23 replies to this topic

[jevansoh]

Hello,

 

I had an older Future Pinball setup, but it was working fine.

 

I wanted to upgrade everything to the newest file versions to make sure all tables would be compatible with my setup.

 

I downloaded the AIO package just released a few days ago and followed every single step perfectly.  I had no issues and I'm sure I didn't make a mistake.

 

But now, when I go to load a table, the table will load, but within 5 seconds FP crashes.

 

This happens every single time.

 

Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance!

[jevansoh]

Update:

 

I tried a totally fresh install into a brand new folder and the exact same thing happens.  It will show the table for about 5 seconds then crash.

 

Then I thought it might have something to do with BAM so instead of using FPLoader.exe, I backed out of the BAM folder and ran FuturePinball.exe and loaded a table and it did not crash at all.  It doesn't look right at all and just a little bit of the table shows in the upper left corner, but at least it's not crashing.

 

So could my problem be BAM related somehow?

Is it at least a possibility that there is something broken in TerryRed's newest AIO considering it was only released a couple of days ago?

Can someone else try a fresh installation of the newest AIO by either upgrading your existing FP files or by creating a new directory and starting from scratch just to see if you have crashes like mine?

Thanks,

 

--J

[sbarber4]

Did you update Pinup to the latest version, incuding the Beta 2.0 and Future Pinball Updates?  You have to select them from the drop down menu in the Pinup Updater.

 

use the PinUPdater app to update your FP-BAM. Be sure to choose "Future Pinball and BAM Latest" in the drop down menu to get the new FP-BAM updates!

 

use the PinUPdater app to update your PuP to the latest v2.0 Beta. Be sure to choose "Pinup Baller v2.0 Beta" in the drop down menu to get the new PUP v2 updates!

[TerryRed]

Did you ensure the downloaded zip was not blocked before extracting any files? If it was blocked this can cause problems with Defender or possibly other anti-virus, etc.

 

Make sure to add exceptions for the FP folder to Defender and other anti-virus, as they could start to block something after FP starts to run, and may cause an issue with FPLoader.exe. Newer FP tables REQUIRE the latest BAM and PROPER FP settings (that I show in my Install Instructions). Changing to other FP settings WILL cause crashes on some tables. Only use the FP settings as directed.

 

You need to run as directed, which means only using either FPLoader.exe or one of my "Start FP" bat files (preferred if not using a front-end).

 

If you are running a multi-screen setup, try testing by using the "Start FP-PinEvent PuP-Packs.bat" and test with the FP Backbox disabled. For some people with AMD GPUs, their drivers cause FP to crash if the second screen backbox is enabled.

 

 

To answer your question.... no there is nothing broken with the latest FP and BAM Essentials AIO, considering 1000's are using it.

Edited by TerryRed, 28 May 2026 - 01:08 AM.

[jevansoh]

Did you update Pinup to the latest version, incuding the Beta 2.0 and Future Pinball Updates?  You have to select them from the drop down menu in the Pinup Updater.

 

use the PinUPdater app to update your FP-BAM. Be sure to choose "Future Pinball and BAM Latest" in the drop down menu to get the new FP-BAM updates!

 

use the PinUPdater app to update your PuP to the latest v2.0 Beta. Be sure to choose "Pinup Baller v2.0 Beta" in the drop down menu to get the new PUP v2 updates!

 

Hello, thank you for replying and trying to help me.

 

I have already done the updater, before I did TerryRed's AIO install, so I'm already on the beta 2.0 of everything.  I guess I could try it again and see if it magically overwrites any of the files in the TerryRed AIO package and then works instead of crashing.  Anything is worth a try I guess.  I'll do that and report back.

 

Thanks,

 

--J

[sbarber4]

 

Did you update Pinup to the latest version, incuding the Beta 2.0 and Future Pinball Updates?  You have to select them from the drop down menu in the Pinup Updater.

 

use the PinUPdater app to update your FP-BAM. Be sure to choose "Future Pinball and BAM Latest" in the drop down menu to get the new FP-BAM updates!

 

use the PinUPdater app to update your PuP to the latest v2.0 Beta. Be sure to choose "Pinup Baller v2.0 Beta" in the drop down menu to get the new PUP v2 updates!

 

Hello, thank you for replying and trying to help me.

 

I have already done the updater, before I did TerryRed's AIO install, so I'm already on the beta 2.0 of everything.  I guess I could try it again and see if it magically overwrites any of the files in the TerryRed AIO package and then works instead of crashing.  Anything is worth a try I guess.  I'll do that and report back.

