Installing Rockwell Software on Windows 11 ARM

A couple of years ago I posted about my exploits getting as much rockwell software as possible installed on Windows Server 2019.

I've taken the plunge and bought myself a shiny new MacBook Pro with apple silicon, which means that I can no longer run VMWare and was back to square one. So now I've been going through the same process of trying to install the same software on Windows 11 ARM, using parallels. To assist future me if I ever have to go through this process again, and hopefully a few other people who stumble in here, here's how it went.

RSLogix 5 v10.00.00: installed and launches successfully
RSLogix 500 v12.00.00: installed and launches successfully
RSLogix 5000 v8 & v9: would not install. Not devastated about this.
RSLogix 5000 v10 through v20: installed and launches successfully, after some fun with .NET 1.1 and v17. Refer below.
Studio 5000 v21 through v33: installed and Logix Designer launches successfully, with some caveats around v26 and 27 (see below). Did not test View Designer.
FTView Studio v12: installed and launches successfully
RSNetworx v28.01: would not install. Not a show stopper, but would be good to get working.

RSLogix 5000 v10-???
Same as the last time I tried this, I had to side-load .NET 1.1 (refer this website) to get some of the earlier versions working.

RSLogix 5000 v17
I downloaded the latest minor revision of RSLogix 5000 v17, but the installer kept crashing. I tried to download the second-most recent minor revision, but the download was 0kB. In the end, I found a slightly older version contained on a multi-version installation disk, which got it successfully installed.

Studio 5000 v26
This one installed correctly but would crash immediately upon opening. The solution was:
- Locate the Logix Designer v26 .exe file (for me it was at C:\Program Files (x86)\Rockwell Software\Studio 5000\Logix Designer\ENU\v26\Bin)
- Right click > Properties > Compatibility Tab
- Check the box for "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)"
- Click the "Change emulation settings" button and select "Safe emulation" from the dropdown list
Having done this, I still can't launch v26 by double-clicking on a v26 file, or by creating a new v26 file from the Studio 5000 launcher. It gives an error message about requiring elevation. Even if I set the .exe file to run as an administrator, or set UAC to "never notify", it doesn't work. The only way I've found to create or open a v26 file is to run the v26 .exe file directly, and then use File>New or File>Open once it's launched. It's a pain, but I don't use v26 all that often, so I can live with it.

Studio 5000 v27
Same as last time, v27 has a compatibility check built in that stops it letting you try to install it. It's easily overcome. I used Notepad++ to open the Logix_V27.xml file that's in the Config folder on the installation media, and did a find and replace to change all instances of Unsupported="yes" to Unsupported="no" and then it installed successfully. Once installed, v27 has the same issues as described above for 26, and the same solutions apply.

I'm going to keep trying on RSNetworx, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know!

Nice! I haven't been exposed to W11 yet. I'm due to get a new machine next month, I likely would have been doing the same experiment.

Does W11 have User Account Control similar to W10? If so, did you have to mess with that? I've always ended up setting it to the lowest setting (do not notify), doing so gave the fewest RA issues. There are many tech notes suggesting that as a solution to all kinds of different issues.

It does, but I didn't have to touch it. I tried messing with it to solve the v26/27 issues, but it made no difference.

Thank you for publishing your installation progress/notes, I'm sure it will come in handy if the W11 upgrade has to be performed or a I buy a new machine and it is pre-loaded with it.

Just to reiterate what ASF mentioned...this is Windows 11 on ARM (WoA). This would not show up on a new machine or be an upgrade. This was a fresh install on a MacBook Pro running the M1 ARM chip using Parallels.

This is a whole different ballgame from just upgrading an existing Windows 10 machine or receiving a new Intel powered laptop that has Windows 11 on it.

Thank you for documenting this. Hopefully we will see broader support for WoA and the new Apple silicon.

OG

Thank you OG for pointing out that detail.

Thanks OG, yes, I suspect that the issues I'm encountering with Logix Designer v27 and v27 are due to the x86 emulation that ARM has to do, not the fact that it's Windows 11.

More good news! The multi-version install disk that scored me v17 of RSLogix 5000, also had v10 of RSNetworx on it. I tried installing that, and it worked (although it took about 4-6 hours, which is especially absurd when you consider how incredibly fast this VM runs everything else. The latest version of Logix Designer (v33) installed in about 2-3 minutes). Then I tried installing the latest version of RSNetworx again (V28.01), and this time, success!

How's your v33 experience so far?

I've been running v33 for quite a while and found it very stable. Took me a while to get used to the new layout of everything (which started in v31, I think?) but now I much prefer it.

Is there such a thing as Win11 LTSC? I was surprised when MSFT announced Win11, I thought Windows 10 is going to be here forever and they are just going to constantly update that.

OT but this change in the tag viewing screen in v31 is truly frustrating in a 4k display. The target area has been reduced by at least 2/3 making it difficult to drill down into a UDT instance. I was hoping enough complaints would trigger a reversal in future versions (33) but alas. Newer safety components require v33 so I'm stuck (its that annoying).

ASF said:

I've been running v33 for quite a while and found it very stable. Took me a while to get used to the new layout of everything (which started in v31, I think?) but now I much prefer it.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Do you need to open projects by the File menu?

No, I can open them with the launcher, or just from windows explorer - it's only v26 and 27 that have that strange issue. And again that's probably an ARM thing as I didn't have the issue on Windows Server 2019.

I have run into one partial roadblock: serial ports. I've got a USB-serial adaptor with the prolific chip in it which has never let me down before - but it doesn't have an ARM driver available. Windows ARM can simulate x86/x64 applications, but not x86/x64 drivers. So unless and until prolific releases a new driver, I'm stuck when it comes to serial ports. Not ideal.

According to this thread on the parallels forum, it's a common problem, but as AyrtonE says in post #29, there are two USB-serial chips that have ARM drivers available - a chinese CH340G and the Silicon Labs CP210x. The only problem is, I have no idea how to find a USB to serial adaptor that has one of those chips in it. Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks for the writeup. I'm certain that some of the install issues are from the ARM processor but I know that others I have ran into on Win10. I remember having to do the .Net v1 fix on my Win10 machine. Stuff like this is why I really enjoy this forum because it is such a deep well of knowledge.
That said, I regret not keeping a copy of the fix files since Microsoft has removed the files from their side. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of them now?