Common problems on a VPX / PinUP Popper pincab, explained

Every problem the Pincab Toolbox scanner can report, in plain words: what it means, why it happens, how it is detected and, when there is one, what to do.

Repair can fix these (17)

• DLL blocked by WindowsWindows is preventing this file from loading. The table will not start.
• ROM extractedThis ROM was extracted, but it must stay as an archive.
• ROM in an unreadable formatThe ROM is there, but in an archive the emulator cannot open.
• Stuck display processPinUpDisplay.exe stayed running after the last table — it can block the next one.
• Orphaned mediaSome media files no longer match any installed table.
• Empty NVRAM fileThis table is likely to boot to a black screen or freeze instead of starting fresh.
• VPMAlias loopA table that needs this ROM name may refuse to start or load the wrong ROM.
• Backglass under a slightly different nameThis table's backglass is probably already there, under a slightly different name, so it doesn't show.
• COM component not registeredThis dependency will fail exactly like a missing file, even though the file itself is genuinely right there.
• COM component registered for the other 32/64-bit versionA component is registered, but only for the bitness that doesn't match the Visual Pinball actually installed.
• VPinMAME not registeredEvery ROM-based table fails to start with a vague COM error — even though the ROMs, the tables, and VPinMAME.dll are all genuinely correct.
• Virtual DMD window off screenThe virtual DMD window opens somewhere no monitor can show it — it never becomes visible, without any crash or error.
• Virtual DMD disabledThe DMD simply goes missing with zero error message — easy to blame on B2S or a video driver before anyone checks this one checkbox.
• AltSound present but not enabledThe install looks entirely correct and stays silent anyway — no error, just no sound difference.
• AltColor present but not enabledThe DMD colorization set is complete and correctly extracted, and still renders in plain mono.
• Script path hard-coded from another computerThis table's script points to a file hard-coded from another computer.
• Popper media could move to another diskPinUP Popper's media folders live on this install's own drive, while another disk with free space is available on the machine — nothing broken, just space to reclaim if you want it.

Explained step by step (22)

• 32-bit emulator with a 64-bit engineTwo parts of your installation are not the same generation.
• 64-bit display component missingYour external display will not work while this file is missing.
• 64-bit Serum colorization missingYour colorized DMDs will stay monochrome while this file is missing.
• VBScript engine missing from WindowsWindows no longer has the engine that runs your table scripts. Your pincab isn't broken — Windows changed.
• Disk almost fullYour disk is close to full, and that alone can make tables behave as if they were broken.
• AltColor colorization incompleteThis table's DMD colorization is missing a file: this colorization does not show.
• AltSound sample missingSome AltSound cues for this table will stay silent, or the sound pack may fail to load at all.
• Damaged backglass fileThis backglass won't appear at all — the file itself is broken, not just misconfigured.
• Visual Pinball too old for this tableThis specific table has confirmed it needs a newer Visual Pinball than the one actually installed.
• 64-bit VPinMAME with a 32-bit Visual PinballEvery ROM-based table will fail to start — the opposite bitness mismatch from the usual one.
• B2S server not installedNo backglass will display for any table at all — the piece that renders them isn't installed.
• FlexDMD missingTables that need FlexDMD will run without their score display, or throw a script error at launch.
• Mixed 32-bit and 64-bit installIt works today, but it's fragile — every plugin needs to exist in both bitnesses or some tables will break.
• Table script unreadableThis table gets skipped from most checks — the scanner couldn't even read its script.
• Tables folder not foundThere's nothing to scan — no Tables folder was found where you pointed the scanner.
• ROMs folder not foundEvery ROM-related check was skipped — the scanner can't tell which ROMs you actually have.
• Plugin missing in the required 32/64-bit versionThe table loads a Visual Pinball process of one bitness, but the plugin it needs only exists for the other.
• NVRAM folder not writableEvery table's high scores and settings vanish the moment the app closes — nothing crashes, nothing errors, it just has nowhere to save.
• COM component registered outside this installTables run from this folder actually load a different copy of this component than the one sitting right next to them.
• ROM missingVPinMAME cannot run this table's game until the ROM zip is in the roms folder.
• Font file missingOne or more of your tables ask for a font this scan could not find.
• Table not declared to DOFDOF is installed on this machine, but nothing indicates this table was ever declared to it — any physical toys it expects (light-up flippers, contactors...) may never trigger.

