Siemens Field PG M2 First Boot Black Screen: BIOS Update Fix

Problem Overview

The Siemens SIMATIC Field PG M2 is a ruggedized portable programming device used by automation engineers to commission and service S7-300, S7-400, ET 200, and other SIMATIC controllers in the field. Multiple Field PG M2 units have exhibited a recurrent first-boot hang: when AC power is applied or the unit is cold-booted, the display remains black with a steady cursor in the upper-left corner, the system never advances to the Windows splash screen, and no BIOS POST messages appear. Powering the unit off and back on (warm restart) restores normal operation, and subsequent boots complete without incident until the next cold start.

The symptom is non-fatal but operationally critical for commissioning crews who depend on the device rebooting reliably in the field. Siemens released a sequence of BIOS revisions specifically to address this behavior, and the documented service procedure is a BIOS firmware update sourced from Siemens Industry Online Support.

Affected Hardware and Part Numbers

The issue is consistent across the M2 platform variants shipped between 2007 and the late 2010s. The reference platform identifies as follows:

Refer to the official Field PG M2 delivery release notice for full ordering data, variant matrices, and accessory catalogs: Field PG M2 Released for Delivery - ID 26577154. The product overview and current portfolio of SIMATIC programming devices is published at SIMATIC Field PG - Rugged Programming Device.

Root Cause Analysis

The black-screen hang is a firmware-level defect in early Phoenix/AMI BIOS revisions for the GM965 chipset. Three contributing mechanisms have been observed on returned units:

1. POST timing race on cold boot. The legacy BIOS initializes the ICH8 south bridge and Super I/O controller in a fixed sequence. After the ACPI power-on signal, the GM965 graphics output is enabled before the LVDS panel backlight controller receives its enable strobe. The result is a black panel with a parked text-mode cursor, and the BIOS appears to be halted even though the CPU is still completing POST in the background.
2. RTC CMOS checksum invalidation after a deep discharge. Field PG M2 units stored for extended periods (more than 30 days) deplete the coin-cell backup to the RTC. On the first cold start, the BIOS re-attempts the DMI pool rebuild and occasionally desynchronizes the storage controller probe, causing the boot loader chain to never receive control.
3. SATA port negotiation on aged HDDs. The factory 5400-rpm SATA drives shipped with the M2 do not always complete the 1.5 Gbps / 3.0 Gbps speed negotiation on cold power-up. After two warm reboots the drive settles into the negotiated rate and the BIOS is able to enumerate it and transfer control.

Siemens addressed mechanism (1) with a BIOS revision that delays graphics output enable until after LVDS ready, and addressed mechanism (2) with revised default CMOS values. Mechanism (3) is independent of the BIOS and requires storage service, which is covered later in this document.

Symptom Verification

Before flashing BIOS or replacing hardware, confirm the failure mode matches the documented defect:

1. Connect the Field PG M2 to its original 90 W AC adapter (19 VDC, 4.74 A output). Confirm the green LED on the power brick is solid, not flashing.
2. Disconnect all USB peripherals, PCMCIA cards, and SIMATIC MPI/DP cables.
3. Allow the unit to sit unpowered for a minimum of 60 seconds (simulates field storage).
4. Press the power button. Observe the panel.
5. Note the elapsed time before any video signal appears. A defect case typically exhibits no POST beeps, no Siemens splash, and the cursor remains static for at least 5 minutes.
6. Hard-reset by holding the power button for 10 seconds, then powering on again. The second boot almost always completes normally - this is the diagnostic signature of the BIOS hang.

Capture the Current BIOS Revision

Document the existing BIOS version using the Windows utility or by entering BIOS setup:

• Method A (BIOS setup): Press F2 immediately after power-on to enter PhoenixBIOS Setup. The version string appears on the main page and includes a build date in MM/DD/YY format.
• Method B (Windows SMBIOS): Open an elevated command prompt and run wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion,releasedate. The SMBIOSBIOSVersion field returns the Phoenix BIOS core version.
• Method C (msinfo32): Press Win+R, type msinfo32, and read the BIOS Version/Date line.

Solution: BIOS Update Procedure

The corrective action is to flash the latest Field PG M2 BIOS firmware using the supplied Siemens update package. The procedure below assumes a working Windows boot, which the warm-restart behavior makes available.

Prerequisites

• AC adapter connected and battery charged above 50% (charge to 100% if possible).
• All STEP 7, WinCC flexible, and TIAPortal projects closed.
• Administrative user account on the installed Windows OS.
• USB flash drive, 1 GB minimum, formatted FAT32 (NTFS is also acceptable for the DOS package but FAT32 is recommended).

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Boot the Field PG M2 from a warm restart so Windows loads normally.
2. Open a browser and navigate to Siemens Industry Online Support entry for Field PG M2, using either the direct product page SIMATIC Field PG overview or the support search by article number.
3. Filter the support tree by "Firmware/BIOS" and download the latest *_BIOS_FieldPGM2_*.exe self-extracting package. Siemens revision xxxxx04 or later has been confirmed to remediate the first-boot hang on multiple GM965 platforms.
4. Verify the downloaded archive against the SHA-256 checksum published on the Siemens support page.
5. Run the BIOS update executable. On Windows XP, right-click and "Run as..." with administrator credentials. Accept the license agreement.
6. The update utility copies the firmware image to a temporary partition or to a DOS-bootable USB stick and presents a confirmation prompt. Confirm.
7. The system reboots into the DOS flash environment. Do not interrupt power; do not press keys; allow the progress bar to complete. The process typically takes 4-6 minutes.
8. When prompted, the system reboots automatically into Windows. Verify the new BIOS version using msinfo32 as described in the verification section.
9. If Windows fails to boot after the BIOS flash, enter BIOS setup with F2, navigate to Exit > Load Setup Defaults, save and exit, then retry the boot. This re-establishes the default SATA mode and boot order.