 

Thanks,

 

--J

 

You are welcome!  I trust Terry's updates to work more than Microsoft's.  It took me a couple tries too, so keep at it.  

[jevansoh]

Did you ensure the downloaded zip was not blocked before extracting any files? If it was blocked this can cause problems with Defender or possibly other anti-virus, etc.

 

Make sure to add exceptions for the FP folder to Defender and other anti-virus, as they could start to block something after FP starts to run, and may cause an issue with FPLoader.exe. Newer FP tables REQUIRE the latest BAM and PROPER FP settings (that I show in my Install Instructions). Changing to other FP settings WILL cause crashes on some tables. Only use the FP settings as directed.

 

You need to run as directed, which means only using either FPLoader.exe or one of my "Start FP" bat files (preferred if not using a front-end).

 

If you are running a multi-screen setup, try testing by using the "Start FP-PinEvent PuP-Packs.bat" and test with the FP Backbox disabled. For some people with AMD GPUs, their drivers cause FP to crash if the second screen backbox is enabled.

 

 

To answer your question.... no there is nothing broken with the latest FP and BAM Essentials AIO, considering 1000's are using it.

 

Hi Terry, nice to meet you!

 

Thanks for taking your valuable time to try and help me.

 

The zip file actually was blocked and I unblocked it before unzipping it.

 

I followed the big guide with the pictures to the "T" and this problem started immediately.  I use Pinup Popper as my front end, but I was using FPLoader.exe manually for testing so it's definitely not got anything to do with Popper as I haven't even gotten Future Pinball running without Popper so I haven't tried with Popper.

 

I hope I didn't offend you when I asked if there was any possible way there could be something wrong with this latest release considering you literally just released it a few days ago.  I'm absolutely shocked that 1000's of people are already using something that's literally only been out for a few days.  That must make you feel good.

 

The first time I installed your AIO pack I literally did everything step by step, very carefully, then when I was done with everything, I tried FPLoader to open a table and the problem started immediately.  It will load the game fine every time and allow it to stay up for about 5 seconds then it just disappears.

 

So then I decided to do a totally clean installation and check it after each step.  I didn't get past step 1 without it doing the same thing in a fresh new directory so there was no reason to continue wasting time doing the other steps on the second try because it already failed just the same way.

 

I have a GeForce 3060 TI graphics card and an Intel processor.  So it's not that.

 

Do you have any suggestions?  I'm quite literally out of ideas to try.  Everything was working fine until I installed the AIO package to upgrade my files.  I had no problems at all running Future Pinball by itself.

 

Thanks again, Terry.

 

--Jason

Edited by jevansoh, 28 May 2026 - 01:37 AM.

[TerryRed]

Update your GPU drivers, and test with "Start FP - PinEvent PuP-Packs.bat" to ensure the backbox is not enabled. If you are using DOF or PUP DMD with a pup-pack, try disabling PinEvent in TABLE OPTIONS in the table script (for PinEvent tables) and see what happens (to try to eliminate DOF or PUP causing an issue). Narrow down your problems following the FAQ and HELP guide.

 

Also, mention the tables you are testing. Its possible you may have a specific problem table, and not all tables are affected. Not all tables are made the same... some are very outdated... some have underlying problems... some have never been tested in different situations.

Edited by TerryRed, 28 May 2026 - 03:23 AM.

[jevansoh]

Update your GPU drivers, and test with "Start FP - PinEvent PuP-Packs.bat" to ensure the backbox is not enabled. If you are using DOF or PUP DMD with a pup-pack, try disabling PinEvent in TABLE OPTIONS in the table script (for PinEvent tables) and see what happens (to try to eliminate DOF or PUP causing an issue). Narrow down your problems following the FAQ and HELP guide.

 

Also, mention the tables you are testing. Its possible you may have a specific problem table, and not all tables are affected. Not all tables are made the same... some are very outdated... some have underlying problems... some have never been tested in different situations.

 

Just updated my GPU drivers a few days ago, actually.  I tested with that bat file and it still crashes right after loading the table.  I'm not using DOF or PUP DMD.

 

I'm only playing tables that I know well and that worked fine before I started messing with all this trying to get the latest files copied over from the AIO pack.

 

I REALLY appreciate your suggestions.  I don't know what else to try.  Do you have any more suggestions?

