Store to the Memory Card

We recommend that you back up your controller project to a memory card regularly. If a major nonrecoverable fault occurs that removes the program from the controller memory, the backup copy on the memory card can be automatically restored to the controller to resume normal controller operation.
To store a project to the memory card, complete these steps.
  1. Make sure that the controller is online in Program mode or Remote Program mode.
  2. In the Controller Organizer, double-click the controller to open the Controller Properties dialog box.
  3. Click the Nonvolatile Memory tab.
  4. On the right side of the Nonvolatile Memory tab, click Load/Store.
    If Load/Store is dimmed, verify the following:
    • The controller is in Program mode or Remote Program mode.
    • You specified the correct communication path.
    • The memory card is installed.
    • The memory card is unlocked. The locked status appears in the bottom-left corner of the Nonvolatile memory/Load Store dialog box.
    If the memory card is not installed, a message in the lower-left corner of the Nonvolatile Memory tab indicates the missing card.
    This image shows the message that indicates a memory card is not present.
  5. In the Load Image field, select a setting according to your application requirements described in the following table.
    This image shows the options for the memory load image setting in Logix Designer.
    Choose a Load Image Setting
    Application Requirement
    Load Image Setting
    Description
    Safety Considerations
    Load image when you turn on or cycle power
    On Power Up
    • During a power cycle, you lose any online changes, tag values, and network schedule that you have not stored in the nonvolatile memory.
    • The controller loads the stored project and firmware at every powerup regardless of the firmware or application project on the controller.
    • You can always use the Logix Designer application to load the project.
    For a safety project, On Power Up loads whether the controller is safety-locked or there is a safety signature.
    Load image when there is no project in the controller and you turn on or cycle chassis power
    On Uninitialized Memory
    • If the project has been cleared from memory, this option loads the project back into the controller on powerup.
    • The controller updates the firmware on the controller, if necessary. The application project that is stored in nonvolatile memory is also loaded and the controller enters the selected mode, either Program or Run.
    • You can always use the Logix Designer application to load the project.
    The controller also updates the firmware on the safety partner, if necessary.
    Load image only from the Controller Properties dialog in the Logix Designer application
    User Initiated
    If the controller type and the major and minor revisions of the project in nonvolatile memory match the controller type and major and minor revisions of the controller, you can initiate a load.
    • You can initiate a load, regardless of the Safety Task status.
    • You can load a project to a safety-locked controller only when the safety signature of the project that is stored in nonvolatile memory matches the project on the controller.
    • If the signatures do not match or the controller is safety-locked without a safety signature, you are prompted to first unlock the controller. When you unlock the controller and initiate a load from nonvolatile memory, the safety-lock status, passwords, and safety signature are set to the values contained in nonvolatile memory once the load is complete.
    • If the firmware on the primary controller matches the revision in nonvolatile memory
      , the safety partner firmware is updated, if necessary,
       the application that is stored in nonvolatile memory is loaded so that the Safety Task status becomes Safety Task Operable and the controller enters the Program mode.
    • For a ControlLogix 5590 controller in a SIL 3 safety application with a safety partner installed, the controller loads the stored project and firmware on power up.
    IMPORTANT:
    To help prevent the firmware that is stored on the memory card from overwriting newly updated firmware:
    • The update process first checks the load option on the memory card and changes the load option to User Initiated if necessary.
    • The firmware update proceeds.
    • The controller resets.
    • The load option remains set to User Initiated.
    If the memory card is locked, the load option does not change, and the firmware that is stored on the memory card can overwrite the newly updated firmware.
  6. In the Load Mode field, choose the mode that you want the controller to go to after loading:
    • Program (Remote Only)
    • Run (Remote Only)
    IMPORTANT:
    Safety Consideration
    We recommend that you use Program (Remote Only), when you set the Load Mode for a safety application project
  7. According to your application requirements, set the Automatic Firmware Update properties for I/O devices in the configuration tree of the controller. The Automatic Firmware Update property is also referred to as the Firmware Supervisor feature.
    IMPORTANT:
    Safety Consideration
    Some Safety I/O devices do not support the Firmware Supervisor feature.
    This table describes the Automatic Firmware Update options for I/O devices.
    Setting
    Description
    Disable
    • Disables any automatic firmware updates.
    • This item only appears in the menu when you initially save the image.
    Enable and Store Files to Image
    • Enables automatic firmware updates for I/O devices in the configuration tree of the controller.
    • Saves I/O device firmware and controller firmware to the image.
    • Only I/O devices that are configured for Exact Match Keying participate in the Automatic Firmware Update process. The devices that are used with this option must support the revision of firmware being updated to.
    Disable and Delete Files from Image
    • Disables automatic firmware updates for I/O devices in the configuration tree of the controller.
    • Removes I/O device firmware from the image but does not remove controller firmware from the image.
    • This item only appears in the menu on subsequent saves of the image.
  8. Click Store.
  9. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box that appears.
    This image shows a warning before you store data on a memory card.
    If you enabled Automatic Firmware Update, then a dialog box appears to inform you which modules are not included in the Automatic Firmware Update operation.
    This image shows the Automatic Firmware Update dialog box in Logix Designer.
    IMPORTANT:
    Do not remove the memory card while the controller is reading from or writing to the card. If you remove the card during either activity, the data on the card or controller can become corrupt. Also, the controller firmware at the time when the card is removed can become corrupt. Leave the card in the controller until the OK status indicator turns steady green.
  10. On the Automatic Firmware Update dialog box, click Yes.
    The project is saved to the memory card as indicated by the controller status indicators. While the store is in progress, the following occurs:
    • OK indicator is flashing green.
    • Memory card is flashing green.
    • Saving…Do Not Remove SD Card is shown on the status display.
    • A dialog box in the Logix Designer application indicates that the store is in progress.
    • Controller resets.
    • SAVE is shown on the status display.
    When the store is complete, the controller resets.
    IMPORTANT:
    Allow the store to complete without interruption. If you interrupt the store, data corruption or loss can occur.
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