NVRAM folder not writable

Technical code : NVRAM_FOLDER_NOT_WRITABLE

What it means

Every table's high scores and settings vanish the moment the app closes — nothing crashes, nothing errors, it just has nowhere to save.

Why it happens

The folder (or a parent of it) is marked read-only, or the current Windows user lacks write permission — common after restoring a backup or copying from another user's profile.

How Pincab Toolbox detects it

The free scanner checks the following:

Actually writing a test file into this folder and then deleting it genuinely fails.

What to do

  1. VPinMAME's "nvram" folder is where your high scores and per-table settings are saved. Windows currently refuses to write there: your scores vanish on every exit, with no message.
  2. Open File Explorer and go to the VPinMAME folder. Its exact path is shown in the Diagnostic tab, Environment section.
  3. Right-click the "nvram" folder, then Properties.
  4. On the General tab, at the bottom, UNTICK "Read-only" if it is ticked, then click Apply. Choose "Apply changes to this folder and all subfolders".
  5. If it was already unticked, go to the Security tab, click Edit, select your Windows user, and tick "Full control". Confirm.
  6. If the folder sits under "Program Files", that is the most likely cause: Windows forbids writing there. The real fix is to move the whole VPinMAME install out of Program Files, e.g. to C:\\Pincab.
  7. Run a new scan to check.

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.

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

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