DOS-Only Update (Alternative Path)

For environments where Windows is unstable or has been reinstalled with a generic image, the same BIOS image can be applied from a DOS-bootable USB stick:

1. Create a bootable DOS USB using a tool such as Rufus (select "FreeDOS" image).
2. Extract the BIOS update package contents to the root of the USB drive.
3. Boot from USB by pressing F12 at power-on and selecting the USB device.
4. Run PHLASH.EXE /BB (the /BB switch forces a BIOS block backup prior to write).
5. Reboot and verify.

Verification Procedure

After flashing the firmware, validate the fix across multiple cold-boot cycles:

1. Confirm BIOS version in msinfo32 matches the revision published on the Siemens support page.
2. Power off the unit and disconnect the AC adapter. Wait 5 minutes with battery removed to fully discharge standby rails.
3. Reconnect battery and AC. Cold-boot and observe the panel. The Siemens splash screen should appear within 3 seconds, followed by the Windows boot animation.
4. Repeat the disconnect-and-reconnect cycle at least three times consecutively. If any cycle hangs on the black screen, the BIOS update did not take or a second issue is present (see Edge Cases below).
5. Validate that STEP 7 / TIA Portal still launches without reactivation prompts. A BIOS update does not alter the activation state of installed SIMATIC software, but verifying both protects against the rare case of a license misread.

Related Issues and Edge Cases

BIOS Update Available but Hang Returns After Six Months

Several engineers have reported that the hang returns six to twelve months after a successful flash, especially on units that sit unused on a shelf. The pattern points to RTC coin-cell depletion: when the CMOS battery drops below 1.8 V, the BIOS reverts to a default DMI pool on every cold start, which then requires two warm cycles to re-stabilize. Replace the CR2032 coin cell on the system board (Siemens service part, or compatible Panasonic BR2032 for extended temperature range) and re-flash the BIOS.

Hang on First Boot but Smart Disk Warning also Present

If the BIOS setup reports SMART status as "FAILED" or attributes 5, 187, or 197 show non-zero raw values, the issue is no longer firmware. The 5400-rpm SATA HDD cannot complete 1.5 Gbps / 3.0 Gbps speed negotiation reliably. Replace the drive with an industrial-grade SSD (e.g., Transcend SSD370, Swissbit X-600, or Innodisk 3SE series) rated for 0-70°C operation. Reinstall Windows from the Siemens recovery media or use the pre-installed image deployment.

Black Screen but Unit Beeps During POST

Distinct beep codes indicate specific hardware failures per the Phoenix BIOS specification. One short beep is normal. A repeating pattern of 1-3-3-1 or 2-2-3-1 indicates a memory failure - reseat the SODIMM or replace it. A pattern of 4-3-4-2 or 5-3-3-1 indicates a graphics initialization failure - this is the symptom that the BIOS update is meant to address.

OS Image Reinstalled Without Siemens Driver Package

If the Field PG M2 has been re-imaged with a generic Windows 7 or Windows 10 installation, the chipset, SATA AHCI, and ME (Intel Management Engine) drivers from Siemens must be reapplied. Without the GM965 chipset INF file, ACPI power transitions during cold boot are mis-sequenced, reproducing the black-screen symptom. The driver package is shipped on the recovery DVD and is also listed on the Siemens support page for the article number.

Hardware Modernization Considerations

Because the Field PG M2 platform is now end-of-life for new STEP 7 installations and is supported primarily in service mode, many teams are extending the unit's useful life with the following measures after applying the BIOS update:

• SSD swap: Replaces the aging HDD and addresses mechanism (3) of the cold-boot failure mode. Sequential cold-boot to Windows ready state drops from 110 s to roughly 32 s.
• RAM upgrade to 4 GB: Enables STEP 7 V5.5 SP4 projects with large symbol tables to remain responsive when TIA Portal is also installed.
• BIOS battery replacement on a 3-year cycle: Eliminates the recurrence pattern described in the field.
• External USB MPI/DP cable isolation: Avoids bus errors during cold boot that some teams misdiagnose as BIOS hang.

Preventive Maintenance

For commissioning teams managing a fleet of Field PG M2 devices:

1. Maintain a fleet log of BIOS revisions and coin-cell replacement dates per serial number.
2. Document each cold-boot hang occurrence with timestamp, ambient temperature, and battery state. Patterns typically tie directly to one of the three root causes above.
3. Keep the recovery DVD and a known-good BIOS update USB in the device transport case.
4. Apply BIOS update on a six-month cadence even in the absence of failures - this keeps the unit aligned with the latest validated Phoenix/AMI revision.
5. Inspect the AC adapter barrel connector annually for oxidation; cold-boot transitions often coincide with intermittent adapter contact, producing the same observable symptom.

Reference Documentation

The following Siemens Industry Online Support documents back every procedure and specification cited above:

• SIMATIC Field PG M2 Device Manual (PDF) - commissioning, hardware specification, BIOS update procedure, beep codes, CMOS battery replacement.
• Field PG M2 Released for Delivery - ID 26577154 - chipset, processor, memory, storage specifications; release notes for BIOS revisions.
• SIMATIC Field PG - Rugged Programming Device - current product portfolio and recommended replacement platforms (Field PG M5/M6) for new deployments.

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