Resolving WinCC v7.2 PCS7CH USB Dongle License Error

Problem Overview

A PCS 7 v8 distributed control system running nine OS client HMIs on WinCC v7.2 Update 8 reports a PCS7CH - SIMATIC WinCC PO USB Dongle license request after a hard drive failure and Symantec image restore on a single OS client. The operating system (Windows 7 Professional) boots and the project files are present, but opening the WinCC project in the Graphics Designer or starting WinCC Runtime raises the license alarm and prevents the OS client from going online with the AS.

The fault presents on one machine only even though the project is a referenced master shared with eight other working OS clients. The Siemens Industry Online Support hotline (and Tier-2 escalation) initially attributes the request to an Asian (PO - Pacific Orient) language dependency, but field inspection of the project shows no Asian text in the TextLibrary. The result is a license fault that survives multiple backup restores, WinCC reinstalls, and SQL Server reinstalls on the affected node.

Symptoms and Error Behavior

The fault is observed in three locations on the affected OS client:

1. WinCC Explorer startup: The License Check dialog appears immediately after project load and reports License not found - PCS7CH (SIMATIC WinCC PO USB Dongle).
2. Graphics Designer open: The same license alarm fires when the project is opened directly in the designer instead of from Runtime.
3. WinCC Runtime activation: Runtime startup is blocked. The OS client remains in the not activated state and the redundant partner client cannot take over visualization for that station.

The HMI computer itself is healthy: Symantec System Recovery restores the disk image successfully, the OS reports no integrity violations, SQL Server 2008 R2 (or 2012, depending on the OS client base image) starts, and the WinCC project database (the *.mdf / *.ldf pair) attaches without errors. Other OS clients in the same PCS 7 plant open the same referenced project without raising the license request.

Root Cause: The PCS7CH License Trigger Criteria

The PCS7CH license is one of several PO (Pacific Orient) variants that map to physical USB dongles shipped with Asian-market WinCC media. The trigger is not limited to the TextLibrary language set. WinCC evaluates three independent criteria; if any one of them is present, the PCS7CH license is required:

1. TextLibrary languages - Any Asian language (Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Japanese) is included in the project's TextLibrary. A single Asian character present in any text in any language of the TextLibrary is sufficient to trigger the requirement.
2. WinCC Runtime GUI language - The user interface language of the WinCC project is set to an Asian language, regardless of whether the operator ever sees that language in production.
3. Operating system Locale / Local ID - The Windows OS regional format and language for non-Unicode programs (the system locale, formerly called Local ID) is set to an Asian language. WinCC reads this during project activation.

Symantec image restores frequently change the third criterion. A system that was deployed with English (United States) as the system locale can be re-imaged with the default Asian locale if the master image was captured in a different region, or if the restore process replaces the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\Language install language key. The WinCC license check fires on the first activation after such a restore even though the project files themselves contain no Asian text.

Affected Software Versions and Configurations

The fault is not specific to the Update 8 build mentioned in the original incident. Any WinCC v7.2 service pack on a PCS 7 v8 OS client is exposed to the same trigger set. The behavior is identical on TIA-based WinCC Comfort/Advanced/Professional projects: per the official Siemens licensing documentation, a WinCC project using an Asian language must be licensed by transferring the required license key from the certified USB flash drive to the HMI device.

Diagnostic Collection with SIMATIC Assessment Suite - Data Collector

Before changing the project or the OS configuration, capture a system state snapshot so that Siemens technical support can correlate the license check with the actual deployment state. The official tool is the SIMATIC Assessment Suite - Data Collector (SAS-DC), formerly called SIMATIC Diagnostics Tool (SDT). It collects registry values, installed software inventory, license keys, WinCC project metadata, and the relevant locale settings in a single bundle.