Detected and explained (52)

• Table missing from the frontendThis table is installed but does not show up in your menu.
• PuP-Pack used by no tableSome PuP-Packs in PUPVideos are not used by any installed table.
• Script matches a known problem patternThis table's script matches a pattern already reported as a problem by someone else.
• Part of the scan could not finishOne part of this scan couldn't finish, so that part of your report is incomplete.
• Table asks for a newer Visual PinballThis table declares it needs a newer Visual Pinball than what may currently be installed.
• Backglass window off screenThis table's backglass window will never appear — it's positioned somewhere none of your screens actually cover.
• Broken folder link (junction)An entire folder — a ROM set, a PUP-Pack collection, a colorization archive — has quietly become invisible to everything, including this scan.
• Popper playlist that no longer existsSome rows in your Popper database point to a playlist that no longer exists.
• Newer table version availableA newer version of this table exists than the one you currently have.
• Popper games without mediaThese games show up blank in your PinUP Popper wheel — no image at all.
• Backglass that matches no tableThis backglass file never displays for any table — it doesn't match the name of a table that exists.
• External .vbs script replaces the embedded oneThis table runs an external script file, not the script saved inside it.
• Sticky Keys shortcut enabledFive quick left flips can open a Windows prompt over the game.
• Fewer screens connected than expectedA backglass or DMD component is set up, but fewer screens are connected right now than it expects.
• Older .vpt table not seen by PopperThis older-format table works fine standalone, but stays invisible in your PinUP Popper wheel.
• Default audio output may be a screenYour cab's sound may currently be coming out of a screen instead of your speakers.
• Windows display scaling not at 100%Your Windows display scaling isn't set to 100% — a known cause of a truncated or offset backglass on some cabs.
• DMD COM port not foundIf this hardware DMD is actually connected, cab owners report a several-second freeze at launch.
• Regional decimal separatorSome table scripts or config files may misbehave under your current regional settings.
• VPinMAME settings in two placesYou might be editing settings in one place while VPinMAME actually reads from the other.
• COM component registered at an old pathWindows will try to load this component from a path that no longer exists, and fail — even though the component is genuinely present elsewhere.
• Screen resolution file not parsedNo functional impact — this is the tool admitting it can't read this particular file, rather than silently pretending everything checked out fine.
• Backglass missingNo backglass will show for this table on your backglass screen.
• Local copy of a shared scriptA local copy of a shared script was found directly in your Tables folder.
• Popper game whose table file is goneThese games are in Popper's menu, but their table file is gone: they do not launch.
• System runtime DLL missingA system file this program needs to start is missing on this PC.
• UltraDMD not registeredThese tables ask for UltraDMD, and nothing answers to that name on this PC.
• Music file missingThis table should play a music file that is not on the PC: it stays silent at that point.
• Tables stored only in the cloudSome tables are not really on the PC, only in the cloud: they were not analysed.
• Empty (0-byte) fileThis file is empty: the table, backglass or ROM it should hold cannot work.
• Shared script file missingThese tables stop on an error message when they start.
• Shared scripts too oldThese tables may show a version message or script errors at start.
• Table asks for a script version that does not existThese tables ask for a script version that does not exist: they may show a version message at start.
• VPinMAME too oldThese tables may not start, or miss features their author relies on.
• Table exit without Controller.StopThe PuP-Pack of these tables may keep playing after you leave the table.
• Filter Keys enabledFlippers wired as keyboard keys can react late or miss presses.
• Filter Keys shortcut enabledHolding a ball on the right flipper can switch Filter Keys on in the middle of a game.
• PuP-Pack in a nested folderThis PuP-Pack does not play.
• PuP screen at a negative positionPuP videos may show in the wrong place.
• Popper emulator folder missingThe games of this emulator are not found, not launched, or shown without media.
• Popper launch program missingNo game of this emulator starts from the frontend.
• Popper alternate program (ALTEXE) missingThese games do not start from the frontend.
• Launch option rejected by Visual Pinball XThe games of this emulator that use its default program do not start from the frontend.
• VPinMAME ROM sound offThese games run without any ROM sound.
• ROM zip unreadableThis table does not start.
• ROM zipped twiceThis table does not start.
• Cabinet.xml never read by DOFDOF is installed and a Cabinet.xml exists, but DOF does not read it: only automatically detected controllers work.
• No-ROM table (EM mode) without B2S guard while B2S is disabledThese tables can stop on a script error when they load.
• B2S forced offThese tables start without their backglass.
• B2S plugins turned offPuP-Packs driven through B2S plugins may not play.
• ROM only in the table's pinmame folderWith the classic VPinMAME, this table does not start.
• DMD config redirected by DMDDEVICE_CONFIGDMD changes made in the VPinMAME folder have no effect.

Check your own pincab

Pincab Toolbox is a free Windows scanner for Visual Pinball X and PinUP Popper. It finds and explains problems like this one. No account, no telemetry.

Download for free

Covered: Visual Pinball X (10.x) and PinUP Popper. Not covered: Future Pinball, Pinball FX, Visual Pinball 9 and the other frontends (PinballX, PinballY).