 

Why does my old install work but not a brand new one, for instance?

Thanks again, Terry.

 

--J

[TerryRed]

You still haven't specified the tables. Just because they ran before, doesn''t mean they didn't have some underlying issues. Many older tables had lots of problems that came to surface with newer updates.

 

Newer BAM updates are using newer Visual C updates and modern functions. Be sure you installed all the included Visual C+ Runtimes, and rebooted.

 

Beyond that, all I can think of is you have something on your system conflicting with some of what newer BAM updates use compared to older updates. Some people have problems with other apps running in the background or other services that cause problems such as the Nahimic services / drivers, MSI Afterburner with overlays, etc.

 

Be sure your sound drivers are also properly updated. Crashing after starting can be related to sound just as much as GPU or other things.

 

Does NEW TABLE work?

Edited by TerryRed, 28 May 2026 - 04:14 AM.

[jevansoh]

You still haven't specified the tables. Just because they ran before, doesn''t mean they didn't have some underlying issues. Many older tables had lots of problems that came to surface with newer updates.

 

Newer BAM updates are using newer Visual C updates and modern functions. Be sure you installed all the included Visual C+ Runtimes, and rebooted.

 

Beyond that, all I can think of is you have something on your system conflicting with some of what newer BAM updates use compared to older updates. Some people have problems with other apps running in the background or other services that cause problems such as the Nahimic services / drivers, MSI Afterburner with overlays, etc.

 

Be sure your sound drivers are also properly updated. Crashing after starting can be related to sound just as much as GPU or other things.

 

Does NEW TABLE work?

 

Ok, I have tried a few different versions of AC/DC, Blue & Pink, Monster Bash, Bad Santa, Back to the Future, and a few more I cannot remember.  Those all crashed as soon as they were opened.

 

I installed all the runtimes and then restarted.  I've restarted the PC several times after messing with this and it has made no difference.

 

So here's what I just did.  I copied my whole FuturePinball directory from my rather old setup (about 3 years) to a new directory on my new drive/setup and everything started working.  Every table works now, including New Table.

 

So then I thought, obviously it can work, so does it have something to do with BAM or something else.  So then I changed my old setup's BAM folder to BAM_Backup and copied the BAM folder from your AIO pack over to my old setup (but it's on my new drive).

 

That brought the crashing issue right back.

 

So I'm assuming it has something to do with BAM.  

 

Does any of this help you narrow it down any?

 

Thanks a bunch!

[TerryRed]

It sounds like your system is restricting / blocking BAM. It could be Defender, or other anti-virus, etc..... or you have something running that is conflicting. I don't think the issue comes from within the FP folder itself... assuming nothing is blocked in there.

 

Wish I could help more than that, but I have installed the AIO on many different PCs using Win 10 and Win 11, on old and new hardware, and never had crashing like that on every table.

 

Try newer PinEvent tables and see if you get the same result.

Edited by TerryRed, 28 May 2026 - 04:54 AM.

[jevansoh]

Hello, Defender and ALL other Anti-Virus is totally disabled.

 

I tried Aliens PinEvent table on my old working setup and the table loaded and is playable but there's this message at the top of the screen.  Can you explain this?

 

 

Thanks,

 

--J

[TerryRed]

No. Can't explain it.

 

All PinEvent tables have been working perfectly fine for 1000's of people. None of that has changed with the latest FP and BAM Essentials AIO 3.6 update.

 

When you have other things on your PC causing issues for FP-BAM, these kind of errors will start to happen (which are the result of BAM being restricted / blocked). Don't try to follow the errors, as there is nothing wrong with the table itself.

[fhjui]

Hmm, you’ve really gotten yourself into a tricky situation there.

Unfortunately, I have to disappoint you, as I don't think it's possible to get this software installation working again in its current state.
Simply copying or moving an installation directory from one location to another is a very bad idea.

An installation consists of more than just the visible files; it also involves settings and software component registrations within the Windows Registry. If you proceed in this manner, nothing will fit together correctly anymore.

 

The foremost—and most important—basic rule is: always perform a system backup before making any system changes.
As I always say: No backup, no merci.

Even a "reinstallation" into a different directory won't work in every case, simply because the old version was never properly uninstalled.
This *might* work if the installation routine correctly overwrites the existing entries in the Registry. However, when it comes to component registrations within the Registry, you usually end up with duplicate entries.

While you can often clean these up later using tools like Nirsoft's RegDllView. But there is no guarantee that you will successfully identify and remove *all* the incorrect entries.

