Download DirectX 9, 10, 11 and 12 Offline Installers. Interestingly, the name Xbox also comes from DirectX as Xbox uses the technologies introduced in DirectX. Although DirectX is installed and included in all versions of Windows including Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. The default version of DirectX is different in every version of Windows. DirectX app for Windows 10 – Learn how to download and install the DirectX 9.0c (Jun 10) application on your Windows 10 PC for free. Improve and optimize performance on your Windows system.

Missing DirectX files

A lot of retro games and emulators need DirectX 9.0c to run, otherwise you get an error message like d3dx9_43.dll missing or d3dx9_39.dll is missing. Windows 8 and 10 come with DirectX 11 and 12 by default (which does not include DirectX 9.0c and previous versions), so you might need to install DirectX 9.0c manually. When you've done that, you can also enable Direct Play.

So how do you install DirectX 9 on a Windows 10 computer? Installing DirectX 9.0c on Windows 10 is safe, because DirectX 9.0c can co-exist with the DirectX versions which are already installed on your Windows system. Nothing will be overwritten and everything will keep working as it should. So let's get started! First download the files, then extract them, and finally install them.

Where do you download DirectX 9.0c?

Create an empty folder, for example c:downloadsDirectX9
Create another folder files in the DirectX9 folder, in this example c:downloadsDirectX9files
Go to the Microsoft download center for DirectX End-User Runtimes (2010) and click the download button
Uncheck all recommended software/features and see if the download summary on the right only says 1. DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010)
Click on the No thanks and continue button on the right
Choose to Save the downloaded file (directx_Jun2010_redist.exe), save it in your folder, in this example c:downloadsDirectX9

How do you extract the DirectX 9 files?

Open the downloaded directx_Jun2010_redist.exe file by double clicking it, or open it from the downloads list in your browser
Choose to run the application if Windows asks
Click on Yes to accept the agreement
Click on the Browse... button and choose the files folder you've created, in this example c:downloadsDirectX9files and click on the Ok button
The DirectX files will be extracted to the chosen folder

How do you install DirectX 9?

Directx 9 10 11 Download Windows 10 64-bit

Navigate to the files folder, in this example c:downloadsDirectX9files
Find and double click the DXSETUP.exe file
Allow the app to make changes to your computer if Windows asks
Accept the agreement and click Next
To start the installation click Next
Click Finish to finish the installation

Directx 11.3 Download

How do you enable Direct Play?

After you've installed DirectX 9 on your Windows 8 or Windows 10 computer, you might as well enable Direct Play, as many old games require this deprecated piece of software, which seems to be part of DirectX. Here's how you do that:

Directx 9 10 11 Download Windows 10

Press Windows key and R
Type in appwiz.cpl and press enter
Check if the Programs and features part of the Control Panel has opened
On the left, click on Turn Windows features on or off
Look for Legacy components, double click it or press the plus sign to see all components
Check the Direct Play checkbox and click Ok