1. Download SAS-DC from the official Siemens support entry, KB article SIMATIC Assessment Suite - Data Collector (SAS-DC).
2. Run SIMATIC_AS_Suite_DataCollector.exe as administrator on the affected OS client.
3. Accept the EULA. The tool enumerates installed SIMATIC products and WinCC project directories automatically.
4. Select Collect all relevant data and choose a local output path (avoid the project directory itself).
5. Generate a Service Request via the Siemens Industry Online Support portal and attach the .zip bundle produced by SAS-DC.

Within the SAS-DC bundle, three entries are critical for the PCS7CH investigation:

• WinCC_ProjectConfig.xml - includes the configured Runtime GUI languages.
• OS_RegionalSettings.txt - dump of HKCU\Control Panel\International and HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\Language.
• LicenseInfo.log - the exact license names WinCC requested at the last activation attempt.

Resolution Step 1: Remove Asian Languages from the WinCC TextLibrary

The most common cause of a phantom PCS7CH request on a project with no visible Asian text is a hidden Asian entry in the TextLibrary. Translated strings are stored in a single text pool regardless of the operator's active language, and a single Chinese, Korean, or Japanese character in any language variant of the TextLibrary is sufficient to flip the license class to PO.

1. Close WinCC Runtime and Graphics Designer on the affected OS client.
2. Open the WinCC project in WinCC Explorer on a maintenance station (an OS server or engineering station is preferable to the production HMI).
3. Navigate to the TextLibrary node in the project tree (right pane, or the editor list in older builds).
4. Right-click the TextLibrary root (not an individual language, but the parent node).
5. Select Remove Languages from the context menu.
6. In the language list, locate and select every Asian variant - Chinese (Simplified, PRC), Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan), Japanese (Japan), Korean (Korea). Some builds also list Chinese (Singapore) and Chinese (Hong Kong SAR) as separate entries; remove those as well.
7. Confirm the removal. WinCC deletes the corresponding language columns and any translated text attached to them.
8. Save the project. WinCC prompts a recompile of the database; allow it to complete.
9. Reopen the project and verify that the TextLibrary now lists only the intended language set (typically English, German, French, Spanish, Italian in a European PCS 7 plant).

If no Asian language is present in the TextLibrary language set but the request persists, the issue is one of the other two trigger criteria described above. Continue to Step 2.

Resolution Step 2: Verify and Reset the Operating System Locale

The system locale (formerly Local ID) is read by WinCC during project activation. A Windows 7 image restored from a non-matching master can carry an Asian system locale. Check and correct it on the affected OS client.

1. Open Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region > Region and Language.
2. On the Formats tab, set the format to English (United States) (or the format matching the project design locale).
3. On the Location tab, set the current location to United States.
4. On the Administrative tab, click Change system locale and select English (United States). This is the value WinCC reads.
5. If Windows prompts for a reboot, accept the reboot. The system locale change does not take effect until the next restart.
6. After reboot, open an elevated command prompt and run systeminfo | findstr /C:"Locale" to confirm Input Locale and System Locale show the expected language.

Additional checks for the system locale are stored in the registry. Verify that the following values match the design environment (English / United States corresponds to 0409):

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\Language\InstallLanguage = "0409"
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\Locale = "00000409"

Symantec System Recovery can occasionally restore the InstallLanguage value to the master image's source. Re-imaging with a known-good master or fixing the value manually clears the fault without requiring a new license.

Resolution Step 3: Verify the WinCC Runtime GUI Language

The Runtime GUI language is the second non-TextLibrary trigger. It is set per-project in the Computer properties.

1. Open WinCC Explorer on the engineering station with the project (master copy, not the OS client).
2. Right-click the Computer node in the project tree and select Properties.
3. Switch to the Parameters tab (WinCC v7.2) or the Graphics Runtime tab (newer builds).
4. Locate Language setting at runtime or Default Runtime language. Confirm that the value is the design language (for example, English (USA) / LCID 1033) and not an Asian variant.
5. If a redundant OS server pair is used, repeat the check on both OS servers. Inconsistent GUI language settings on a redundant pair can flip the license class on the partner only.
6. Save the project and recompile the OS server / OS client database.