But I'm getting sidetracked here; I don't intend to give a crash course on the inner workings of Windows.

In my opinion, there is noch chance in continuing to search for the root cause of the errors given by the current state of the installation. The problem almost certainly lies deep within the underlying Windows infrastructure itself.
Therefore, I would recommend to make a plan to perform a clean reinstall of windows and the software. I’ve encountered numerous cases where people spent hours troubleshooting, only to find that a fresh installation resolved every issue instantly.

 

My recommendation:
Use a reliable backup tool (e.g., EaseUS Backup Free) to create a backup of your current system state on an external USB hard drive.

While you're at it, use the software to create a bootable USB recovery drive as well, just in case a full system recovery becomes necessary later on.
Gather all the necessary drivers for your motherboard, and—for added safety—copy your Pinball files onto the external USB drive as well; this will make it much easier to restore specific items, such as configuration files or your PUP database, later on.

Reinstall Windows (Windows 11, I hope) and any potentially missing drivers.
If you are using only FP, install it following TerryRed's latest guide and his recent instructions here in the forum.

If you use other pinball software as well (such as VPX), I would recommend nailbuster's BallerInstaller.
Then, create a backup after every step—starting with the first one right after installing Windows and the drivers. Test each installation step thoroughly, and then create another backup.
Next, begin testing the pinball software using simple EM tables—something like Bronco or Mata Hari.
Alright, that’s enough writing for now; this should be helpful in getting your setup up and running.

[jevansoh]

No. Can't explain it.

 

All PinEvent tables have been working perfectly fine for 1000's of people. None of that has changed with the latest FP and BAM Essentials AIO 3.6 update.

 

When you have other things on your PC causing issues for FP-BAM, these kind of errors will start to happen (which are the result of BAM being restricted / blocked). Don't try to follow the errors, as there is nothing wrong with the table itself.

 

UPDATE!

 

I have a major update to share with you.  

 

I ended up finding one of your AIO packs from March of this year, installed it in a fresh "Future Pinball" directory, followed every step, and now when I load a game I get absolutely no crashing.

 

However, I also have a major update on DOFLinx.  I found out simply by happenstance that if I simply double click FPLoader.exe from the BAM folder to open Future Pinball, then select a table, there are "0" errors and DOFLinx keeps running.

 

But... If I load a table through Pinup Popper, I get that same error every single time.  If I click quit, it exits DOFLinx and continues loading the table and still does NOT Crash and you can then play the table with no problems.

 

So the error is being caused by something in Pinup Popper.  Now I have absolutely no idea where to go from here.

 

I wonder what the differences are between a March AIO release and the one from just a few days ago because simply using a slightly older AIO pack made everything work perfectly the first time.

 

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks Terry and everyone else for your support.

 

Also, just to be clear, not only did DOFLinx not crash along with any and every game I tried, but DOFLinx actually WORKS as long as I manually load a table.  But, again, if ran through Pinup Popper, DOFLinx crashes and gives an error message.

 

A very fun and very good game to test with in my opinion is Aliens Legacy, Game Over Man, PinEvent table.  It worked GREAT with DOFLinx!

 

Thanks,

 

--Jason

Edited by jevansoh, 30 May 2026 - 05:34 AM.

[jevansoh]

Hmm, you’ve really gotten yourself into a tricky situation there.

Unfortunately, I have to disappoint you, as I don't think it's possible to get this software installation working again in its current state.
Simply copying or moving an installation directory from one location to another is a very bad idea.

An installation consists of more than just the visible files; it also involves settings and software component registrations within the Windows Registry. If you proceed in this manner, nothing will fit together correctly anymore.

 

The foremost—and most important—basic rule is: always perform a system backup before making any system changes.
As I always say: No backup, no merci.

Even a "reinstallation" into a different directory won't work in every case, simply because the old version was never properly uninstalled.
This *might* work if the installation routine correctly overwrites the existing entries in the Registry. However, when it comes to component registrations within the Registry, you usually end up with duplicate entries.

While you can often clean these up later using tools like Nirsoft's RegDllView. But there is no guarantee that you will successfully identify and remove *all* the incorrect entries.

But I'm getting sidetracked here; I don't intend to give a crash course on the inner workings of Windows.

