Hard time Opening Factory View Studio to see Tags

I can show you all the the hard time and errors I'm having to open a .mer file to view Tags and logic for this HMI. It's a Panelview Plus_6 1500. Please Help ASAP. Thank You in Advance. This site will not let me upload my Jpeg screenshot of it to here. It's saying, after the file project seems to be loading...It says that "SQL Server Express Instance FTVIEWx64TagDB' which is required for FactoryTalk v6.1 or later cannot be found."

What version of FTVME do you have?

Version 7.0

You say you're trying to open an .mer file to view tags and logic. Don't you have to restore it as a project first? Do you have other projects that you can open successfully?

When I go to Restore I can not Locate a .apa file. I only have the .mer file

In FactoryTalk's Application Manager look for "Restore Runtime Application" (at the bottom). This should create an entry from the .mer file.

You can use this program to find out the MER version information: http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?p=612056

What I'm curious about is what version of Windows the original MER was created on and what version of Windows you are running. Most important in both instances is 32/64 bit.

bernie_carlton
I've already did that and that takes me back to what my original problem is

dmroeder said:

What I'm curious about is what version of Windows the original MER was created on and what version of Windows you are running. Most important in both instances is 32/64 bit.

Click to expand...

I can only answer that I'm running Windows 7 32bit right now.

Did something Change here? I can no longer upload jpegs and such

showshocka said:

I can only answer that I'm running Windows 7 32bit right now.

Click to expand...

Maybe the jpeg is too big?

I wonder if the original MER was created on 64bit? If you can send it to me, I can check for you. PM me if you want. If it was created on a 64 bit machine then you will not be able to edit it on a 32 bit machine.

Geospark said:

You need to open Application Manager.
You can open it from Windows "Start/Programs/Rockwell Software/FactoryTalk View/Tools/Application Manager" or from within FactoryTalk View Studio under "Tools" at the top.

Then select "Restore runtime aplication" at the bottom and browse to your *.MER file. Give it a unique name and continue. It should decompile into the "HMI projects" folder and should then be available to select from the "New/Open Machine Edition Application" screen when you start FactoryTalk View Studio.

Regards,
George

Click to expand...

After that is where my "SQL" orginal Problem comes in...

dmroeder said:

If you can send it to me, I can check for you. PM me if you want. If it was created on a 64 bit machine then you will not be able to edit it on a 32 bit machine.

Click to expand...

I would like to, but I don't want to risk it, the Co. policies, if there some hidden ones against doing that. Maybe you can Direct me how to check, if you're up to it.

showshocka said:

I would like to, but I don't want to risk it, the Co. policies, if there some hidden ones against doing that. Maybe you can Direct me how to check, if you're up to it.

Click to expand...

I understand. The link I posted above has a program I made to tell you what MER revision and attempts to tell you whether it was created on a 32 bit or 64 bit machine. I was just going to run it through that for you.

I have a feeling the original author created it on a 64 bit machine being that your error mentions "SQL Server Express Instance FTVIEWx64TagD". Although I think it will restore, you will not be able to open it on your 32 bit machine. I'd would be nice to confirm for sure though.

IF I am correct, your only option for editing is to install FactoryTalk View Studio on a 64 bit machine. There is no way to convert it back.

SQL Server 2008 Express instance FTVIEWx64TagDB...cannot be found...

showshocka,

The SQL Server instance FTVIEWx64TagDB is run as a Windows Service. This should be running for FactoryTalk View Studio to open and operate correctly.

Search Services in the Windows 7 Search box under the Start button. You should find Services which opens services.msc.
Find SQL Server (FTVIEWX64TAGDB). The service should be Started/Automatic. This should be a users first port of call when you get any FTVIEWx64TagDB error messages. If you find it is Stopped, try starting it. If it won't start, then it's possible that you have corrupted SQL database files. If that is the case, you'll require further steps. Let us know what you find.

dmroeder said:

...I have a feeling the original author created it on a 64 bit machine being that your error mentions "SQL Server Express Instance FTVIEWx64TagD". Although I think it will restore, you will not be able to open it on your 32 bit machine. I'd would be nice to confirm for sure though.

Click to expand...

Dustin,

Let me add a bit of clarity to the matter...

The Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express instance "FTVIEWx64TagDB" is a bit misleading in that it mentions "x64". While you would imagine so, this does not indicate that it is solely used on 64-bit systems. Any installation of FactoryTalk View Studio v6.1, or later, whether on a 32-bit or 64-bit Operating System, will create the SQL instance of FTVIEWx64TagDB. It should be present on any system running FactoryTalk View Studio v6.1 or later, regardless of the OS being x86 or x64.

Some more info...

From here on...

FactoryTalk View Studio = FTVS
Microsoft SQL = MSSQL
Operating System = OS

FTVS uses MSSQL Server for its Tag Database and HMI Alarms. Using an SQL database makes the Tag Database operations more efficient. It was introduced with FTVS v6.1. The SQL instance FTVIEWx64TagDB is used just for the Tag Database and basic HMI Alarms. Other HMI features can be database logged using MSSQL, such as Datalogs, FactoryTalk Alarm and Events, and FactoryTalk Diagnostics. Separate SQL instances need to be created for these.

If you are installing FTVS v6.1, or v7 for that matter, then MSSQL Server 2008 R2 Express x86 (32-bit) is installed and the instance FTVIEWx64TagDB is automatically created. It is just a name for the instance. Why they added x64 into that name, I'm not entirely sure?

Note 1: MSSQL Server 2008 R2 Express, Standard, or Enterprise versions may already be installed on a system before installing FTVS. You have the option to use the existing pre-installed MSSQL Server, if suitable, or install the 32-bit version of MSSQL Server 2008 R2 Express packaged with FTVS.

Note 2: MSSQL Server is available in 32-bit or 64-bit versions, but only the 32-bit version is included with FTVS installation packages. If the system OS is 64-bit, then it's possible that a pre-installed MSSQL Server could also be 64-bit. FTVS v6.1 is only compatible with 32-bit versions of MSSQL Server, but FTVS v7 is compatible with 32-bit or 64-bit MSSQL Server versions.

I hope that clears things up a bit?

Regards,
George