Short yet full Serum installation howto

[Tikimaster]

ah, ok. thankyou @zedrummer.

[Johngreve]

Thanks for this….was pulling my hair out trying to get serum v2 woking for me in 64 bit. Installing MS C++ got me working again. I thought that was already installed…to my surprise it wasn’t. Super glad I found this guide as it’s the only instructions that I found that said C++ was necessary. Thanks again!

[TechWizard0018]

I followed the instructions . go the latest freezy dmdext created an altcolor folder in vpinmame then for example im trying to get iron man colorized. i created another folder after the rom named im_183vm then drop the crz fle into that. then went to vpiname and ran setup64 and then check off use extertnal dll then colorize dmd. i still cant get it to work

[zedrummer]

The colorization is for im_185ve perhaps you have the wrong rom:

Edited April 27, 2025 by zedrummer

[zedrummer]

Any news @TechWizard0018?

[TechWizard0018]

Hey @zedrummer So after messing around with it. I actually had to download the pin2dmd.dll and pin2dmd64.dll and then go into dmddevice.ini and point the plugins to those two dlls. Once I did that I went into alt color and made sure the folder and crz file name was matched and I got it working. Also made sure colorize dmd and use ext dmd was checked in the rom options. For any body else that wants to know. I can write up a guide and post it here

Edited April 29, 2025 by TechWizard0018
Wrong spelling

[zedrummer]

OK so you have a Pin2DMD. I didn't know that. But, for any other DMD (either virtual or real) no other files are needed than the ones in the tuto.

[outhere]

@zedrummer I have a Pin2DMD and Freezy is Working Without these Files - pin2dmd.dll and pin2dmd64.dll

.cRZ, Pac, VNi All working

[zedrummer]

Thanks @outhere, I don't know what happened to @TechWizard0018, so...

[TechWizard0018]

I don't have a pin2dmd. I used used the pin2dmd and 64 dll and I got it working that way

[GordonJames]

Thanks for this tutorial. Worked perfectly!

[Necromancyr]

I'm having a bit of trouble here and not certain what's up.  All colorizations seem to work except for Serum, which is just giving me an error that serum.dll can't be loaded when a .cRZ file is present for a table in the rom folder in altcolor.  Was on the Virtual Pinball Chat last night working through multiple possible issues (thanks ED209 ;)) but...nothing seemed to fix it.  Went through the following:

• Confirmed Visual C++ Redistributable was installed.  Restarted afterwards as well.
• Reinstalled Freezy 2.3.1.  Multiple times.  Confirmed zip was unblocked.
• Confirmed DMDdevice.ini is the version from 2.3.1 and updated to my settings.
• Tried with and without pin2dmd as as plugins (no difference - same errors)
• Tried with and without new serum.dll's from latest release (after 2.3.1 release of freezys.)
• I'm using a pixelcade - but if I try with a virtual turned on as well, it's not colored either and same errors.
• Using latest PinMame (v3.7.0-46-2b48173) and latest VPX (V10.8.1-3788-2151290, third party windows x64 release), both 64bit
• FlexDMD installed is v1.9.1 and DLL's are all showing as green checks/registered in the UI.
• This is on Windows 10 Pro

Attaching two logs - one for a PAC colored table (no serum errors, etc.) and one with a CRZ colored table (serum.dll can't be loaded errors).

Short of redoing my vPinMame folder from scratch, not sure what else to even try to get this working at this point. 😕  Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

DmdDevice (cRZ Table).log DmdDevice (PAC Table).log

Edited December 12, 2025 by Necromancyr

[Necromancyr]

So...solved the issue.  Interestingly, there is an x86 and x64 version of the Visual C++ Redistributables - it's mentioned in this first post, but basically everywhere else it only links to the x86 one so I didn't catch it until running through and setting up another VPINMAME folder from scratch and running through the full install steps one by one from the first post.

Maybe adding a link to it on the dmdext github for addressing serum.dll not loading (in addition to the x86 link) would be good.  
 