In my opinion, there is noch chance in continuing to search for the root cause of the errors given by the current state of the installation. The problem almost certainly lies deep within the underlying Windows infrastructure itself.
Therefore, I would recommend to make a plan to perform a clean reinstall of windows and the software. I’ve encountered numerous cases where people spent hours troubleshooting, only to find that a fresh installation resolved every issue instantly.

 

My recommendation:
Use a reliable backup tool (e.g., EaseUS Backup Free) to create a backup of your current system state on an external USB hard drive.

While you're at it, use the software to create a bootable USB recovery drive as well, just in case a full system recovery becomes necessary later on.
Gather all the necessary drivers for your motherboard, and—for added safety—copy your Pinball files onto the external USB drive as well; this will make it much easier to restore specific items, such as configuration files or your PUP database, later on.

Reinstall Windows (Windows 11, I hope) and any potentially missing drivers.
If you are using only FP, install it following TerryRed's latest guide and his recent instructions here in the forum.

If you use other pinball software as well (such as VPX), I would recommend nailbuster's BallerInstaller.
Then, create a backup after every step—starting with the first one right after installing Windows and the drivers. Test each installation step thoroughly, and then create another backup.
Next, begin testing the pinball software using simple EM tables—something like Bronco or Mata Hari.
Alright, that’s enough writing for now; this should be helpful in getting your setup up and running.

 

I wish to personally thank you for taking all the time it must have taken out of your valuable day to try and help me.

 

I have absolutely no doubt that what you suggested would have worked and probably would have been my next step since everyone seems to have run out of ideas.

 

But if you'll see the post directly above, I actually got everything, including DOFLinx, working when opening FPLoader.exe from the BAM directory manually and selecting any table.  By doing that, I now have zero errors and zero crashes on every table I've tried.

 

However, if I run Future Pinball through Pinup Popper, the first thing it does is give an error message forcing me to Quit DOFLinx, then once I click Quit, it continues to load the table normally and the table still doesn't crash and is perfectly playable, but no DOFLinx.

 

So now I need help figuring out where to start looking in Pinup Popper for the cause of this Unhandled Exception message I keep getting that keeps crashing DOFLinx and once that is figured out, I'm done!

 

So I think I can salvage all the rest of my hard work and long hours and not have to reinstall Windows, make backups constantly, etc.

 

I will DEFINITELY take your advice and as soon as I'm done building this drive, I will clone a copy so I'm always safe.

 

Thanks again for your very valuable post.

 

If you have any suggestions on where I can start in Pinup Popper, I'd love to hear them.

 

Thanks,

 

--Jason

[TerryRed]

 

No. Can't explain it.

 

All PinEvent tables have been working perfectly fine for 1000's of people. None of that has changed with the latest FP and BAM Essentials AIO 3.6 update.

 

When you have other things on your PC causing issues for FP-BAM, these kind of errors will start to happen (which are the result of BAM being restricted / blocked). Don't try to follow the errors, as there is nothing wrong with the table itself.

 

UPDATE!

 

I have a major update to share with you.  

 

I ended up finding one of your AIO packs from March of this year, installed it in a fresh "Future Pinball" directory, followed every step, and now when I load a game I get absolutely no crashing.

 

However, I also have a major update on DOFLinx.  I found out simply by happenstance that if I simply double click FPLoader.exe from the BAM folder to open Future Pinball, then select a table, there are "0" errors and DOFLinx keeps running.

 

But... If I load a table through Pinup Popper, I get that same error every single time.  If I click quit, it exits DOFLinx and continues loading the table and still does NOT Crash and you can then play the table with no problems.

 

So the error is being caused by something in Pinup Popper.  Now I have absolutely no idea where to go from here.

 

I wonder what the differences are between a March AIO release and the one from just a few days ago because simply using a slightly older AIO pack made everything work perfectly the first time.

 

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks Terry and everyone else for your support.

 

Also, just to be clear, not only did DOFLinx not crash along with any and every game I tried, but DOFLinx actually WORKS as long as I manually load a table.  But, again, if ran through Pinup Popper, DOFLinx crashes and gives an error message.

 

A very fun and very good game to test with in my opinion is Aliens Legacy, Game Over Man, PinEvent table.  It worked GREAT with DOFLinx!

 

Thanks,

 

--Jason

 

 

 

Well there is where your problems are most likely coming from.

 

You need to understand that DOFLinx is only used for FX3, FX, and some old FP tables that support it (most now replaced with PinEvent tables). It works different than native DOF which is used with VPX, FP PinEvent tables, and other FP tables updated to support DOF.

