28 replies to this topic

[Flipsync]

Really like this idea — "boot the cab, Repair makes sure there are no surprises" is a great way to frame it, and the flipper-controlled prompt + revocable auto-confirm list is a smart UX for a cab where you don't always have a keyboard/mouse handy.

Being honest about scope though: this is a bigger piece of work than it might look like. Everything Repair does today runs when you open the app and click something — this would mean Repair (or a companion piece of it) acting at boot time, plus building a whole new in-game-style prompt that reads flipper button input, which nothing in the project does yet. I want to actually research how to do the flipper-input part properly rather than bolt something fragile together.

So: not going to promise a date, but it's logged and I think it's worth building right. If you (or anyone else reading this) knows how other tools intercept flipper/cab button input outside of VPX or Popper itself, I'd genuinely like to hear about it — that's the main unknown right now.

Thanks for putting real thought into this, appreciate it.

[jarr3]

As Long it is possible which buttons does up/down and then select.
Then a user can configure it the same way as VPX is configured


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Flipsync]

That makes sense, thanks for clarifying. Reusing whatever buttons are already doing up, down and select on the cab is a much cleaner approach than grabbing the flippers directly, and letting people remap it the same way they're used to from VPX is exactly the right instinct. This one's going to need a proper look at how to read input from outside VPX and Popper without it looking like a keylogger to antivirus software, plus getting the audio device switch itself to be reliable across reboots, so I don't want to promise a date yet. It's on the list, and your answer just made it a clearer one to build when we get to it. I'll let you know when there's something real to test.

Edited by Flipsync, 11 August 2026 - 09:19 AM.

[jarr3]

That makes sense, thanks for clarifying. Reusing whatever buttons are already doing up, down and select on the cab is a much cleaner approach than grabbing the flippers directly, and letting people remap it the same way they're used to from VPX is exactly the right instinct. This one's going to need a proper look at how to read input from outside VPX and Popper without it looking like a keylogger to antivirus software, plus getting the audio device switch itself to be reliable across reboots, so I don't want to promise a date yet. It's on the list, and your answer just made it a clearer one to build when we get to it. I'll let you know when there's something real to test.

Since you will open a window on top of either the backglass or table screen, and your window should have focus, any keypresses can be registered by your application. And it will not be looking like a  keylogger...

Only thing is that VPX and B2S (depending on settings) might want to always stay in front, so there might be some convince methods needed to actually show your window in front of everything...
But thinking again... your app should run before VPX even starts, so it could show a window in front of Popper or PinballX or even windows explorer, so it should be less of a problem.
One thing to consider is that many tend to have their table screen rotated, so your windows needs to be readable when standing in front of a cab...

[Flipsync]

Really useful, thanks for thinking it through with me. Good to know the focus thing rules out the keylogger concern on its own, one less thing to solve.

Running before VPX starts was already the direction I was leaning, and you just confirmed it's the right one, avoids the whole fight with VPX/B2S staying on top since there's nothing to fight with yet at that point.

The screen rotation point is the one I hadn't fully thought through, that's a real design constraint now, not just a nice to have. Appreciate you catching that before I built something that only made sense on a normal upright monitor.

[Flipsync]

Pincab Toolbox — a big batch of updates

 

Since my last post, a lot has changed under the hood, and most of it is stuff you asked for.

 

Scanner:

 

New interface (green, cleaner tables, a collapsible detail panel, a Tutorial tab that explains what each check actually does)

 

Now available in English, French and Spanish

 

A dozen more checks: missing B2S global config file, missing .ttf fonts a table script needs, hard-coded absolute paths in a script, local copies of core.vbs/controller.vbs, and more

 

Scans a whole drive or multiple drives now, not just one folder

 

A "Check for updates" button that compares your version to the latest release

 

PDF export of your report

 

Repair (still closed beta):

 

Way less noise, only real issues become items to fix, not every single scan result

 

The repaired history now shows exactly what changed on each item, not just a filename

 

A new Beginner / Expert toggle, pick how much technical detail you want to see

 

No longer needs Administrator rights for the whole app, Windows only asks when one specific fix truly needs it

 

A "recheck my score" button that reruns the same scan after a repair and shows you the before/after

 

Two new automatic fixes: repositioning an off-screen DMD window, and registering a missing or mismatched COM component (VPinMAME, B2S, FlexDMD)

 

Six fixes working today, always backed up first, always undoable in one click

 

Already have it? Open the app, hit "Check for updates" in the Scanner tab, and grab the new build.

 

Never tried it? Download it, scan your cab, and tell me what's broken. And tell me what you'd want next, what checks or fixes would actually save you time on your cab?

 

Follow the page for the next updates

 

https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app/

 

Happy flipping!

