Pincab Toolbox is evolving!

[Flipsync]

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.

We're 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.

We need your input: what checks would you want in the scanner, and what automatic fixes in Repair? Tell us what would actually save you time on your cab.
https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app/

[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]

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-toolbox.vercel.app/tables-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!

[ejvfx]

This is a cool app. I'm getting some "ROM Missing" errors for tables that use an alias. Is that something you check for?

[Flipsync]

Thanks, and good question. Yes, aliases are checked: the scan reads VPMAlias.txt from your VPinMAME folder and accepts a ROM found through its alias.

But it only follows one hop. If an alias points to another alias, which then points to the real ROM set, the scan stops at the first hop and reports the ROM as missing. That is a real limit on my side, not something wrong with your setup.

Two other things can produce the same message: VPMAlias.txt sitting somewhere other than the VPinMAME folder my scan detected, so it is never read at all, and a table whose ROM name my script reader could not extract, in which case the alias has nothing to match.

To tell which one it is, could you give me three things?

the name of one table that shows the error,

the exact line from your VPMAlias.txt for that table, alias and target,

where your VPMAlias.txt lives, full folder path.

Also worth a quick retry with the current version, 1.1.12, from https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app since ROM detection changed a lot this week: 1,435 real table scripts were used to find and fix 17 wrong results.

If it turns out to be the alias chain, I will make it follow the chain properly, with loop protection, and your report is what will have fixed it.

[sho]

Quote

[Warning ] (altcolor) 'acd_170h' has an incomplete AltColor/Serum colorization set — files exist under altcolor/acd_170h/ but don't form a full pair (.vni+.pal, or a Serum file+.pal). The DMD is likely to <user>w in mono, or the colorization won't load at all.
           .\VisualPinball\VPinMAME\altcolor\acd_170h
           fix: Re-download the colorization set for 'acd_170h' and extract every file it ships with into altcolor/acd_170h/ — a partial extraction (e.g. only the .pal, or only the .vni) is the most common cause.

Now, is that correct? (regarding Serum)
 

[Flipsync]

Hi sho,

Good catch, and you're right: that warning was wrong for Serum. A Serum colorization is a single file (.cRZ, .cROM or .cROMc) and doesn't need a .pal at all. The old rule expected a .pal next to it, which was my mistake.

It's fixed since 1.1.20: a Serum file alone, a .pal alone or a .pac alone now counts as a complete set. The only case still flagged is a .vni with no .pal or .pac next to it, because the colorizer never loads a .vni on its own.

The text you quoted is from the older rule, so you're probably on a version before 1.1.20. Could you tell me which version shows in the title bar? And did the app offer you the update when it started? That second answer really helps me.

Latest version (1.1.22): https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app/?c=vpu
If acd_170h still shows up after a rescan, send me the list of files in that folder and I'll look into it.

Thanks for checking it, FlipSync

[sho]

Right, so is there a better place than here to follow updates and what changed?

 

             - 'BLIZZARDOFOZZ_v1.0.3a' has no .directb2s backglass file next to the table.

             - 'Guns limited editionPUP' has no .directb2s backglass file next to the table.

             - 'MANOWAR_Band_PupScreen' has no .directb2s backglass file next to the table.
These are all puppack tables

[Note    ] (puppack-unused) 11 PuP-Pack folder(s) in PUPVideos are not referenced by any installed table (neither its ROM name nor a name in its script): "FP_PE_BLADE_RUNNER_RE", "FP_PE_HALLOWEEN_BBM", "FP_PE_JAWS_BBE", "FP_PE_MOTU_CE", "FP_PE_RETROFLAIR_BAM", "FP_PE_RETROFLAIR_BE", "FP_PE_ROBOCOP_DOAE", "FP_PE_SW_DSA_GE" (+3). They may belong to removed tables.

 

These are all Future Pinball tables

 

             - 'Nudge Test and Calibration' is not registered in PinUP Popper — it will not appear in the frontend.