 

I make it very clear in every PinEvent table's Install Instructions... that you MUST have DOFLinx NOT enabled or active / open when running PinEvent tables. If DOFLinx is running and it activates when detecting FP (if enabled in DOFLinx.ini), it will conflict with all the DOF on the newer PinEvent (and other) table's that support that. This can cause a crash for some people.

 

Reboot. Close out Popper. Then CLOSE DOFLinx (make sure its not running at all). Then test PinEvent tables using "Start FP - PinEvent PuP-Packs.bat". They should all work fine with DOF, if your system was setup correctly for both 32 bit and 64 bit DOF. If they don't work with DOF, then you have a DOF related issue, and the problem is not specific to FP at all. This is why one should follow my FAQ and HELP Guide when having problems, to eliminate DOF or PUP related issues.

 

I would try editing your DOFLinx.ini, and change the PROCESSES to not include FP. Then when any FP table is run, DOFLinx won't be activated.

 

After all this, reboot. Then as far a Popper is concerned, if there are still problems, then check your launch script and see what it is doing. If you are able to keep DOFLinx running without it activating with FP tables, then you can change your launch script if desired to not do anything with DOFLinx (no closing, etc). For more information on that read my Popper and Baller Installer Tips and PinEvent V2 Guide.

Edited by TerryRed, 31 May 2026 - 03:16 AM.

[jevansoh]

 

 

No. Can't explain it.

 

All PinEvent tables have been working perfectly fine for 1000's of people. None of that has changed with the latest FP and BAM Essentials AIO 3.6 update.

 

When you have other things on your PC causing issues for FP-BAM, these kind of errors will start to happen (which are the result of BAM being restricted / blocked). Don't try to follow the errors, as there is nothing wrong with the table itself.

 

UPDATE!

 

I have a major update to share with you.  

 

I ended up finding one of your AIO packs from March of this year, installed it in a fresh "Future Pinball" directory, followed every step, and now when I load a game I get absolutely no crashing.

 

However, I also have a major update on DOFLinx.  I found out simply by happenstance that if I simply double click FPLoader.exe from the BAM folder to open Future Pinball, then select a table, there are "0" errors and DOFLinx keeps running.

 

But... If I load a table through Pinup Popper, I get that same error every single time.  If I click quit, it exits DOFLinx and continues loading the table and still does NOT Crash and you can then play the table with no problems.

 

So the error is being caused by something in Pinup Popper.  Now I have absolutely no idea where to go from here.

 

I wonder what the differences are between a March AIO release and the one from just a few days ago because simply using a slightly older AIO pack made everything work perfectly the first time.

 

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks Terry and everyone else for your support.

 

Also, just to be clear, not only did DOFLinx not crash along with any and every game I tried, but DOFLinx actually WORKS as long as I manually load a table.  But, again, if ran through Pinup Popper, DOFLinx crashes and gives an error message.

 

A very fun and very good game to test with in my opinion is Aliens Legacy, Game Over Man, PinEvent table.  It worked GREAT with DOFLinx!

 

Thanks,

 

--Jason

 

 

 

Well there is where your problems are most likely coming from.

 

You need to understand that DOFLinx is only used for FX3, FX, and some old FP tables that support it (most now replaced with PinEvent tables). It works different than native DOF which is used with VPX, FP PinEvent tables, and other FP tables updated to support DOF.

 

I make it very clear in every PinEvent table's Install Instructions... that you MUST have DOFLinx NOT enabled or active / open when running PinEvent tables. If DOFLinx is running and it activates when detecting FP (if enabled in DOFLinx.ini), it will conflict with all the DOF on the newer PinEvent (and other) table's that support that. This can cause a crash for some people.

 

Reboot. Close out Popper. Then CLOSE DOFLinx (make sure its not running at all). Then test PinEvent tables using "Start FP - PinEvent PuP-Packs.bat". They should all work fine with DOF, if your system was setup correctly for both 32 bit and 64 bit DOF. If they don't work with DOF, then you have a DOF related issue, and the problem is not specific to FP at all. This is why one should follow my FAQ and HELP Guide when having problems, to eliminate DOF or PUP related issues.

 

I would try editing your DOFLinx.ini, and change the PROCESSES to not include FP. Then when any FP table is run, DOFLinx won't be activated.

