Certain applications, especially games, need to install Targeted DirectX on Windows 10, such as DirectX 12, 11, 10, and DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer (DirectX 9). So this article will guide you through this DirectX.
What is DirectX?
According to the official description, as part of the Windows system, DirectX is the collection of APIs (Application Programming Interface) for dealing with tasks relevant to multimedia, games, and videos. In the term DirectX, X refers to different versions of DirectX, which represent different API names, which is why there are different DirectX patches, including DirectX 12, 11, 19, and 9.
To make it easier to understand, here is an example. Assuming you now want to run a game, you’ll need your graphics card to form graphics and display it in Windows 10 or your sound card to output voices, but how could your PC know to use the exact hardware to enable the game? Does it really need to wake up all the hardware to perform the game for you?
No, there is no need. DirectX will help you connect your hardware and applications. So, in short, DirectX is the interface that works for your games to use the hardware you need.
Why do games need to install DirectX on PC?
As long as the game is Direct3D required for graphics card, you need to download DirectX in Windows 10. Although this DirectX is built in Windows systems, for example, Direct12 is included in Windows 10, Direct11 is included in Windows 7 when To install some games, you need to install DirectX of the version that the game requires.
That is because each different game needs different DirectX. That is, if your game requires a DirectX file, your PC needs to install this specific DirectX, even if there is already a DirectX package in Windows 10. Sometimes downloading the latest DirectX will also fail to fix the game.
How to download DirectX patches in Windows 10?
Here, to download Direct X, you can turn to the third-party tool or Microsoft official site to get the latest version of DirectX by yourself. So if you want to run some programs normally, please try to download DirectX 12, 11, 10, 9 as needed.
Download DirectX 12, 11, 10, 9 automatically:
driver booster can be the professional and safe tool to help you download DirectX of all versions automatically. From user reports, Driver Booster is efficient and powerful in fixing various driver, software and system errors. Here, if your apps are not working due to missing or uninstalling DirectX, it is advisable to turn to Driver Booster for help. Especially when you have no idea what exact Microsoft DirectX you should download, Driver Booster will figure it out for you.
1. Download driver booster on Windows 10.
2. After installing and launching it, press Scan to finish scanning your computer for missing, outdated, and faulty components, including device drivers and DirectX packages.
3. Then locate DirectX in the search result and choose To update or Update now .
Here maybe your PC needs DirectX 12, 11, 10 or 9, Driver Booster will prepare it for you and also install it automatically.
Download or update DirectX 12, 11, 10, 9 manually:
But if you know exactly which DirectX you need to download, it’s also possible to navigate to Microsoft’s site to install DirectX yourself.
Here are manual ways to download different DirectX packages:
Download DirectX 12 and DirectX 11.3 for Windows 10:
There is no separate package for DirectX 12 and DirectX 11.3 on Microsoft site, but you can get DirectX 12 and DirectX 11.3 via Windows 10 update. To update Windows 10, you can go directly to Start > Setting > Update and security > windows update > Search for updates .
Download DirectX 11.2 for Windows 8.1:
There are also no separate DirectX Redistributable files for DirectX 11.2. And since DirectX 11.2 is included in Windows 8.1, you can also download it from Windows 8 update. But if you haven’t upgraded to Windows 8 yet, you may need to upgrade at first and DirectX will be installed automatically with the update or update.
Download DirectX 11.1 for Windows 8.0 and DirectX 11.1 and 11.0 for Windows 7:
DirectX 11.1 is included in Windows 8, so you can install it via Windows 8 upgrade. And on the other hand, DirectX 11.1 and 11.0 are also available in Windows 7, and you can also get them from the Platform Update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 .
Download DirectX 10 and 10.1 for Windows Vista:
DirectX 10 and 10.1 is included in Windows Vista, and you can only download DirectX 10 and 10.1 from the KB971512 package .
Download DirectX 9.0c and DirectX 9 for Windows XP:
Can to download directly DirectX 9.0c End-User Runtime to get DirectX 9.0cy Download DirectX End-User Runtime to install DirectX 9.
So depending on the operating system you are using, you can download different DirectX on your PC to enable your games.
How to check my version of DirectX in Windows 10? Can I remove DirectX?
Sometimes the not working games keep showing up on your PC showing you that DirectX is missing or not installed. But you are not sure what is DirectX on your PC, in this case, you can also see what has Microsoft DirectX installed and then check if it is what games need.
1. To check DirectX on Windows 10, just search dxdiag in the search box.
2. Then press Enter to access the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, where can you see what DirectX version it’s on your PC under the System tab.
Here is DirectX 12.
As to whether DirectX can be removed, the answer is no . If you deleted the DirectX packages in the system folders, it is not surprising that your game or other applications stop working as that DirectX library is required to run the game or programs. Also, you can never tell which game or application is using which DirectX, so removing the DirectX runtime is not recommended. You better leave him to them or alone.
To summarize, with the help of this post, you can master what DirectX means in Windows 10 and how you can download it for your games.
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