SIRIUS 3RW44 TIA Portal Migration Resolving Missing Option

Problem Overview: 3RW44 Migration to TIA Portal Stops on Option Package Warning

When migrating a STEP 7 V5.4 or V5.5 project containing a SIRIUS 3RW44 soft starter on Profibus DP into TIA Portal (V13 SP1 or higher), the migration tool raises the diagnostic:

Option package(s) missing in STEP 7 V5.4 or V5.5

The 3RW44 hardware does not appear in the TIA Portal device catalog, the migration log flags unresolved option packages, and the resulting TIA project does not contain a fully-mapped 3RW44 station. The error is non-fatal — the project still opens — but the soft starter is reduced to a generic DP slave with no symbol names, no parameter access, and no HMI tags.

Root Cause: Why TIA Portal Has No Native 3RW44 Option Package

The migration warning is raised by the TIA Portal import wizard because the originating STEP 7 V5.x project references a 3RW44 device whose symbol block, FBD library, or HSP (Hardware Support Package) is not installed on the source PC. The wizard, however, is the secondary symptom — the deeper cause is the lack of a first-class 3RW44 option package for TIA Portal.

Siemens has never published a TIA Portal option package for the 3RW44 itself. Instead, the 3RW44 is integrated as a standard Profibus DP slave using its manufacturer GSD file. This is the only Siemens-supported path for the 3RW44 inside TIA Portal. The 3RW44's full parameter set, diagnostic block, and process image are then made available through the slave's I/O addresses and an optional SIMOCODE-style F-block library.

The migration log entry is essentially a soft warning: it tells you that whatever you had in V5.x (a custom FBD, a vendor library, or an option-package wrapper around the DP slave) was not on the source machine. It does not mean a TIA Portal package is missing on the target — it means no such package exists for the 3RW44 at all.

Prerequisites Before Migration

1. TIA Portal V13 SP1 Update 4 or later installed on the engineering station (V15.1, V16, V17, V18 are all valid migration targets).
2. STEP 7 V5.4 SP5 or V5.5 SP4 installed on the same PC with the original 3RW44 HSP / option package loaded. The source project must open cleanly in V5.x before migration.
3. Original 3RW44 GSD file available: SIEM81B7.GSE (3RW44) or SI0181B7.GSE (PROFINET/Profibus). Download from the Siemens Product Support search for "3RW44 GSD".
4. SIRIUS Soft Starter ES V21 (TIA Portal) — optional, for parameterising the 3RW44 from inside TIA Portal. See Sales release for SIRIUS Soft Starter ES V21 (TIA Portal).
5. SIMOCODE ES V13 SP1 or higher (already installed for migration of motor-protection devices in the same project).
6. CPU with Profibus DP master port (S7-300 with CP 342-5, S7-400 CPU 41x DP, ET200S IM151 with master, or S7-1500 with CM 1542-5). For S7-1200/1500, the 3RW44 must be retrofitted to PROFINET via the DP/PN coupler (IE/PB Link PN IO).
7. Read/write access to the source STEP 7 project directory (the migration wizard copies and rewrites symbols, comments, and the S7 program).

Step-by-Step: Migrating a 3RW44 Project to TIA Portal

Step 1 — Repair the Source STEP 7 V5.x Project

1. Open the project in STEP 7 V5.4 / V5.5 with administrator rights.
2. Resolve any "option package missing" warning on the source side first. Install the 3RW44 HSP that the original project was built with. If the original is unobtainable, install the latest 3RW44 HSP for V5.5 from the Siemens HSP download area.
3. Recompile the entire S7 program: Edit → Compile and Check All. Verify the 3RW44 FB (typically FB100/FB200 class) compiles without errors.
4. Run Station → Save and Compile. The 3RW44 should appear in HW Config as a DP slave with diagnostic and parameter slots populated.

Step 2 — Capture a Migration Log

1. Launch TIA Portal V13 SP1+ on the same PC.
2. Select Project → Migrate project → STEP 7 V5.x project.
3. Browse to the .s7p file.
4. Tick Create migration log and store it next to the source project. The log lists every block, every DP slave, and every missing option package it encounters.

Step 3 — Interpret the Option Package Warning

Open the migration log. The 3RW44 entry will look similar to:

WARNING: Option package 'SIRIUS 3RW44 Soft Starter' not found
  Affected station: PROFIBUS(1) - SIRIUS 3RW44 [Station address 7]
  Action: device replaced by generic DP slave

This is expected and does not require a TIA Portal fix. Record the original Profibus address, the diagnostic slot assignments, and the user-defined symbol names from the V5.x symbol table — you will re-enter them manually in TIA Portal.

