20 replies to this topic

[Flipsync]

[FREE TOOL] Pincab Toolbox — scan your VPX/Popper install and find what's broken (missing ROMs, 64-bit mismatches, backglasses…)

Hi everyone,

Like many of you, I've spent more evenings fixing my cab than playing it. A table crashing with a cryptic VPinMAME error, a DMD that died after moving to 64-bit, a backglass that stopped showing… and every time, an hour of digging through folders to find the cause.

So I built the tool I wished existed: Pincab Toolbox, a free scanner that diagnoses your install in seconds (a bit longer on a large collection).

What it checks:

Missing ROMs — reads every table script (cGameName), resolves VPMAlias.txt, and names the exact missing .zip in VPinMAME\roms. Original/EM tables are recognized, so it doesn't flag them.

Extracted ROMs — a ROM unzipped into a folder won't be loaded by VPinMAME; it flags that.

32/64-bit mismatches — THE trap of the VPX 10.8 transition: it inventories the bitness of every exe/DLL (VPinMAME, dmddevice, B2S, FlexDMD) and flags broken hybrid installs.

Windows-blocked DLLs — a file extracted from a downloaded ZIP can be quarantined ("Mark of the Web") and fail to load; it detects that.

Missing dependencies — B2S Backglass Server or FlexDMD required by your tables but absent.

Backglass & Popper — missing .directb2s files, tables not registered in the PinUP Popper database, PUP-Pack presence.

Compatibility — nFozzy/Roth physics signatures and minimum VPX versions declared in scripts.

Outdated tables (beta) — checks against the open-source Virtual Pinball Spreadsheet database and links to the official page only.

Script Diff — compare two versions of a table side by side before overwriting yours.

Ground rules I committed to (because this community rightly cares):

100% local — nothing is uploaded, zero telemetry, no account.

Read-only — the scanner NEVER modifies a file, a registry key or a database.

Never downloads content — no tables, no ROMs, no media, ever. This is a diagnostic tool, not a downloader. The community sites remain THE source.

Download: https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app/ (Unsigned exe for now → the usual SmartScreen warning: "More info" → "Run anyway". Code signing lands in the next release.)

There's a built-in demo mode if you want to see it in action before pointing it at your real setup.

It's a v0.1 and I'm looking for blunt feedback — false positives, exotic tables, confusing messages. I fix fast. If it proves useful, a version that repairs some of what the scanner finds is in the works — always with a backup first, a preview of what will change, and undo. The scanner itself stays free and read-only, forever.

Thanks, and happy flipping!

Flipsync

[Flying Dutchman]

I know .. like anybody else here what you described as ´like many of you, I've spent more evenings fixing my cab than playing it. A table crashing with a cryptic VPinMAME error, a DMD that died after moving to 64-bit, a backglass that stopped showing… and every time, an hour of digging through folders to find the cause.´   

 

So thanks for taking the effort of building a toolbox to diagnose the install!   

 

Let´s see what it comes up with ..   

 

Cheers,

FD.

[Flying Dutchman]

Just finished a first test ..

 

My ´Pincab root folder´: on E (external SSD including all my tables (only)).

VPX itself is on local drive D

PinballY! is also on E

 

Did it scan all? It surely got the 2090 VPX tables ..

What about the b2s´s and media / roms etc.

 

I did message you the full report. 

 

Thanks for looking into it!   

 

Cheers,

FD.

 

Attached Files

•  Pincab Toolbox 2.png   1.21MB   1 downloads

[Flipsync]

Thanks for the extra detail — that pins it down exactly. Tables on E, VPX on D: that confirms the ROM check isn't looking in the right place when VPinMAME lives on a different drive than your tables. That's a real gap on our end, not something wrong with your setup — I'll get it fixed.

To answer your question: yes, it scanned everything under your E:\ tables root — all 2090 tables, plus the b2s/media files (that's why you'll see a few "missing backglass" notes in there, those did get checked). The only thing skipped was the ROM module, for the drive reason above.