 

[Screamingdemon]

Thanks to zedrummer for this great mod. I share here my "simplified" version of zedrummer's current procedure. This may be helpful to NOOBs (like myself) to get this great enhancement to work. Always refer back to his procedure for any of the latest updates.

 

Date: 20/Sept/2026

Revision: 1

 

Revison 1 inputs: PastorLUL

Revised clauses: 1, 2c, 5.4a, 6.1.2, 6.2b, 6.2d

 

Installation procedure of SERUM color DMD for NOOBS

 

1) Objective:

 

The Purpose of this procedure is to explain how to install SERUM to activate the color *.cROMc DMD files.

 

2) Scope:

 

This procedure applies to:

 

a) VPX only

b) Both 32bit and 64bit versions

c) *.cROMc DMD only

 

Cautionary note: Visual Pinball installs both 32bit (x86) and 64bit VPX.exe by default. Those files have confusing version labels, thus most users do not actually know which VPX version they are running when a table starts up (especially when starting through Pinup Popper). For that reason it is recommended that you perform this SERUM installation for both 32bit and 64bit. If you do not do this, you can have a situation when SERUM runs for one table while it wont run for another table.

 

3) Assumptions:

 

a) Your Installation directory of VPX is : "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME" (if yours is different then modify the installation paths mentioned in this procedure, accordingly).

b) You are running windows OS

 

4) Verify VpinMame version:

 

You require VPinMAME 3.6.0+ already installed and working. To verify this go to C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME. Find the “Setup.exe” and run it to check the version. You will see screen as below example. Here you can see that the Visual PinMame Version is 3.6.0.1227. Now do the same for for “Setup64.exe”. If your version is less than 3.6.0 then you must update it before proceeding with this procedure.

 

 

 

5. Installation Process of SERUM

 

5.1 Remove conflicting files

 

Check that the following files are not in in C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME directory:

pin2color.dll

dmdscreen.dll

 

Delete them if they are there!

 

5.2 Install Visual Basic C++ redistributable 2017

 

Assume that your system requires it. Download both *.exe files and install them both.

Download links:

a) https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x86.exe (for 32 bits)

b) https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe (for 64 bits)

 

 

 

5.3 Install DMD extensions from freezy

 

a) Minimum 2.3.1+ version is required.

 

b) Download the latest 32bit and also the 64 bit DMD-extensions from freezy from Github https://github.com/freezy/dmd-extensions/releases

 

 

c) Select "dmdext-vx.x.x-x86.zip and dmdext-vx.x.x-x64.zip". Do NOT select the *.msi as installing them may overwrite your existing VPX dmddevice files.

 

d) These downloaded files will be in compressed format. Before extracting them you SHALL ensure to unblock them because if you don’t, windows will identify the *.dll files as a virus. (https://singularlabs.com/tips/how-to-unblock-a-zip-file-on-windows-10/). 

 

 

e) Create a temporary folder to Extract/Uncompress both zip files into.

 

f) Open those folders and delete the dmddevice.ini file.

 

g) Make a backup copy of "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMame\files so if anything goes wrong you can paste these files back C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMame\.

f) Now open your temporary folder and copy all the files. Open C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMame\ and paste these files. Allow any duplicate files to be overwritten.

 

5.4 Install SERUM Library

 

a) Download the latest SERUM library for both windows 32bit (x86) and 64 bit from here   https://github.com/PPUC/libserum/releases

 

 

b) These downloaded files will be in compressed format. Before extracting them you SHALL ensure to unblock them because if you don’t, windows will identify the *.dll files as a virus. (https://singularlabs.com/tips/how-to-unblock-a-zip-file-on-windows-10/). 

 

 

e) Extract both files directly into "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME"

 

f) Open "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME" and determine if a folder named "altcolor" exists. If it is not available then manually create it.

 

g) Infrastructure is now ready to run SERUM files.