Resolution Step 4: License Repair and WinCC Reinstall Procedure

If the three trigger criteria have been ruled out and the PCS7CH alarm persists, perform a controlled reinstall of the WinCC license stack on the affected OS client. This is the same path that the Siemens support hotline escalates to when the diagnostic data does not match the visible project state.

1. Close WinCC Explorer, Graphics Designer, and Runtime. Stop the CCLicenseService and SQL Server (WINCC) services.
2. Open Control Panel > Programs and Features and uninstall SIMATIC WinCC. Leave SQL Server in place if it hosts other applications.
3. Delete the orphaned license cache at %ProgramFiles%\Siemens\Automation\WinCC\bin\License (and the equivalent path under %ProgramFiles(x86)%\ on 64-bit installs). Do not delete the project database.
4. Reboot. Re-run the WinCC v7.2 Update 8 setup from the original PCS 7 v8 media or the SIMATIC Software Delivery portal.
5. Reapply the licenses from the Automation License Manager (ALM). Move the WinCC v7.2 license keys from the local license container back onto the affected machine.
6. Reboot once more and start WinCC Explorer. Open the project and start Runtime.

Verification: Confirming the License Error is Resolved

Run a structured verification sequence after each resolution step. The license check fires only on the first failed attempt per session, so a clean restart is required to validate each change.

1. License dialog - Open the project. The License Check dialog must not list PCS7CH. Any other required licenses (PCS7RC, PCS7OS, etc.) must report as installed.
2. ALM inventory - Open Automation License Manager and confirm that all WinCC v7.2 license keys assigned to the OS client are present in the local license container. The License Analysis view should show no missing keys.
3. Runtime activation - Start WinCC Runtime. The OS client must transition from not activated to activated within the standard timeout (typically 60 seconds on a healthy network). Verify the bottom-right status bar shows the green Runtime active indicator.
4. Project dump - Compare the WinCC project dump (from ProjectName.dmp in the project directory) of the affected OS client against one of the working OS clients. The license section must be identical.
5. OS client failover test - Disable the redundant partner OS client briefly and confirm that the affected OS client takes over the visualization for its assigned areas without raising the PCS7CH alarm.

Related WinCC v7.2 License Types and Dongle Classes

The PCS7CH entry is unique in this list because it cannot be fulfilled with a software license key - it requires the physical USB dongle shipped with the Asian-market WinCC media. The official Siemens licensing documentation for WinCC Runtime Asian variants confirms that a WinCC project requiring an Asian language must be licensed by transferring the required license key from the certified USB flash drive to the HMI device - see Licensing WinCC Runtime Asian (Siemens TIA Portal documentation). The corollary is that any WinCC project that does not actually need an Asian language must be cleared of all Asian triggers, since the only path to a working license is the physical dongle.

Preventive Measures and Backup Best Practices

• Standardize the OS master image - Capture the Windows 7 base image on the engineering station with the system locale explicitly set to the project design locale. Verify InstallLanguage before sealing the image.
• Lock the TextLibrary - Document the language set per project. Disable the Add Language context menu in the TextLibrary by removing the relevant language packs from WinCC setup. This prevents an engineer from adding a stray Asian language during commissioning.
• Reference project audit - Run an export of the TextLibrary from the master on every project handover. Diff the new export against the previous one to catch unintended language additions.
• ALM inventory baseline - Capture an ALM snapshot for every OS client during SAT. Compare against the snapshot after any major image restore or hardware swap.
• Image integrity - When using Symantec System Recovery, validate the image on a lab machine before deploying to a production HMI. Confirm the system locale, the install language, and the WinCC project state in one pass.
• Spare USB dongle - For plants that operate in a mixed-language environment, keep a spare PCS7CH USB dongle in the spares cabinet. Even a correctly licensed plant can require the dongle after a hard drive failure on a node that was once commissioned with an Asian locale.

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