One more thing, and I owe you this one unprompted: you'll notice the app shows "Install in bad shape" and a big F score. That's flat out wrong for what your report actually shows — zero critical issues on a 2090-table collection is genuinely impressive upkeep. The scoring is counting routine info (like "a newer version exists") as if they were real problems, and that's misleading and on me to fix. Please don't read anything into that score — your cab is in great shape, the tool's math isn't.

Really appreciate you taking the time to dig in and report all this — exactly what makes this useful for everyone. And that line about spending more evenings fixing your cab than playing it — I felt that in my bones. Thanks again!

Cheers!

[Flipsync]

Quick update thanks to your feedback — I fixed the things you reported, fast:

No more scary "0/100 · F" on a large, healthy collection: the score no longer treats plain info (available updates) as problems, and warning volume alone can't tank the grade anymore.

No more false "missing ROM" on original/homebrew tables with a B2S backglass (Guardians of the Galaxy, Harry Potter homebrew…) — they're no longer wrongly flagged critical.

Roms folder on a different drive than your tables: ROM checks are no longer skipped (it now reads VPinMAME's configured roms path).

Bonus: low-disk-space warning and a heads-up for legacy .vpt tables not indexed by PinUP.

Still 100% local, read-only, no telemetry, free — and every fix is covered by regression tests.

v0.1.1: https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app/ (Unzip and run PincabToolbox.exe from the folder — keep the files together.)

Keep the blunt feedback coming — I fix fast. Happy flipping!

[Flying Dutchman]

Thanks for your quick fix!

 

All runs like a charm, roms included. 

 

Still 24 criticals ..

 

Is there any functionality missing while using pinballY! as a frontend instead of Pinup Popper?

 

Thanks again!

 

Cheers,

FD.

 

ps impressive functionality on Pincab Toolbox Repair (Pro)!

 

 

[Itchigo]

Is this compatible with older O/S's? The attached link says 10/11. My cab still runs 7 and I'm sure a lot of people still do the same.

[Flipsync]

Ha, that makes total sense — and good news, nothing to worry about there.

Those "a newer version is on the VPS" lines are info only — they don't affect your health score and don't count as problems (your F is purely the 24 missing-rom criticals, not the info). They come from the scanner comparing the version in the table's filename against the VPS. Since you rename a new release back to the old filename to keep PinballY happy, the scanner reads the old version number and flags an update you've actually already done. Purely cosmetic — safe to ignore. And now that you leave version numbers out, it won't be able to guess "outdated" on those anymore. (Noted on my side too — I'll look at quieting that noise for people who rename.)

On the 24 criticals: those are the real ones — 24 tables whose script calls for a rom that isn't in your D:\...\roms folder (e.g. hpgof.zip for the two Harry Potter tables). Those won't boot without it. For original/homebrew tables the rom is usually bundled in the table's own download (inside the zip / a readme) rather than on the VPS — grab those and drop the .zip into your roms folder. If any of the 24 is one you're 100% sure needs no rom at all, tell me which and I'll dig in — that'd be a genuine edge case I'd want to fix.

And thank you — really glad the Repair side landed well more coming there.

 

Thanks for your quick fix!

 

All runs like a charm, roms included. 

 

Still 24 criticals ..

 

Is there any functionality missing while using pinballY! as a frontend instead of Pinup Popper?

 

Thanks again!

 

Cheers,

FD.

 

ps impressive functionality on Pincab Toolbox Repair (Pro)!

 

 

Is this compatible with older O/S's? The attached link says 10/11. My cab still runs 7 and I'm sure a lot of people still do the same.

Straight answer: not on Windows 7, sorry — the 10/11 requirement is accurate. FlipSync is built on Microsoft's .NET 8, and Microsoft dropped Windows 7 support a couple of versions back, so the app needs Windows 10 or 11 to run.

You're right that plenty of cabs still run 7, and that's genuinely good to know. Supporting it would mean falling back to an older .NET runtime that Microsoft has already retired — so it's not a quick switch, and I'd be wary of shipping on an unsupported/insecure runtime. But I'm noting the demand: if a lot of Win7 cab owners want it, I'll look into whether a separate legacy build is realistic.