 

6. Activating the SERUM color DMD file

 

6.1 Overview

 

In order to run the SERUM file for a specific table you will require:

1) Subfolder in "Altcolor" named after the table ROM

2) *.cROMc colorised file

3) Activate color option in VPinMAME

 

 

6.2 Instalation of the SERUM  files

 

a) Download the files from this link https://vpuniverse.com/files/category/173-serum-dmd-colorizations/. We use example of Scared Stiff

 

 

b) Download the *.cROMc file. The *.cRZ is no longer supported.

 

 

c) Open "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME\Altcolor" folder and create a sub folder named after the name of the table rom you want to colorize, for example "ss_15" for Scared Stiff.

 

d) Then copy/paste into this folder, the downloaded *.cROMc file. You now should have something like:

 

 

6.3 Activation of the color DMD

 

a) Launch the table in VPX.

 

b) Once the table is running press F1 (in game) to activate the VPinMAME interface which should pop up over the table.

 

 

 

c) Check the following:

1) "Use External DMD (dll)"

2) “Colorize DMD (4 colors)"

3) click "OK" to save settings:
 

d) Exit completely out of VPX and close VPX.

 

e) Restart VPX and launch the same table. Your DMD should now be colorised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20 by Screamingdemon
Revision 1 - *.cRZ files no longer supported

[PastorLUL]

2 hours ago, Screamingdemon said:

Thanks to zedrummer for this great mod. I share here my "simplified" version of zedrummer's current procedure. This may be helpful to NOOBs (like myself) to get this great enhancement to work. Always refer back to his procedure for any of the latest updates.

 

Date: 20/Sept/2026

Revision:0

 

Installation procedure of SERUM color DMD for NOOBS

 

1) Objective:

 

The Purpose of this procedure is to explain how to install SERUM to activate the color *.cRZ DMD files.

 

2) Scope:

 

This procedure applies to:

 

a) VPX only

b) Both 32bit and 64bit versions

c) *.cRZ DMD only

 

Cautionary note: Visual Pinball installs both 32bit (x86) and 64bit VPX.exe by default. Those files have confusing version labels, thus most users do not actually know which VPX version they are running when a table starts up (especially when starting through Pinup Popper). For that reason it is recommended that you perform this SERUM installation for both 32bit and 64bit. If you do not do this, you can have a situation when SERUM runs for one table while it wont run for another table.

 

3) Assumptions:

 

a) Your Installation directory of VPX is : "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME" (if yours is different then modify the installation paths mentioned in this procedure, accordingly).

b) You are running windows OS

 

4) Verify VpinMame version:

 

You require VPinMAME 3.6.0+ already installed and working. To verify this go to C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME. Find the “Setup.exe” and run it to check the version. You will see screen as below example. Here you can see that the Visual PinMame Version is 3.6.0.1227. Now do the same for for “Setup64.exe”. If your version is less than 3.6.0 then you must update it before proceeding with this procedure.

 

 

 

5. Installation Process of SERUM

 

5.1 Remove conflicting files

 

Check that the following files are not in in C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME directory:

pin2color.dll

dmdscreen.dll

 

Delete them if they are there!

 

5.2 Install Visual Basic C++ redistributable 2017

 

Assume that your system requires it. Download both *.exe files and install them both.

Download links:

a) https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x86.exe (for 32 bits)

b) https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe (for 64 bits)

 

 

 

5.3 Install DMD extensions from freezy

 

a) Minimum 2.3.1+ version is required.

 

b) Download the latest 32bit and also the 64 bit DMD-extensions from freezy from Github https://github.com/freezy/dmd-extensions/releases

 

 

c) Select "dmdext-vx.x.x-x86.zip and dmdext-vx.x.x-x64.zip". Do NOT select the *.msi as installing them may overwrite your existing VPX dmddevice files.

 

d) These downloaded files will be in compressed format. Before extracting them you SHALL ensure to unblock them because if you don’t, windows will identify the *.dll files as a virus. (https://singularlabs.com/tips/how-to-unblock-a-zip-file-on-windows-10/). 

