Troubleshoot Different Pictures on a PCS 7 Minimal-Configuration Standby OS

For an ES/OS single station plus a second OS single station, verify that the intended engineered OS project was compiled, downloaded to the correct folder and opened on the standby. WinCC redundancy settings do not by themselves establish that the same user pictures and administration data were deployed. Siemens documents a special two-PC minimal workflow with both-station shutdown requirements for complete downloads and post-download standby settings. Its worked version basis must be checked before applying it to PCS 7 V9.1.

Identify the Two-PC Architecture Correctly

The affected PCS 7 V9.1 arrangement has an ES/OS single station and a second OS single station, rather than two conventional OS servers. Its PC stations were placed in separate subprojects of a multiproject. Missing user pictures and user administration on the second computer must be investigated as a project-content and deployment problem as well as a redundancy configuration problem.

Siemens' Minimal Configurations, February 2022, chapter 6, describes an ES/OS master plus OS standby using WinCC redundancy. It is not interchangeable with the separate-ES, master-server and standby-server architecture. The worked chapter 6 instructions identify Windows 7 and PCS 7 V9.0 as their basis; their exact applicability to the V9.1 installation must be confirmed. Siemens example, chapters 1.4 and 6.3

Trace Which OS Project Contains the Engineering

Before another download, make a recoverable copy of the multiproject and both OS projects. Compare the engineered project's user pictures, startup configuration and intended users with the project actually opened on the second computer.

The documented minimal example compiles the standby OS project and opens that OS project on the ES for engineering and local Runtime. Two independently edited single-station projects do not become one engineering dataset merely by configuring WinCC redundancy. Verify the object selected for compilation and download, its plant-view assignment and its target folder.

For the documented target-path check, open the OS object's properties in SIMATIC Manager, select Target OS and Standby OS Computer, and inspect Path to Target OS Computer. Compare it with the shared folder containing the project that the standby actually opens. This is a concrete way to detect a wrong target; it does not establish that a wrong target caused this particular installation's discrepancy.

Documented Complete-Download and Standby Setup

For the chapter 6 minimal arrangement, the manufacturer documents the following sequence:

Stop Runtime and close the OS project on both PC stations before a complete download. Plan the loss of operator and archive functions.
With the intended OS engineering complete and the project closed, select the Standby OS object in SIMATIC Manager and choose PLC > Download. An initial deployment requires an entire-project download.
On the standby, open the downloaded project in the configured shared folder.
Open Redundancy, select the ES computer as the redundant partner using Search..., clear Default Master, and select the intended redundancy connection path.
Confirm settings, then close and reopen the OS project if WinCC Explorer settings were changed.
Activate Runtime on the ES first; wait for startup to complete before activating the standby.

These are the example's configuration-specific steps, not instructions to convert an arbitrary V9.1 installation into that topology without a design review. Siemens example, chapters 6.3.3–6.3.5

Changes-Only Downloads Have Additional Conditions

For this minimal topology, chapter 6.3.5 requires Runtime to be stopped on the ES during OS compilation. It also requires Runtime termination and project closure for downloading. Siemens warns that compiling while Runtime remains active can, depending on the changes, leave the later changes download incomplete and require a complete download.

Do not apply the general behavior of a dedicated redundant server pair to this combined ES/OS arrangement. The example also requires repeating the standby's redundancy settings after an entire-project download.

Verification

Open the intended user pictures on both stations and compare actual objects, dynamic values and approved navigation. Check the expected user administration and permissions rather than concluding that matching overview graphics prove complete deployment.

Record the opened project path on each station, the downloaded OS object and the configured partner names. Confirm the intended redundancy state and conduct only authorized failover tests. A working redundancy connection does not prove that the correct user pictures were engineered into the transferred project.

Limitations and Operational Precautions

The exact reason for the missing V9.1 content was not established. The opened application example carries V9.1 in its filename but explicitly states that chapter 6's worked instructions use PCS 7 V9.0 and Windows 7; that scope must be retained.

A complete download in this topology interrupts both stations' Runtime. Preserve project and archive data and provide an operational plan for the outage and rollback. Do not reset archives as a picture-repair technique; archive maintenance has separate consequences and was not established as the solution here.

Engineer FAQ

Should the two single stations be treated as a normal redundant server pair?
No. First identify the minimal architecture and use its applicable deployment procedure.

Will setting a redundant partner supply missing user pictures?
That is not established. Verify the engineered OS project, downloaded content and actual Runtime project path separately.

Technical References

Siemens — SIMATIC PCS 7 Minimal Configurations, Entry 24023824, document V8.0, February 2022 — chapters 1.4 and 6, architecture and limitations; chapter 6.3.2 target path; chapters 6.3.3–6.3.5 download, standby settings and activation. Chapter 6 identifies PCS 7 V9.0/Windows 7 as its worked baseline.

PCS 7 minimal configuration redundancy

Troubleshoot Different Pictures on a PCS 7 Minimal-Configuration Standby OS