Appreciate you flagging it

[jarr3]

IMHO sometimes enough is enough. Those who use outdated OS’s and don’t understand what it means having to support win 7 still, need to step back and take the versions which was produced while win 7 was state of the art…

It’s not only that you need to write the software that it should work on a non supported version of Windows, but it also means testing three times more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Is this compatible with older O/S's? The attached link says 10/11. My cab still runs 7 and I'm sure a lot of people still do the same.

Straight answer: not on Windows 7, sorry — the 10/11 requirement is accurate. FlipSync is built on Microsoft's .NET 8, and Microsoft dropped Windows 7 support a couple of versions back, so the app needs Windows 10 or 11 to run.

You're right that plenty of cabs still run 7, and that's genuinely good to know. Supporting it would mean falling back to an older .NET runtime that Microsoft has already retired — so it's not a quick switch, and I'd be wary of shipping on an unsupported/insecure runtime. But I'm noting the demand: if a lot of Win7 cab owners want it, I'll look into whether a separate legacy build is realistic.

Appreciate you flagging it

 

 

Edited by jarr3, 02 August 2026 - 11:23 AM.

[Itchigo]

IMHO sometimes enough is enough. Those who use outdated OS’s and don’t understand what it means having to support win 7 still, need to step back and take the versions which was produced while win 7 was state of the art…

It’s not only that you need to write the software that it should work on a non supported version of Windows, but it also means testing three times more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Is this compatible with older O/S's? The attached link says 10/11. My cab still runs 7 and I'm sure a lot of people still do the same.

Straight answer: not on Windows 7, sorry — the 10/11 requirement is accurate. FlipSync is built on Microsoft's .NET 8, and Microsoft dropped Windows 7 support a couple of versions back, so the app needs Windows 10 or 11 to run.

You're right that plenty of cabs still run 7, and that's genuinely good to know. Supporting it would mean falling back to an older .NET runtime that Microsoft has already retired — so it's not a quick switch, and I'd be wary of shipping on an unsupported/insecure runtime. But I'm noting the demand: if a lot of Win7 cab owners want it, I'll look into whether a separate legacy build is realistic.

Appreciate you flagging it

 

 

I was only asking a question, I wasn't shaming him for not including 7 support. My 31 year old car still does it's job, I wouldn't expect (nor want) Ford to support it. It works, I have no reason to change.

 

When I started that ticket a long time ago on Github it wasn't just because I was having problems with the editor. It was because I was having problems, AND people on newer OS's were reporting the same thing. That told me it wasn't OS related. Flipsync gave a great answer, essentially there are elements (in this case Direct X) that only work on newer systems, ok.

[Flipsync]

Thanks for the extra context, Itchigo — appreciated, and no worries, I didn't read your original question as shaming anyone. "Does it run on my setup" is a completely fair thing to ask before trying any new tool, whatever OS is on the cab.

For what it's worth, I don't think either side here is wrong. There's a real cost to supporting an OS Microsoft stopped patching years ago — more testing, more edge cases, more risk — which is exactly why FlipSync targets 10/11 for now. But running Win7 on a cab that already does the job is also a perfectly legitimate call. Not everyone needs (or wants) the latest — same logic as keeping a car running well past when the manufacturer stopped supporting it.

On the DirectX point specifically: that's a useful data point, and a more interesting bug than a plain "old OS" issue, since it shows up across OS versions. If you've still got the GitHub thread or any logs from it, feel free to drop a link here — happy to take a look.

Thanks for keeping this constructive, both of you — I'll keep answering compat questions as they come up.

Quick follow-up for you, Itchigo — I'm actually looking into adding a check for that DirectX issue to the scanner (Pincab Toolbox), so it gets flagged directly instead of people only finding out when the editor misbehaves. Nothing shipped yet, but it's on my list now thanks to your report. I'll post an update here once there's something concrete.

[Itchigo]

The truth is my setup isn't typical. I'm running 7 because I want to, but my hardware isn't supposed to support it. I've been around the community for years, and I have a setup about the same size as Flying Dutchman, but usually I know what the issue is when something doesn't work. So this tool may not be for me, but I know others that haven't been around can definitely use it. Like cars, there's some people that fix things themselves, and others that want it fixed for them.