 

 

e) Create a temporary folder to Extract/Uncompress both zip files into.

 

f) Open those folders and delete the dmddevice.ini file.

 

g) Make a backup copy of "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMame\files so if anything goes wrong you can paste these files back C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMame\.

f) Now open your temporary folder and copy all the files. Open C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMame\ and paste these files. Allow any duplicate files to be overwritten.

 

5.4 Install SERUM Library

 

a) Download the latest SERUM library for both windows 32bit (x86) and 64 bit from here https://github.com/zesinger/libserum/releases 

 

 

b) These downloaded files will be in compressed format. Before extracting them you SHALL ensure to unblock them because if you don’t, windows will identify the *.dll files as a virus. (https://singularlabs.com/tips/how-to-unblock-a-zip-file-on-windows-10/). 

 

 

e) Extract both files directly into "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME"

 

f) Open "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME" and determine if a folder named "altcolor" exists. If it is not available then manually create it.

 

g) Infrastructure is now ready to run SERUM files.

 

6. Activating the SERUM color DMD file

 

6.1 Overview

 

In order to run the SERUM file for a specific table you will require:

1) Alcolor subfolder named after the table original rom

2) *.zCR colorised file

3) Activate color option in VPinMAME

 

 

6.2 Instalation of the SERUM  files

 

a) Download the files from this link https://vpuniverse.com/files/category/173-serum-dmd-colorizations/. We use example of Scared Stiff

 

 

b) Download the *.zCR file. The colorised Rom *.cROMc is not required for SERUM.

 

 

c) Open "C:\Visual Pinball\VPinMAME\Altcolor" folder and create a sub folder named after the name of the table rom you want to colorize, for example "ss_15" for Scared Stiff.

 

d) Then copy/paste into this folder, the downloaded *.cRZ file. You now should have something like:

 

 

 

 

6.3 Activation of the color DMD

 

a) Launch the table in VPX.

 

b) Once the table is running press F1 (in game) to activate the VPinMAME interface which should pop up over the table.

 

 

 

c) Check the following:

1) "Use External DMD (dll)"

2) “Colorize DMD (4 colors)"

3) click "OK" to save settings:
 

d) Exit completely out of VPX and close VPX.

 

e) Restart VPX and launch the same table. Your DMD should now be colorised.

Nice, just a few things: .cROMc is the new optimized standard for Serum. You might still see some .cRZ files floating around, but .cROMc is what is actually run these days. 
 

https://github.com/zesinger/libserum/releases (discontinued development)

Please, adjust that to this: https://github.com/PPUC/libserum/releases
 

As mentioned, zesinger no longer updates Serum. The link you posted will get people in trouble if they download newer Serums. For anyone reading that guide, I suggest to not follow it in its current state.

Edited September 20 by PastorLUL

[Screamingdemon]

44 minutes ago, PastorLUL said:

Nice, just a few things: .cROMc is the new optimized standard for Serum. You might still see some .cRZ files floating around, but .cROMc is what is actually run these days. 
 

https://github.com/zesinger/libserum/releases (discontinued development)

Please, adjust that to this: https://github.com/PPUC/libserum/releases
 

As mentioned, zesinger no longer updates Serum. The link you posted will get people in trouble if they download newer Serums. For anyone reading that guide, I suggest to not follow it in its current state.

Thanks for reviewing Revision 0. Your comments have been included in Revision 1. Kindly review the changes.

[PastorLUL]

Just now, Screamingdemon said:

Thanks for reviewing Revision 0. Your comments have been included in Revision 1. Kindly review the changes.

Looks great! Honestly, feel free to make an entirely new thread as a forum topic. I edited my message

[Screamingdemon]

15 hours ago, PastorLUL said:

Looks great! Honestly, feel free to make an entirely new thread as a forum topic. I edited my message

 

Thanks for reviewing the procedure. New thread link

 

Edited September 21 by Screamingdemon