Step 4 — Install the 3RW44 GSD in TIA Portal

1. In TIA Portal, switch to the migrated project and open the device view of the Profibus master.
2. Open Options → Manage General Station Description Files (GSD).
3. Browse to the directory containing SIEM81B7.GSE (or the 3RW44-specific GSD you downloaded).
4. Tick the GSD and click Install.
5. Confirm the entry appears in the device catalog under: Other field devices → PROFIBUS DP → Drives → SIRIUS → SIRIUS 3RW44.

Step 5 — Reattach the 3RW44 as a DP Slave

1. Drag the SIRIUS 3RW44 from the catalog onto the Profibus subnet of the migrated S7 master.
2. Set the Profibus address to the same value the 3RW44 had in V5.x (e.g. 7).
3. Open the 3RW44 device view and add the standard slots. Typical 3RW44 slot mapping:

4. Reuse the I addresses that V5.x assigned (e.g. IB 20..23 / QB 20..22). This preserves all user logic that references IW 22, QB 20, etc.
5. Re-enter the symbol names from the original symbol table: 3RW44_Cmd, 3RW44_State, 3RW44_Fault, etc.

Step 6 — Replace the Vendor FB (If Used)

V5.x projects commonly call a Siemens-supplied FB (e.g. FB200 SS_3RW44) from OB1. The TIA Portal migration copies the FB source, but its instance DB references the old symbol table.

1. Open the migrated FB200 in the TIA Portal program editor.
2. Recompile. Any unresolved symbol is highlighted in red.
3. For each red symbol, repoint it to the new I/O addresses of the freshly inserted 3RW44 DP slave.
4. Alternatively, replace the FB with a custom 3RW44 FB written in SCL that uses the standard DP-V1 read/write record services (WRREC/RDREC) for the acyclic parameter channel.

SIRIUS Soft Starter ES V21 (Optional, Recommended for Commissioning)

While not required for the migration itself, SIRIUS Soft Starter ES V21 (TIA Portal) provides:

• Graphical parameterisation of 3RW44 and 3RW5 devices from inside the TIA Portal project tree.
• Live diagnostics, trace, and parameter upload/download over Profibus DP-V1.
• Centralised firmware updates and parameter-set management across multiple soft starters.

See the official sales release: SIRIUS Soft Starter ES V21 (TIA Portal) — Sales Release. Confirm your TIA Portal version is on the supported list before licensing — the V21 build is tied to a specific TIA Portal release family.

3RW44 Hardware Reference Data

Verification After Migration

1. Compile the TIA Portal project. The 3RW44 station must compile with no errors. The 3RW44 DP slave is treated as a standard slave — "s7 compatible" mode.
2. Download hardware configuration to the S7 master CPU. The 3RW44 must report ready on its LED and accept the DP handshake.
3. Online diagnostics: Online & Diagnostics → PROFIBUS DP → Station 7 (3RW44) → Operating state. Expect Data exchange (DF) state. If the slave stays in Parameterisation (PRM) or Diagnostic (DG), the GSD slot configuration does not match the physical 3RW44 firmware.
4. Go online with the S7 program. Monitor the 3RW44 input bytes. A correct migration shows the same bit pattern as the original V5.x online view.
5. Functional test: trigger a soft start from HMI / PLC. Verify the actual motor ramps up, the bypass contactor closes, and the ready bit returns to the PLC within the expected 5–30 s window depending on ramp time.
6. Optional: SIRIUS Soft Starter ES V21. Open the device from the project tree, perform a parameter upload, and compare it to the original V5.x parameter set (the 3RW44 stores 3 parameter sets in non-volatile memory).

Troubleshooting Matrix

3RW44 Migration Checklist

• [ ] Source STEP 7 V5.4 / V5.5 project compiles without warnings.
• [ ] 3RW44 HSP installed in V5.x (matching the original build).
• [ ] Migration log saved and reviewed for 3RW44 entries.
• [ ] 3RW44 GSD (SIEM81B7.GSE) installed in TIA Portal.
• [ ] Symbol names restored from V5.x symbol table.
• [ ] Vendor FB (FB200) recompiled or replaced with SCL implementation.
• [ ] HW download to CPU successful, DP slave in Data exchange.
• [ ] Soft start/stop functionally tested with the actual motor.
• [ ] Parameter set uploaded to backup via SIRIUS Soft Starter ES V21 (optional).

Notes for Sites With Mixed 3RW44 and 3RW55 Fleets

If the project also contains newer SIRIUS 3RW55 or 3RW5x soft starters, the migration behaves very differently. The 3RW55 generation has a native TIA Portal option package (HSP) and is fully integrated into the device catalog, including the acyclic parameter channel via GSDML. The 3RW44 will still appear as a generic DP slave, while the 3RW55 will appear as a fully-typed device with faceplates for SIMATIC WinCC Unified / Comfort Panels. Treat them as two separate integration paths inside the same TIA project, but keep the Profibus subnet and the diagnostic concept consistent so that the HMI operator sees both soft starters with the same look-and-feel.