 

And I wouldn't own a new Ford now if you paid me lol.

[Flying Dutchman]

I agree .. but sometimes having so much (well quality) pinball tables in my setup, I am not able to oversee it all.   

A tool like this helps me in pinpointing to tables I don´t touch that frequently ..    

 

Cheers,

FD.

[Flipsync]

Appreciate you both weighing in — and honestly, you're right, itchigo. If you already know your rig well enough to spot what's wrong on sight, this tool has nothing to add for you. That's a fair read, not a knock.

Gregg's point is really the target use case though: it's not built for "I don't know what I'm doing," it's built for "I know exactly what I'm doing, I just don't have time to check 400 tables one by one." Different problem. The bigger and older a collection gets, the more that gap opens up — even for people who could diagnose it themselves if they sat down and did it manually.

So no hard feelings if it's not for you — genuinely useful to hear that distinction spelled out, it's exactly the kind of thing that helps me keep the pitch honest instead of pretending it's for everyone.

[Wiliamo]

I haven't built a pincab yet but I'm getting close to it. I can see value in your tool when setting up the tables for the first time in a new environment. I will definitely be using your tool when I get there. Keep up the good work. Much appreciated.

[Flipsync]

I haven't built a pincab yet but I'm getting close to it. I can see value in your tool when setting up the tables for the first time in a new environment. I will definitely be using your tool when I get there. Keep up the good work. Much appreciated.

Thanks! If it saves even one broken table, I'm happy

A new, more advanced version with new features is coming soon. I'll talk about it here and in a new post because it's much more robust and covers other topics. I hope you'll like it!

[jarr3]

 

IMHO sometimes enough is enough. Those who use outdated OS’s and don’t understand what it means having to support win 7 still, need to step back and take the versions which was produced while win 7 was state of the art…

It’s not only that you need to write the software that it should work on a non supported version of Windows, but it also means testing three times more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Is this compatible with older O/S's? The attached link says 10/11. My cab still runs 7 and I'm sure a lot of people still do the same.

Straight answer: not on Windows 7, sorry — the 10/11 requirement is accurate. FlipSync is built on Microsoft's .NET 8, and Microsoft dropped Windows 7 support a couple of versions back, so the app needs Windows 10 or 11 to run.

You're right that plenty of cabs still run 7, and that's genuinely good to know. Supporting it would mean falling back to an older .NET runtime that Microsoft has already retired — so it's not a quick switch, and I'd be wary of shipping on an unsupported/insecure runtime. But I'm noting the demand: if a lot of Win7 cab owners want it, I'll look into whether a separate legacy build is realistic.

Appreciate you flagging it

 

 

I was only asking a question, I wasn't shaming him for not including 7 support. My 31 year old car still does it's job, I wouldn't expect (nor want) Ford to support it. It works, I have no reason to change.

 

When I started that ticket a long time ago on Github it wasn't just because I was having problems with the editor. It was because I was having problems, AND people on newer OS's were reporting the same thing. That told me it wasn't OS related. Flipsync gave a great answer, essentially there are elements (in this case Direct X) that only work on newer systems, ok.

 

It wasn't meant a rant against you... and yes I am VERY much against the planned obsolescence which occurs more and more the last years.

Think about the Sonos speakers which suddenly didn't even work as a bluetooth spreakers after a firmware update.

 

Or windows 11 which suddenly mean that certain processors aren't supported. This is especially weird since Microsoft even has a Windows 11 version which does not have this defect...

It is called Windows 11 LTSC IoT. It can be installed without the hardware restrictions and is meant for commercial cabinets.

 

I have it installed on both my cabs (Arcade and VPin) and another cool thing is that it doesn't bring the weird "we have an update, please answer this question" comming regularly in standard win 11. I have posted my experience here  https://vpuniverse.c...-cabinet-build/

/Jarr3

[Itchigo]

No worries Jarr. Thanks for all you do. I know it's a huge amount of work to work on, and maintain a project.

[Flipsync]

 

 

IMHO sometimes enough is enough. Those who use outdated OS’s and don’t understand what it means having to support win 7 still, need to step back and take the versions which was produced while win 7 was state of the art…

It’s not only that you need to write the software that it should work on a non supported version of Windows, but it also means testing three times more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Is this compatible with older O/S's? The attached link says 10/11. My cab still runs 7 and I'm sure a lot of people still do the same.