 

After all this, reboot. Then as far a Popper is concerned, if there are still problems, then check your launch script and see what it is doing. If you are able to keep DOFLinx running without it activating with FP tables, then you can change your launch script if desired to not do anything with DOFLinx (no closing, etc). For more information on that read my Popper and Baller Installer Tips and PinEvent V2 Guide.

 

 

Hi Terry, hope you're having a great day.

 

Thanks again for following this thread and for all the time you've spent helping me.

 

There are a few things you didn't cover in your response that I'd like your thoughts on, so if I may, I'm going to ask some specific questions and will value your answers very much.

 

1.  When I downloaded and kept trying, over and over, to get your latest AIO pack working, Future Pinball would start to load a table, show it for about 5 seconds after it was loaded, then crashed.  Every.  Single.  Time.  No matter whether DOFLinx was running or not and no matter whether I used one of your batch files manually or ran it through Pinup Popper.  There was absolutely nothing I could do.  When nobody could give me any more help because everyone had run out of ideas, I had to take matters into my own hands, so I thought to myself, Future Pinball works just fine as long as it's the 3 year old version of everything I was using before upgrading to your latest AIO pack, so let me try to find the "newest" AIO pack that actually works since this version isn't working for me and sure enough, once I got to March of this year, I installed THAT AIO pack, once again following your install guide directions and pictures to a "T" and the very first time I loaded FP it loaded just fine and I've had no other problems, especially when loading manually vs loading from Pinup Popper.  So common sense tells me there is "something" my computer doesn't like about your latest AIO pack since one from March works perfectly well and has from the first time I installed it.  That's at least how I'm thinking.  So what is different from the March AIO pack and today's latest AIO pack?  That's a rhetorical question at this point because I finally got it working and now instead of being 3 years behind on updating files, I'm only 2 months behind.  I can live with that.

 

Just today, I was browsing the WOVP forum and literally today, this morning at around 10 AM if I recall properly, a user made a post on that forum describing my EXACT situation.  I took a screenshot and am sharing it with you below.  Tomorrow I'm going to contact him, tell him to try the March build, and see if it fixes his problems like it fixed my problems.

 

 

 

2.  It's true I didn't know PinEvent tables used DOF instead of DOFLinx.  That was my mistake.  However, that doesn't change the fact that even with DOFLinx running, as long as I launch a PinEvent table manually without Popper, every PinEvent table I have works flawlessly without closing DOFLinx and I haven't gotten an error even one time.  You said most FP tables these days use DOF and not DOFLinx.  The problem is, I am using the tables I downloaded and curated 3-4 years ago as I saved them and I have exactly 14 PinEvent tables and over 500 FP tables that use DOFLinx, so not enabling DOFLinx in some form from within Popper doesn't make sense as I would gain 14 tables with DOF and lose over 500 tables that use DOFLinx!  And going back to my original point, I only get the error when I run a FP table, whether an old one made for DOFLinx or a new PinEvent table, through Pinup Popper.  So how can that be explained?  I put my PinEvent tables, all 14 of them, in their own playlist in Popper, but I only have one emulator set up for Future Pinball inside of Popper.  Is there a way to set it up to where when I run a PinEvent table, it closes DOFLinx but when I run any other FP table DOFLinx stays open, so I'll "Always" have some form of DOF "OR" DOFLinx working for all tables?  

 

 

3.  I have a DirectOutput directory for DOF only.  It has 32bit and 64bit directories and has always run perfectly well with Visual Pinball ever since I started building this drive a while back.  It's the latest version of DOF as of a month ago when I installed it.  I have a separate directory for DOFLinx as DDH69 now says that's how it's supposed to be installed.  My DOFLinx is also the latest version as of a month ago when I installed it and it, too, has a 32 bit and a 64 bit directory.   My question is, how is either the 32 bit version or the 64 bit version selected when you run a game, whether manually or through Popper, whether FP or FX or FX3 or FXM, etc.?  I use the same INI file either way.

 

4.  I did EXACTLY what  you suggested in your last reply.  I rebooted, closed DOFLinx, ran a few PinEvent tables, and DOF worked great with them.  Since DOFLinx was closed, this time I didn't get an error when selecting a PinEvent table through Popper, but that makes perfect sense because the "Unhandled Exception" error that happens ONLY when either a PinEvent table or an Older FP table is run through Popper and never happens when loaded manually is an error that forces you to close DOFLinx.  Just to be clear as I'm afraid there might have been some misunderstanding, DOFLinx is what is crashing when I try to run any FP table, new or old (mostly old) through Popper, not the actual FP table.  As soon as I click the "Quit" button on that error, it closes DOFLinx and continues loading the FP table and the FP table never crashes and is completely playable.  But again, if I don't use Popper, that error doesn't happen and DOFLinx is happy to stay open and working when running either a new PinEvent table or an older FP table.  So, to me, common sense suggests there must be some setting in Popper or some corrupt file(s) that have to do with Popper that is causing the error because it's only happening when using Popper.  Doesn't that make sense to you, too?  Wouldn't you agree?