This is excluded from scanning

 

(Well, finally my install is not completely shot according to this tool  )

[Flipsync]

Hi sho, glad to hear your install survived

Where to follow updates: the site has a "Latest versions" section with what changed in each version: https://pincab-toolbox.vercel.app/?c=vpu#versions and the app itself offers the new version when it starts. I'll keep posting here too.

The three PuP tables: you're right, that line was wrong. Their PuP-Pack is named in the script (pGameName, cPuPPack or PuPlayer.Init) instead of by the ROM name, so the tool missed it. Fixed for the next version: when the script names a real PuP-Pack folder, there's no backglass line anymore. If one of them still shows up after the update, could you send me the script line that names its pack?

The FP_PE_ folders: the tool only reads VPX tables, so it can't see that your Future Pinball tables use them. For now, right-click those lines and choose "These PuP-Pack folders are used: stop reporting them", it's remembered. To make it automatic, I'd need to know how a Future Pinball table points to its PuP-Pack: where does "FP_PE_BLADE_RUNNER_RE" appear on your side (a file, a line, a Popper field)?

Nudge Test and Calibration: it's one of the calibration tables that ships with VPX, so the next version won't list it as missing from Popper anymore.

Thanks for all the details, FlipSync

[Flipsync]

Pincab Toolbox is out.

It finds what's wrong with your cab. And it fixes it.

Hi all,

A table that won't start, a black DMD, a backglass that never shows up... and the evening goes into digging through forums instead of playing.

I built the tool I wish I'd had. Some of you tried it and reported issues in this thread, and today the full version is live.

① It finds

57 checks on your VPX and PinUP Popper install: missing or badly zipped ROMs, 32/64 bit mix-ups, missing or misnamed backglass, DLLs blocked by Windows, FlexDMD, B2S, DOF, DMD, screens...
Every issue is explained in plain words: what you'll notice, why, and what to do.

② It fixes

✔ 17 problems fixed automatically: a file blocked by Windows, a ROM unzipped or stored as .7z/.rar, a backglass with an almost right name, AltSound or AltColor installed but switched off, a DMD window stuck off screen...
✔ 22 more explained step by step, with the right folders and the right buttons, when it can't be done for you

③ It protects your install

✔ nothing is applied without your OK, line by line
✔ anything that changes a file is backed up first and can be undone in one click
✔ Back up my config and Restore from my backup: your settings kept safe before you tinker
✔ Before / after an update: save the state of your cab, update VPX or Popper, and see exactly what changed

④ And the rest

✔ Play Optimizer: Windows settings for playing, with a preview of what will change and a button to put everything back
✔ Cab health sheet as a one page PDF, handy when selling or troubleshooting
✔ Script diff: what changed between two versions of a table
✔ Copy for the forum: your results ready to paste in a help thread, with no file paths in it
✔ in English, French, Spanish and German

€3.99, once.

No subscription. Your key shows on screen right after payment.

▶ GET THE LICENCE

Not sure yet? The scan is free: see what's wrong on your cab before paying anything.
▶ Download and run the free scan

Windows 10/11. Covered: Visual Pinball X (10.x) and PinUP Popper. Not covered: Future Pinball, Pinball FX, VP9, other frontends. No ROM, table or media is shipped or downloaded by the tool: it works on your own files.
If Windows blocks the file on first launch, it's not a virus: it's the automatic warning for software without a paid signature. Close the message and try again a bit later.

@sho, both of your reports are fixed in this version: PuP tables that name their pack in the script no longer get a backglass line, and Nudge Test and Calibration is no longer listed as missing from Popper. Thanks for the detailed feedback.

A big thank you to NoizePMP, Flying Dutchman, crrispy, sho and everyone who tested without showing up. It's a better tool because of you.

I'm the only one behind Pincab Toolbox and I read everything. A question, a weird result on your cab: post it here, I answer every one.

Happy flipping,
FlipSync