the expected state; no value entries are required for the WinCC prerequisite scan to succeed.
9. Close Registry Editor.
10. Reboot the workstation. WinCC setup performs its prerequisite check only after a fresh boot because some MSI components rely on system hive reload.
11. Re-insert the WinCC V6.2 SP2 DVD and run Setup.exe. The KB319740 prerequisite should now be reported as satisfied and installation should proceed.

For faster repeatable deployment on multiple stations, the same result can be achieved by saving the snippet below as wincc_xpsp3_kb319740.reg and double-clicking it (or running regedit /s wincc_xpsp3_kb319740.reg):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Windows XP\SP3\KB319740]

The /s switch suppresses confirmation dialogs, which is convenient inside a scripted WinPE or MDT deployment task sequence.

5. Solution B – Clean Windows XP SP2 Installation

When the workstation is freshly built, the procedure preferred by Siemens support (and documented in their compatibility list, see Section 7) is to install Windows XP SP2 from original media and let the WinCC setup apply its required patches in the correct order.

1. Install Windows XP Professional SP2 from the original OEM or Volume License CD.
2. During the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE), decline automatic updates and do not connect to Windows Update yet.
3. Install Microsoft Office (optional) and STEP 7 (optional) before WinCC.
4. Install Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – either the version bundled on the WinCC DVD or the standalone media that ships with STEP 7 / WinCC.
5. Insert the WinCC V6.2 SP2 DVD. The setup automatically detects the missing KB319740 and other prerequisites and installs them from its own Updates folder, which is the only Microsoft-recommended distribution path on a fully qualified SP2 host.
6. After WinCC setup completes and the system is fully patched, enable Windows Update manually and apply subsequent security patches as required by the plant cybersecurity policy.

Do not uninstall SP3 to revert to SP2 on an existing system. The roll-back is not a clean state and will leave mismatched binaries, particularly in win32k.sys and DirectX, which in turn cause WinCC runtime instability and is not supported by Siemens.

6. Verification

After applying either Solution A or Solution B, verify a clean install with the following checks:

1. Open Start → Programs → SIMATIC → WinCC → WinCC Explorer. The Explorer should start without missing-DLL or DirectX-related errors.
2. In the Explorer, open Computer → Properties and confirm the installed version is reported as WinCC V6.2 SP2 (or whichever SP was on the media).
3. Open Start → Control Panel → Add or Remove Programs. The entries SIMATIC WinCC V6.2 SP2, SIMATIC NET and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 must all be listed with the expected sizes.
4. Create a small test project, add an I/O field, and run Runtime → Start. The Graphics Designer and WinCC Runtime windows must render without DirectDraw errors.
5. From a command prompt run reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Windows XP\SP3\KB319740". The key must be present (Solution A) or replaced by the genuine SP2\KB319740 key (Solution B).
6. Check the event log: Application log should contain no MSInstaller error 1603 and no MSI warning 194 during the WinCC setup sequence.

7. Compatibility Reference

The WinCC V6.2 compatibility list (Siemens entry 21927773) defines the exact OS levels under which V6.2 SP2 is supported. The relevant positions are:

The corresponding Siemens KB pages provide the authoritative compatibility statements:

• Siemens Entry 21927773 – Compatibility list for WinCC V6.2 SP2
• Siemens Entry 22016868 – FAQ: WinCC V6.2 SP2 and Windows XP SP3
• Siemens Entry 22531371 – FAQ: Required Windows patches for WinCC V6.2
• Siemens Entry 31694896 – Known issues installing WinCC V6.2 on SP3 hosts
• WinCC V6.2 SP3 supplementary information (ST80) – PDF, 05/2009

8. Engineering Caveats and Edge Cases

Anti-virus interference: Some endpoint protection products (notably those that hook the Windows Update API) will re-trigger the prerequisite check after the registry hack is in place and present the same error. Temporarily disable real-time scanning during the WinCC install and add %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation to the AV exclusion list once the install is complete.

User Account Control and DEP: On Windows 7 hosts running XP Mode, Data Execution Prevention (DEP) must be set to the first option (Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only) before launching the WinCC runtime. Strict DEP is known to terminate the WinCC DataManager process with exception 0xC0000005 when the runtime is started inside the virtual machine.

SQL Server 2005 Express naming: WinCC V6.2 SP2 creates the instance WinCC. If a different SQL 2005 instance is already present, the WinCC setup will fail at the database step rather than the KB319740 step. Use SCC 2005 – Tools – Installed SQL instances or the reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\Instance Names\SQL" command to enumerate before installing.

9. Troubleshooting Matrix

10. Summary and Recommendation

For a single Windows XP SP3 workstation that must host WinCC V6.2 SP2, the registry-key workaround is the most efficient path: it is non-destructive, takes less than two minutes, and is the procedure that experienced Siemens integrators use in the field for XP Mode virtual machines. For a fresh fleet deployment or for systems being built for long-term support, the clean Windows XP SP2 installation (Solution B) is the only configuration that appears in the official Siemens compatibility list and is the configuration that Siemens support will accept without qualification.

Whenever the application lifecycle allows, migrate to WinCC V7.x or a current TIA Portal WinCC version on a 64-bit Windows host. The prerequisite logic, the SQL Server dependency, and the DirectX requirement are all removed in modern releases, eliminating the entire class of KB319740 issues described above.