 

 

5.  I did what you said and removed FP from the processes line in DOFLinx.ini and sure enough, I was able to keep DOFLinx open without any error messages even when running a table through Popper.  The only problem goes back to the fact that I have 14 PinEvent tables so far and over 500 tables that have always worked just great with DOFLinx so this cannot be the permanent solution.  Also, again, just to be clear, the error is a DOFLinx related error as that's what crashes when run from Popper and it doesn't only give the error on the PinEvent tables, it gives it on all 500+ old tables, too, so right now, the only way DOFLinx will work is if I open the table manually with FPLoader.exe instead of through Popper.

 

 

I'm so sorry for the long post and all the questions, but I'm very curious what you think about my point of view on these things as I believe my point of view is reasonable.  Maybe not "correct" but reasonable.

 

Out of all the questions I asked above, I'm wondering most about why no matter what was suggested to me and no matter what I tried, your latest AIO pack simply did not work for me, and as of today at least that I've seen, at least one other person is having the EXACT same issues I was having before regressing back to a March build which has been working perfectly since the first time I installed it, so what is different from your March build to the latest one you released that myself and the other gentleman from the other forum simply cannot get to work.  Again, I bet when I contact him shortly and tell him to download the March build, it will work perfectly for him, too.  I hope you know I mean absolutely no disrespect here.  You do GREAT AND WONDERFUL THINGS for this ENTIRE community and I feel it's an honor to speak with you and I appreciate your assistance with all this very much.  I don't take anything you've said lightly and have done everything you requested and have learned a lot in the process, but nothing can change the fact that an AIO build from just a few months ago works great for me, and I bet it will for this other guy, and the latest one does not.  What happened?  What changed from March to May?  Just curious in case knowing that can help me to figure out the last remaining issue which is the DOFLinx crash ONLY when run through Popper.  That's my last problem to solve and I hope we can continue working together to figure out a way for this to work and be resolved.

 

Thanks for not giving up on me and thanks for all of your replies so far.  I value your time greatly and really appreciate you and all you do.

 

Thanks again,

 

--Jason

[TerryRed]

As far as DOFLinx goes... no... there are NOT 500 FP tables with DOFLinx support. There are only a very small amount of older FP tables that do that are labelled as having DOFLinx support. I should know, as I'm the one who added support for DOFLinx to most of those tables. So you are not running all those other tables with full DOF / DOFLinx support. You are at best getting "key to output" on DOFLinx... which only triggers your flipper solenoids each time your press your flipper button. It's not even close to the same thing as proper DOF (or complete DOFLinx) support that was added to a table.

 

As far as Popper problems with DOFLinx, you need to see what your FP launch script and close script are exactly doing when launching FP tables. If it's sending a MSG to DOFLinx to change something before launching a table or after exiting and that causes your error, that is not a FP problem, its a DOFLinx related problem. In years past others had problems with DOFLinx causing .NET errors (using MSG commands) before launching FP tables or when exiting them back to Popper. That's not a Popper problem (Popper just does what you tell it).... again that is a DOFLinx problem you would need to sort out. I don't know if that .NET error was ever resolved as that was long ago, and I haven't used my cabinet much for years since I had my stroke.

 

Having DOFLinx activated WILL cause problems with the DOF on all PinEvent tables (and other FP tables with DOF) if its activated when those tables are run (with or without a front-end). You will have conflicts that will cause unknown problems, and could even cause damage to your DOF hardware if solenoids are stuck on, etc. You need to have it closed or disabled/not activated when running those tables, no matter what you think. 

 

The only thing that has changed since March on the AIO are newer BAM updates, which there have been multiple since then. The vast majority of people have been updating ever since and have had no crashing issues like this on all tables. The only other option I can offer is doing a "Clean Install" of your GPU drivers with the latest GPU driver updates (manual install of your drivers, not through a Windows update!)

Edited by TerryRed, 31 May 2026 - 06:52 AM.