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How can I install Directx9: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ph/download/confirmation.aspx?id=34429, I'm running Windows 10 but the setup says:"You must be running win98 etc...."

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4 Answers 4

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Had the same problem when i tried to run an older game on Windows-10, it complained about a missing dll d3dx9_41.dll.

You can download the "DirectX end user runtimes" from Microsofts website. The exact version depends on the file which is required by your application, in my case it was directx_mar2009_redist.exe.

To find the correct version i analyzed the error message. If the missing file is for example d3dx9_41.dll, it means that DirectX-9 version 41 is required. The list below shows the available DirextX-9 versions, the version can be found at the third column. This gives you a clue of what to search for, the keywords directx Mar2009 lead me to the microsoft download page.

Feb2005_d3dx9_24_x86.cab
Feb2005_d3dx9_24_x64.cab
Apr2005_d3dx9_25_x64.cab
Apr2005_d3dx9_25_x86.cab
Jun2005_d3dx9_26_x64.cab
Jun2005_d3dx9_26_x86.cab
Aug2005_d3dx9_27_x64.cab
Aug2005_d3dx9_27_x86.cab
Dec2005_d3dx9_28_x64.cab
Dec2005_d3dx9_28_x86.cab
Feb2006_d3dx9_29_x86.cab
Feb2006_d3dx9_29_x64.cab
Apr2006_d3dx9_30_x64.cab
Apr2006_d3dx9_30_x86.cab
OCT2006_d3dx9_31_x64.cab
OCT2006_d3dx9_31_x86.cab
DEC2006_d3dx9_32_x86.cab
DEC2006_d3dx9_32_x64.cab
APR2007_d3dx9_33_x64.cab
APR2007_d3dx9_33_x86.cab
JUN2007_d3dx9_34_x86.cab
JUN2007_d3dx9_34_x64.cab
AUG2007_d3dx9_35_x86.cab
AUG2007_d3dx9_35_x64.cab
Nov2007_d3dx9_36_x86.cab
Nov2007_d3dx9_36_x64.cab
Mar2008_d3dx9_37_x64.cab
Mar2008_d3dx9_37_x86.cab
JUN2008_d3dx9_38_x86.cab
JUN2008_d3dx9_38_x64.cab
Aug2008_d3dx9_39_x64.cab
Aug2008_d3dx9_39_x86.cab
Nov2008_d3dx9_40_x86.cab
Nov2008_d3dx9_40_x64.cab
Mar2009_d3dx9_41_x64.cab
Mar2009_d3dx9_41_x86.cab
Aug2009_d3dx9_42_x86.cab
Aug2009_d3dx9_42_x64.cab
Jun2010_d3dx9_43_x64.cab
Jun2010_d3dx9_43_x86.cab

Maybe it is also possible to just install the latest one from June 2010, i'm not sure if it contains the earlier versions too.

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  • Most DX9 games install the required version of DX9 they use automatically.
    – Ramhound
    Jan 13, 2016 at 3:40
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    @Ramhound - Most do, it should be part of the setup, but the question was about the case when they do not. I had such a game and could run it only because i installed it manually. Jan 13, 2016 at 6:26
  • 5
    I confirm that installing the last version from June 2010, it installs even the previous versions.
    – rdbisme
    Jun 18, 2016 at 21:29
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The DirectX built into Windows 10 is compatible with DirectX 9, 10 and 11.
So you shouldn't try to install an older DirectX version manually at all. You can really screw up your Windows installation that way.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of programs (mainly old games) that try to install DirectX by themselves or test for the presence of a certain DirectX version in an incorrect way, which causes them to miss that DirectX is already present.

There is really no good solution to that.
If the installer of the old program is brain dead you can't really cure that.

Sometimes it helps to run the installer in "compatibility mode" for XP-SP3.
In some other cases, you can force the installer to continue anyway and the game will just work despite the errors during the installation.
And sometimes you are just out of luck.

You may have to experiment a little to see what works best in your particular case.

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  • 9
    While DX12 is backwards compatible with DX9, if software references the DX9 library and not the DX10 or greater library, DX9 is still required to be installed. DX10+ cannot be installed and was built into Windows. This can still be installed on Windows 8.X and greater.
    – Ramhound
    Sep 29, 2015 at 15:10
  • @Ramhound I'm aware of that runtime installer you linked to, but I hear conflicting stories about the compatibility with Windows 10. Some say it won't install, others say it does install but doesn't work and again others say it does work. For that reason I didn't refer to it in my answer.
    – Tonny
    Sep 30, 2015 at 11:56
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    Considering any game on Steam that uses DX9 will install it, and I have it currently installed on my Windows 10 machine for that reason, I know for a fact as both a user of those applications and a programmer that the installer works on Windows 10.
    – Ramhound
    Sep 30, 2015 at 12:02
  • Offtopic: @Tonny - the new devs were brain-dead for making intentional incompatibility. Old installed are fine for what they were designed to do.
    – Overmind
    Jun 21, 2016 at 12:57
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That is because you are trying to install DirectX 9.0c End-User Runtime for Windows 2000 to XP SP1. Your link is the download page for this item, look for System requirements section below all items on Microsoft website (note it has the same id in the URL).
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34429

You want one of the options below (both version 9.29.1974, expand Details section):

  1. DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer

The online version that will download the components it requires.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

  1. DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010)

The offline version (96 MB) of the above.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109

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You can download the latest version of DirectX 9.0c, the June 2010 update (now called the "legacy DirectX SDK" by Microsoft), from Microsoft's website: Standalone Installer / Web Installer.

On the Standalone installer, after you run it, it will ask you to specify a directory where the installation files should be extracted. Specify a directory and extract the files. In the extraction directory, run DXSETUP.exe, which will install all components of DirectX 9.0 / legacy DirectX SDK. I can confirm that the Standalone installer works and can be installed on Windows 10. I installed it just before I posted this answer.

This DirectX End-User Runtime does not change the version of DirectX, but does install a number of optional side-by-side technologies from the legacy DirectX SDK that are used by some older games. For a detailed explanation see https://aka.ms/dxsetup.

Note that this package does not modify the DirectX Runtime installed on your Windows OS in any way.

Not all components of DirectX 9.0c / legacy DirectX SDK are installed by default on modern Windows OSs (until Windows 11) even if DirectX 11 or 12 is already pre-installed, so you may still need to install the DirectX 9.0c June 2010 update for games that use DirectX 9 or earlier DirectX versions.

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  • Where exactly does it install the SDK?
    – Althaen
    Jun 19, 2023 at 8:57
  • @Althaen I'm not sure. But if I have to guess, it's under one of the directories under C:\Windows maybe C:\Windows\System32. Jun 19, 2023 at 9:16

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