3 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Outdated tables (beta) — checks against the open-source Virtual Pinball Spreadsheet database and links to the official page only.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   0 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!