Straight answer: not on Windows 7, sorry — the 10/11 requirement is accurate. FlipSync is built on Microsoft's .NET 8, and Microsoft dropped Windows 7 support a couple of versions back, so the app needs Windows 10 or 11 to run.

You're right that plenty of cabs still run 7, and that's genuinely good to know. Supporting it would mean falling back to an older .NET runtime that Microsoft has already retired — so it's not a quick switch, and I'd be wary of shipping on an unsupported/insecure runtime. But I'm noting the demand: if a lot of Win7 cab owners want it, I'll look into whether a separate legacy build is realistic.

Appreciate you flagging it

 

 

I was only asking a question, I wasn't shaming him for not including 7 support. My 31 year old car still does it's job, I wouldn't expect (nor want) Ford to support it. It works, I have no reason to change.

 

When I started that ticket a long time ago on Github it wasn't just because I was having problems with the editor. It was because I was having problems, AND people on newer OS's were reporting the same thing. That told me it wasn't OS related. Flipsync gave a great answer, essentially there are elements (in this case Direct X) that only work on newer systems, ok.

 

It wasn't meant a rant against you... and yes I am VERY much against the planned obsolescence which occurs more and more the last years.

Think about the Sonos speakers which suddenly didn't even work as a bluetooth spreakers after a firmware update.

 

Or windows 11 which suddenly mean that certain processors aren't supported. This is especially weird since Microsoft even has a Windows 11 version which does not have this defect...

It is called Windows 11 LTSC IoT. It can be installed without the hardware restrictions and is meant for commercial cabinets.

 

I have it installed on both my cabs (Arcade and VPin) and another cool thing is that it doesn't bring the weird "we have an update, please answer this question" comming regularly in standard win 11. I have posted my experience here  https://vpuniverse.c...-cabinet-build/

/Jarr3

 

No worries at all, didn't read it as a rant — appreciate you taking the time to explain further, and the Sonos example is a good one, that kind of thing is exactly what makes me cautious about cutting things off.

Windows 11 LTSC IoT is genuinely useful to know about — I hadn't thought about recommending it as a middle ground for people hitting the hardware restriction wall on standard Win11. Thanks for the link to your cabinet build writeup, I'll take a look. If it holds up as a solid option, might be worth mentioning to others in this thread who are stuck between "can't run Win7-only forever" and "don't want the nag prompts / hardware gate of standard Win11."

Appreciate you circling back with more context rather than just leaving it at the first exchange.

Pincab Toolbox is evolving!
The scanner just got richer: new checks (VPX version comparator, screen DPI, DMD COM port, system decimal separator, phantom VPinMAME config, default audio device...) and a new "Note" category for things worth flagging without tanking your score.
I am also building Repair — a tool to automatically fix what the scanner finds: unblocking a Windows-blocked file, restoring an archived ROM, cleaning up orphaned media, and more actions on the way.
I need your input: what checks would you want in the scanner, and what automatic fixes in Repair? Tell me what would actually save you time on your cab.
https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app/

[jarr3]

Pincab Toolbox is evolving!
The scanner just got richer: new checks (VPX version comparator, screen DPI, DMD COM port, system decimal separator, phantom VPinMAME config, default audio device...) and a new "Note" category for things worth flagging without tanking your score.
I am also building Repair — a tool to automatically fix what the scanner finds: unblocking a Windows-blocked file, restoring an archived ROM, cleaning up orphaned media, and more actions on the way.
I need your input: what checks would you want in the scanner, and what automatic fixes in Repair? Tell me what would actually save you time on your cab.
https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app/

 

What I really would like having a Repair which makes sure the configured soundcards stays configured. Maybe by displaying a requester (which can be controlled using the flipper buttons) the first time it happens and having an option of auto confirm next time.
And keeping a list of things to auto confirm which can be revoked in the settings. 

Sort of, you want to be able to boot your cab and Repair makes sure there are no surprises...

/Jarr3