[Flipsync]

Hi everyone,

First off, I owe you all an apology: several of you ran into issues over the past few days, and that’s completely on me.

App failing to launch: On certain setups, the app crashed right at the splash screen. A GPU detection probe was failing before the window could even open. It had nothing to do with your setup and everything to do with my code. Fixed.

Broken update button: A backend change broke the link without me noticing. It took me a while to catch it. Fixed, and it no longer relies on any external components.

Antivirus alerts: Some of you flagged false positives during download. This is a common issue with unsigned software. Since code signing certificates are out of my budget right now, I’m tackling this by refactoring code patterns that trigger heuristic scanners.

Serum scanner false positive: Thanks to El'Baronrouge for pointing out that the scanner reports errors on perfectly working Serum installs. He’s right—it’s a false positive on my end. I haven't patched this yet because I need to inspect a working altcolor directory structure first. Guessing the rule fix risks breaking other setups. If you have a working Serum colorization, sharing your directory file list would be a huge help!

Fixed

App startup crash on specific GPUs.

"Check for updates" button non-responsiveness.

Right-click "Ignore result": counter and filters now update properly without guessing.

False-positive missing B2S backglass alerts on the three default VPX utility tables.

Missing B2S warning downgraded to a minor notice if a PUP-Pack is already active.

Demo files included with the tool are now excluded from disk scans.

Repair red cross icon display bug.

32/64-bit Serum verification check and actual port key parsing in dmddevice.ini.

What's New

Permanent ignore option: Ignore results permanently or set an expiration timer to review them later.

Installation snapshots: Compare two scans side-by-side to track changes.

Report export functionality.

Non-destructive script repairs: Neutralize hardcoded paths in table scripts without altering the original files.

DOF detector: Identifies unconfigured ROMs automatically.

Diagnostic tab: Inspect raw data read at startup (ideal for troubleshooting and bug reports).

In-app bug reporting button.

Play Optimizer tab: Sneak peek UI (engine currently in development).

Localization: Added German (alongside French, English, and Spanish).

Cancelled Features

I started building an automatic relocation tool for POPMedia and PUPVideos to a secondary drive using NTFS junction points. This feature has been scrapped and will not be released.

Creating junctions programmatically relies on system calls heavily exploited by ransomware. On unsigned software, including these commands triggers aggressive AV heuristics—even if the code never executes. Keeping the app clean and trusted by security software takes priority over adding this automation.

Note: The manual procedure (using Link Shell Extension or mklink /J) remains documented in the Diagnostic tab.

How to Update

Download the latest package from the standard release page and overwrite your existing directory. No uninstallation required—your settings, exclusions, and snapshots will remain intact.

Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to report bugs instead of just closing the app. That’s how this tool gets better.

[Flipsync]

Pincab Toolbox 1.1.12, what changed since the 31st of August

Free, no install, nothing sent anywhere.

ROM detection

The detection was run against 1,435 real table scripts published by the community, and 17 tables it used to get wrong are fixed: modern tables that load controller.vbs, Select Case scripts, indirect constants, ROM names held in a variable. A ROM sitting in a .7z or .rar archive is reported for what it is, with the right advice, since VPinMAME only reads .zip. The list of checked tables is public: https://pincab-toolb...-verifiees.html

PinUP Popper playlists

No more false alarm when the Popper database has pending changes. The warning names the affected games and prints the missing playlist id, so you can go straight to it in the admin tool. It no longer claims your menu will freeze: I do not measure that.

Reports

All five export formats speak English, French, German and Spanish. They list what they count instead of printing a bare number, and table names are quoted, so a table called "1-2-3" stays readable.

What the tool can explain

39 checks and 23 step-by-step guided procedures, in four languages, for everything that cannot be repaired automatically, like a missing ROM nobody can invent.

Safety

The scan never writes anything. An unreadable ROM folder no longer stops the analysis, a 3 GB table goes through, and the NVRAM check runs without writing a single byte.

Repair and Play Optimizer are in final testing

Repair backs up before touching anything, puts files back by itself if an undo fails, resumes cleanly after a power cut, and no longer advertises a fix it would later decline. It can turn AltSound and AltColor back on, re-zip an extracted ROM, set aside an empty NVRAM save, bring an off-screen DMD back, re-register a COM component, and create a corrected copy of a table whose script points at missing files, without ever touching the original. A new button puts that copy in place, the original is kept next to it, and undo swaps them back. Play Optimizer handles the power plan and the table's process priority, with a return to the exact starting state. Both are being verified on real cabs before a full release.

Feedback and false positives are very welcome, that is exactly what made these fixes possible.

The full version might be available by the end of the month, enjoy the game!

[mfuegemann]

Hi Flipsync,

 

impressive work! Thank You for Your effort.

 

Regards

Michael